"Part of the increase can be blamed on last year’s record-setting movie profits. The box office generated $10.6 billion in 2009, it was the first time that total hit and exceeded the $10 billion mark. Flush with success, which has continued into this year, he speculated that theater chains are cashing in by raising prices"
Oh, and here we are cutting them hundreds of millions of dollars in tax loot and other services.
See: The Massachusetts Oscars
Well, you know which film I am going to see; only question now is where.
"A deluxe setting for those who like their cocktail with a plot twist" by Ty Burr, Globe Staff | March 14, 2010
Martinis? Hamburgers? Tables? Welcome to the Lux Level at the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Legacy Place in Dedham, the newest pearl in a strand of upscale movie theaters designed to woo grown-ups back to the Bijou. With 14 Lux Level cinemas across the country, three of them in Massachusetts, National Amusements Inc. is betting the over-21 crowd can be lured away from their 50-inch TV screens for a night of upscale moviegoing in velvet-rope balconies high above the plebes....
Yeah, start the thing off with an insult, why don't you?
And, because of laws on serving alcohol, no children. I’ll repeat that: No children.
Oh, all right!
Who would want them around at the movies, fer crying out loud?
In theory, since you’re paying $25 per ticket (that includes a $5 rebate on the food bill), the Lux Level has none of the other annoyances of modern moviegoing such as overamped cellphones and chatty Cathys in the row behind you. That’s just in theory, though: halfway through the showing of “Shutter Island’’ I recently attended, a man two seats over took a phone call from his daughter, apparently to coordinate their entire schedules for the next week. I searched in vain for an eject button.
Actually, no, I'll order something On-Demand. Already paying for it anyway.
Other theater chains are experimenting along similar lines....
But can upscale moviegoing succeed in a down economy and with home theater options improving by the month? Absolutely, according to Steve Horton, assistant vice president of US operations at National Amusements headquarters in Norwood. “On the weekends we’re typically at maximum capacity,’’ he said. “During weekdays, depending on the film and the day of the week, we have more people in the Lux Level than in the regular theater. For family films like ‘A Christmas Carol,’ we got to the point where the parents were sitting in the Lux Level while the kids were down in the theater below.’’
I thought there WERE NO KIDS!
So what other drawbacks are at the De Lux, dude?
Talk to the patrons themselves and you get a sense of intense loyalty. Mike and Jessie, a 40-something couple from Brockton who I spoke with before “Shutter Island’’ started, have been to Legacy Place 20 times since it opened in August, and they have been to the Lux Levels at the Showcase Cinemas in Randolph between 60 and 70 times. “We go twice a week,’’ Mike said. “We don’t go to the regular theater anymore.’’
Neither do I.
Jessie especially likes the seats that accommodate their plus-size frames: “We’re not crammed in so much — it’s like traveling first class on a plane.’’
Oh, the FATTIES LIKE IT, huh?
Can't go TWO HOURS without STUFFING YOUR FACES, huh?
Anyone tell them we have an OBESITY PROBLEM in this country?
That’s exactly the idea National Amusements is selling: first-class service in an industry that’s increasingly economy class....
It’s a way for the theater to profit from both ends of the dinner-and-a-movie paradigm and for customers to feel pampered.
Yeah, $omehow I didn't think thi$ wa$ really about you, film-goer.
And it can be addictive. Brian Murray and Kaylee Hargreaves, a young couple from Walpole who came to see “Shutter Island,’’ say they are so used to the Lux embellishments that the regular theater is no longer an option. “We can’t go down there anymore,’’ said Murray....
Yeah, NOTHING like PROMOTING a CASTE SYSTEM of ELITES here in AmeriKa, 'eh?
Horton admits the chain has learned a few lessons about offering premiere services from the Randolph Lux, which opened in 2007, and the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Patriot Place in Foxborough, which opened in 2008. “We had to work on kitchen layouts and what kind of food could be prepared in a certain amount of time. We found that finger foods worked better with our patrons as opposed to meals that require a knife and fork. The Pilsener beer glasses didn’t sit well on the table; they were easily knocked over, so we went to a shorter, squatter glass. We learned how to approach customers without bothering others or walking in front of the screen.’’
PFFFFFFFTTTT!
Who FARTED in the THEATER, readers!!!
That said, seeing a movie in what is essentially a working restaurant has very real drawbacks.
What, after this guy spent the FIRST HALF of the article PUSHING the AGENDA with a BUSINESS PROMOTION?
Ten minutes into “Shutter Island,’’ my party of four still hadn’t seen a waiter. Worse, during the opening scenes, we were so busy tilting our menus up toward the projector booth and trying to read the entrees that we missed what was happening on-screen. The clink of cutlery and cocktail glasses interrupted the first half of the film, and at times the dissonance between the luxury of the surroundings and the privation on-screen was disturbing. It wasn’t as bad as my first visit to a Lux in December, when the waiter brought my dry martini just as Precious was getting raped by her father. No, with “Shutter Island’’ I finished my burger to the vision of death camp corpses. If you have a tender stomach, you may want to stick to chick flicks.
Like I am somehow supposed to empathize with the complaints after the shit-slinging first half of the piece?
PFFFFFFFFTTT!!!!
So the Lux Level isn’t for serious cineastes. And it isn’t for penny-watchers, either. A night out can easily run to $100 between a pair of $25 tickets plus food and drink.
Yeah, I am DEFINITELY STAYING IN!
The cuisine is above-average beer-and-burger fare, but it wouldn’t pass muster at a standalone restaurant....
So the food isn't even that good?
They do have a toilet on site, right?
Nor is this for moviegoers who wait until the last minute to buy tickets: Trying to reserve four seats for “Shutter Island’’ on opening weekend was an online farce of showtimes filling up seconds before I clicked my mouse.
Don't worry, I won't be going to the De Lux.
Also, while the Legacy Place theater offers special events like live opera broadcasts from the Met in New York, specialized audiences can be exacting. Diane Fassino of Newton enjoyed “Simon Boccanegra’’ at the Braintree AMC cinema so much she took her husband, Boston Symphony cellist Jonathan Miller, for a second viewing at the Legacy Place Lux. It was a less than agreeable experience. “The sound bounced around and echoed,’’ Fassino said, “and it was too loud, which exacerbated the problem. And the meal and drink service was distracting. I can’t imagine anyone even unwrapping a piece of candy at the Met, never mind clinking silverware and having waiters ducking in and out.’’
Ya think?
Yet there are converts to be made....
Pffft!
Yeah, BACK to the AGENDA-PUSHING, I see!!
--more--"
Related: Gorillas as Guinea Pigs
Oh, he didn't like my selection, huh?
"Prices for 3-D movies fly away with ‘Dragon’" by Christopher Muther, Globe Staff | March 27, 2010
What Arlene Harris didn’t realize is that she would be paying more regardless of the movie time. This weekend theaters across the region and the country raised ticket prices....
Then DON'T GO there!
Moviegoers have already been paying more to see hits such as “Alice in Wonderland’’ and “Avatar’’ in 3-D, but this week those prices jumped in anticipation of “Dragon,’’ according to analyst Richard Greenfield of the research branch of brokerage firm BTIG.
Related: Why AmeriKans Hate Avatar
And the missing photograph that drew me to the piece (showing Jake and Neytiri):
""Avatar," which has become the highest-grossing movie of all-time and was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, has set the bar high for the success of 3-D movies."
I guess that is why the Globe doesn't like it either.
What do you mean "Avatar" didn't win Best Picture?
Last week, an adult would pay $11.50 for “Alice in Wonderland’’ at the AMC Loews. This week that same 3-D ticket is $14.50, Greenfield says in his findings. “It appears that theater owners increasingly believe that consumers are so hungry for 3-D content . . . that they will not mind paying substantially higher prices relative to 2-D screenings,’’ Greenfield wrote....
That is if we bother to go.
Phil Contrino, editor of BoxOffice.com, a website affiliated with the National Association of Theater Owners.
Because of the limited number of digital screens across the country — screens that are necessary for showing 3-D — films such as “Alice’’ or “Avatar’’ are forced to cut their runs short to accommodate “Dragon’’ or next week’s “Clash of the Titans.’’ In order to recoup losses from those shortened theatrical runs, studios are asking theaters to charge more.
This when they are ALREADY MAKING PROFITS, huh?
“Moviegoers shouldn’t get mad at their local exhibitors or theater chains, because this isn’t a situation where movie theaters are trying to be greedy,’’according to Phil Contrino, editor of BoxOffice.com, a website affiliated with the National Association of Theater Owners. “You have this rush of content coming in. With ‘Avatar’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ the 3-D movies were spread apart by a couple of months. But right on the heels of ‘Alice’ is ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ Closer still is ‘Clash of the Titans’ next weekend. There’s a pressure to maximize the profits off of these movies when the industry is short on digital screens.’’
No, I'll pass on the show; let's just head home, 'kay?
***********
Movie industry analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com thinks part of the increase can be blamed on last year’s record-setting movie profits. The box office generated $10.6 billion in 2009, it was the first time that total hit and exceeded the $10 billion mark. Flush with success, which has continued into this year, he speculated that theater chains are cashing in by raising prices.
“You always see ticket price increases, we’re used to that,’’ Dergarabedian said. “Because this seems like a fairly significant increase all at once, it’s getting a lot of attention. It’s what we call a recession-resistant business. Times get tough and people go to the movies because it’s the one thing they see as a relative bargain. The minute they cease to see it that way, it’s not good for the industry.’’
Hollywood sure is king when it comes to arrogance.
At the Loews AMC in Boston, opinion was mixed as to whether movies were still a bargain.
Thumbs down here.
Paul DeMarco, who was at the theater to see the new Ben Stiller movie “Greenberg,’’ said he thinks that moviegoers are paying too much for 3-D. “It’s a silly gimmick that doesn’t add much to the movie experience,’’ he said. “If anything, I think it detracts from the story.’’
And most of what comes out of there is already a turd.
But college students Anna Katz and Aaron Ginsberg, who were seeing “Alice in Wonderland,’’ said they were fine with paying more for films.
I'm not even going to type it.
“I loved ‘Avatar’ and thought the 3-D was totally worth it,’’ Katz said. “If I have to pay more for theaters to update their technology or for movie studios to make these movies, I don’t mind.’’
Oh, I'M SORRY!! I APOLOGIZE, young lady!!
Despite the increase, Variety magazine film reporter Pamela McClintock speculated that families would still go to the movies because it is far less expensive than attending sporting events or going to an amusement park....
Which means most Americans are NOT GOING!
“[The upcharge] has actually been rising slowly since ‘Avatar’ exploded in popularity,’’ McClintock says.
And yet we here and see so LITTLE of it in the MSM here!!
“I think as long as these movies are doing well, and there’s a demand for more, you’ll see prices rising.’’
Yeah, until Americans stop shelling out their hard-earned dough for such slop.
Oh, I better get moving; show is about to start!!!
See you after the movie, readers!!
