Movie Theater Owners Might Lower Ticket Prices One Day A Week To Boost Attendance

I often find myself thinking, “Oh, I really want to see that movie.” But do I go to the movie theater? No, more often than not I wait for the desired flick’s rental release because who wants to spend that kind of money on a single theater ticket? I’m not alone — movie attendance is down across the country, prompting theater owners to mull making tickets cheaper one day a week to bring in audiences.

After another dismal year for movie theater attendance in 2013, which saw box-office sales rise only because of higher ticket prices, an association of theater owners is thinking of offering weekly discounts, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The National Association of Theatre Owners is in the early stages of talking to theater chains and movie studios to try out a promotional program that would cut ticket prices one day per week, officials said. That magic cheapie day has yet to be determined, but if approved, the program will start in one state sometime this year.

Everything sounds a bit vague right now, but it could be a lot like similar programs in Canada and Latin America. The lower prices would run all day, sort of like an extended matinee pricing idea. All the chains would have to be in it together to make it work, otherwise one theater could undercut the others’ businesses.

Prices wouldn’t be a standard discount across the board, with the association just providing the concept for everyone to work on together.

“There is a portion of the populace who can’t afford to go to the cinema on Friday night,” the association’s president, John Fithian, speaking at CinemaCon, an annual convention for exhibitors and studios.

That portion is pretty much anyone who doesn’t want to shell out $10 or more when there are all the comforts of a home theater and your own cheap snacks.

Fewer Americans Go to the Movies [Wall Street Journal]

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