Vision - September/October 2008 - (Page 12)

illuStration by lou beaCh Coming to a neigh Once you enter the theater, get the wallet out. In most major markets the average movie ticket costs roughly $11. So, that’s another $44 for your family of four. Now we’re up to $52. But what about food? If each family member buys a bucket of popcorn, a soft drink and a candy, that’s a minimum of another $12 each or $48 total. Why are concessions so expensive? Movie theater owners must generate more income to pay rising rental fees, particularly in today’s shopping malls. Add the $48 to our original $52 and we’ve already hit the magic $100 mark. But we’re still not done. Many of today’s multiplexes are surrounded by coingobbling arcade palaces that can prove irresistible to the younger members of the family (and a few Dads). If you don’t watch out, you could drop another $5 or so before the movie even starts. The numbers tell a story more depressing than any Hollywood tear-jerker, and they haven’t gone unnoticed by both Wall Street analysts and Hollywood officials who are scrambling to reinvent its methods of delivering entertainment. And the home theater is the focal point of that strategy. h ow did it get to the point where it can cost $100 to go to the movies? For decades, the corner bijou, or modern-day multiplex, has served as a symbol of low-cost, convenient entertainment. Whether families attended or just a group of teens on an afternoon excursion, the movie theater guaranteed an escape while hardly scratching your wallet. For those whose temples display a little gray, you might even remember the days when you could watch two movies for less than a dollar. But in the summer of 2008, $100 is now the price of admission for a family of four thanks to new economic conditions and changing studio business models that threaten to drive away the average moviegoer. Not convinced? Let’s look at the frightful facts: Let’s say you live 10–15 miles from your closest theater. (Obviously, some people live closer, but many live even further away.) With gas prices at $4 a gallon, a mid-size SUV, which nets around 15–17 miles to the gallon, might need as much as $8 in gas for the round-trip. Stay at home The thinking is that more consumers will believe that an investment in a home theater, while still expensive, is justified. “Households now seem bent on cocooning by staying at home to watch television rather than drive to the local theater and shell out more than $11 to watch a film (and an extra $5 on gas to get there),” Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg said in a recent research note issued to clients. “Travel plans have sunk to their lowest in 30 years, so what else is there to do but stay home and watch TV?” 12 September/October 2008 www.ce.org http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - September/October 2008

Vision - September/October 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist Visionary C4 Trends Coming to a Neighborhood Near You IPv6: Connecting People and Things Israelis Spend Big on the Latest CE Devices Tech Speak Tech Policy CEA Newsline Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - September/October 2008

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