Unless you smuggle your nibbles and beverages into a movie theater, grabbing a bite to eat at the movie theater can easily double or triple the cost of your ticket. But one Michigan man is fed up with being gouged at the concession stand and has filed suit against his local AMC theater.
“He got tired of being taken advantage of,” the man’s lawyer tells the Detroit Free Press. “It’s hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else.”
The lawyer says his client had been bringing his own food and beverages into the theater but stopped when management posted a sign saying customers could no longer bring in outside eats.
And so, when he went to buy a Coke and some Goobers during his Dec. 26 trip to the movies, the total came to $8, several times the $2.73 he would have paid if he’d purchased the items elsewhere.
The plaintiff alleges that such pricing is a violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and is seeking refunds for all customers who were overcharged.
Filmgoer takes stand on costly snacks, sues AMC Livonia theater [Detroit Free Press]
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We live in a capitalistic society. Competition or lack of it (in this case) drives the price of goods and services. Movie theaters as with everyone else attempt price items to maximize profits. Charge too little and they sell a lot but make no money. Charge too much and the make a large profit per item, but sell very few items. Put another way, if someone has a unique skill that is in high demand, would anyone accept a low wage to be a nice guy. If the price was really too high no one would buy the stuff. Personally I prefer not to pay the high price for stuff from the concession stand at the movies. As far as bringing items purchased outside the theater goes, it is private property and they have a right to do that.
I make my own Goobers at home.
If he wins this lawsuit (bloody unlikely), but lets say IF. The movie theater will probably lower the prices of the snacks, but then you’d see a dramatic increase of the price of the ticket to offset the loss at the concession stands.
Consumer doesn’t win, as they will pay regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit.
I don’t see any real chance for this suit.
If the price is too high, do not buy.
If you can’t go a couple of hours without food and drink you have issues, either physical or mental, or both.
Since I absolutely can not stay awake through any movie in a theater, I just watch movies at home so there’s no loss when I fall asleep.
also, spending an extra $10 b/c you didn’t plan ahead isn’t that big a deal every now-and-then for the occassional movie night out w/friends or a date
i’ll bet he also complains that drinks at a bar are more expensive than at a grocery store too, lol
and when paying, the price is disclosed, so he voluntarily authorized the purchase !!
if he didn’t like the price, he could’ve just stepped off the line !! what kinda imbecile is this !!
when i go bowling, i don’t sue them b/c i want to wear my sneakers instead of renting them everytime
its also NOT price-gouging, as its not with-holding anything vital to life, such as water or first aid supplies after a tornado
its just a mark-up from MSRP, no different than the car he bought to get to movie theater, or the gas he pumped into the car, or the clothes he wore, etc…
Please. Except for those with diseases like diabetes and hypoglycemia, most of us can stop eating and drinking for 2 hours.
I’d go local, and take away thier licenses to sell foodstuffs.
If I wanted to pay $10 to see a movie, that is…
Only an idiot would go to the movie theatre nowadays, with on demand cable services and the internet, not to mention DVDs. The price for ONE DVD is less than two adult tickets. Movie theatres are dirty, smelly, sticky, the bathrooms are never ever clean, the food is overpriced, and people forget how to act in public once they enter the dimly lit room.
I’m an idiot.
“……… it is the fact that they’re requiring you to pay them.”
Um, no.
I go to the movies regularly, and I am not required to buy anything, outside of the movie ticket.
Well that is how they make there money, sadly no other way. Unless you don’t mind waiting till the movie is no longer new. But really I buy some stuff and bring some in from outside, candy i bring from outside, hotdogs, popcorn and soda i would buy there. Its expensive but really i like movie theaters and just because hollywood putting shit out don’t mean they should suffer.
what is wrong with some of the people here?
the theatre is doing 100% nothing illegal.
The movie and the food are not separate businesses, it is all one business and they can set their own rules.
They can charge what ever they want (they can even charge $10000000000 for the popcorn if they wanted. The thing is you have the option to not do business with them.
The theaters make enough money from the ads before the movie to pay everyone and keep the place running. The food sales are just bonuses to the owner.
if you don’t like the prices then don’t go. If enough people do this then they will change their business practice. And remember, while changes usually happen from the top down, they can also move from the bottom up.
If the market wont accept a certain price, then for the service to exist, they will have to adjust pricing.
The theater has more bargaining power than the film industry. Eg how much money do you think the movie avatar would have made if stores and theaters refused to sell the product?
If you get many theaters to got together and agree to demand lower prices, Eg $5 to watch a movie and profits between the movie company and theater are split 50/50 then it will happen. The film makers will not be able to refuse as they don’t market their videos directly; they rely on the theater and other businesses to sell their products.
You’re a little off base on the idea that the theaters have that much power. Because consumers demand these movies, had any specific chain not shown Avatar, then that chain would have been losing money. A theater that doesn’t have the newest releases quickly becomes one that only has second-run films, and while that is a viable route to take, as a general rule those theaters are much less profitable. The only way that the theaters have power is when they band together.
On the subject of what the theater is doing, I agree that it’s likely 100% legal (a poster earlier found a law that it might violate, in that specific state, but I agree that as a general concept it’s perfectly legal). However, there is a long history of deciding what businesses which are open to the public are or are not allowed to do. Examples include anti-discrimination policies, ADA accommodations, smoking laws, pricing laws, salesman laws (some states have cooldown periods after major purchases) etc. So should they be allowed to do this?
Now, if they totally disallowed food, that’s their right. You could step outside to your car and eat if you really had to. Some museums and such have a policy like that, in order to keep the join cleaner, and that’s fair enough. These theaters, however, do not have that policy. They allow food, they even sell it. But they’re trying to force you to buy their food. Unlike a restaurant, which has free admission, and which has a sole purpose of being an eating establishment, theaters are selling access to a show, and concessions are clearly ancillary. I am of the opinion, that when concessions are clearly disconnected from the original transaction (access to a show), but present, venues should not be able to prevent people from bringing in outside food or drink subject to some limitation (like if someone brought in something excessively loud). That way if I’m dehydrated, I can have thought ahead and brought myself a water. If I’m hypoglycemic, I have my snacks without selling my children. If I’m vegan or celiac I can actually eat something. Those are things that wouldn’t necessarily have a “doctors note”, but are nonetheless real issues. Should consumers be allowed to bring in their own food, then the market is no longer forced, and the concessions should be able to charge whatever they want, because the consumer is at that point paying for the convenience. If such a policy is allowed, however, then I believe that rampant price gouging should be reigned in; that is, however, not my preferred scenario.
There *is* just the slightest whiff of a monopoly here. The studios strictly regulate which theaters show which movies, for how long, and at what profit margin to the studios. So, in that sense, the consumer’s ability to shop around is very limited. Many smaller communities will have only one movie theater and that can equate to price fixing. But that’s gonna be a tough case for a dude in Detroit to prove in court.
In my area there are a couple theatres that server dinner and alcohol with movies. Its a perfect solution IMHO. The theatre gets to sell you “snacks” and you get food actually worth paying for. Plus it tends to cut down on the scream kids etc.
I’d freaking LOVE to pay $5 for a ticket. A 5pm ticket (here in Roanoke, Virginia) is $10.50.
When he loses this case then maybe he should do the same for sports concessions.
I’ve snuck in stuff all the time. Usually I make little baggies of pretzels/chips and shove them in my pockets. If I have enough room, I can also put in a bottle of water.
The sad thing is he will probably win…
But in all seriousness it’s pretty rotten to charge outrageous prices for product you get can get much cheaper around the corner.
He’s right that the pricing structure is ridiculous, but it’s not like we’re talking about Rx medications here…entertainment is as ubiquitous a product as there is in America. Substitute goods ftw.