Movie theaters have a glaring problem with ticket sales. This year has been showing signs of a comeback with movies like Sinners and A Minecraft Movie, but there are still many flops like Mickey 17 and Captain America: Brave New World. Not all of these were quality movies, but they were still expected to turn a profit, especially Captain America.
The main issue is with prices. Ticket prices are getting so high that people can’t and don’t go see more than a few movies in a few months. This is another reason that more original films are flopping. People usually save up for the big blockbusters like a Marvel movie, and even those are flopping.
On two separate occasions, I went to buy movie tickets; one was Thunderbolts*, and the other was A Minecraft Movie. These tickets were $21 on their own, but AMC also charged a $4 fee, which means one ticket to see one movie was twenty-five dollars. The only way to not have to pay the fee is by having an AMC membership, which I do not personally have. So for two movies, I paid $50, which is most of my biweekly paycheck.
AMC is actually trying a little bit to remedy this problem by having half-off movies on Tuesdays, and soon, they will have half-off Wednesdays. And, certain times for movies are twenty percent off, but that requires that one’s schedule works with that time, which is not guaranteed.
Prices of concessions were never low at theaters, but now they are way higher. Before, it wasn’t a huge deal to get some popcorn with a movie, but that combined with the prices of the movie itself, it’s just ridiculous.
Streaming, on the other hand, seems to be a cheaper way to access more movies. Why pay all this money to go see a movie in the theaters when I could wait for it to go onto one of the streaming sites I pay for?. Audiences prefer staying home and going on streaming services. Streaming has played a large part in killing the movie industry, especially since COVID. During the lockdowns, people became used to watching movies and TV shows at home. Movies are only in theaters for a few months, but go on to streaming services for longer. Some never leave, especially if the streaming service is owned by the company that made the movie, like Disney+ and HBO Max, so there’s far less incentive to go see the movie in theaters.
There is hope, though. This year, there has been an increase in movie profits. As I mentioned, Sinners and A Minecraft Movie have seen great success, and there is a lot of hype for the recently released Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning. Upcoming blockbusters are also highly anticipated, like James Gunn’s Superman, Fantastic Four: First Steps, and 28 Years Later. The most surefire way to bring people back to the theaters consistently is lower prices and dependable quality.
Drastic changes need to happen if movie theaters want to survive in the long run. But right now, it doesn’t seem like those changes are happening anytime soon. Still, I am hopeful that they will make a comeback. With all the hype for the blockbusters coming in June, especially, this summer is full of potential.