Comment Re:Films, not Cinemas (Score 1) 192
Used to be there was very little for the average consumer to compare against the price of movie tickets. Then came this weird invention called the video tape recorder (whether VHS or Betamax). Suddenly, four tickets for your family, costing $30-$50, could be compared against the price of renting a single video, maybe $3. Didn't look good for the theaters.
*Then* we got Netflix
"We're not in the movie business, we're in the concession stand business."
So with ticket prices looking worse and worse, what does the industry do? Crank up the food and drink prices! I can buy a bag of popcorn (~$6), a block of butter (~$5), a 2L bottle of Coke (~$1), make four individual servings, and have most of the popcorn and half the butter left over. Last time I went to the cinema the total was close to $70 for the same.
You raise some good points about the theater experience. All of which are getting stomped by people feeling like they're being taken advantage off by a greedy industry.