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Theaters Increase 3D Ticket Prices: Regal, Cinemark, AMC Up 26%

by Manny Castro | March 26, 2010 at 06:39 am

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Those going to see How to Train Your Dragon this weekend are in for a surprise. Theater chains like Regal, Cinemark, and AMC are raising 3D prices as of today for up to 26%.

Movie theaters typically charged $2 to $3 extra for 3-D movies. But the brisk demand for the premium-priced tickets led many exhibitors to conclude they were still underpriced. About 83% of the record $2.6 billion in ticket sales for Avatar came from 3-D and Imax screens. And Walt Disney Co.'s Alice in Wonderland also set records when it hit 3-D screens earlier this month.

While the new prices could boost theater owners' already buoyant revenues, some industry watchers think they could also spark a consumer backlash.

"The U.S. economy isn't in the greatest shape, and there is definitely risk here in pushing price too far in a weak economy," said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG LLC, who issued a research report Wednesday on the price hikes. Greenfield said the next month will serve as a test of the strategy. "We'll have a sense if there is any pushback" from moviegoers, he said.

3D movies also have a 2D version, so there is an option and a way to protest.

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Jake Fields (not verified)

at 08:44 on March 26th, 2010

This makes sense ... the average cost of a 3D projector for a theater is at least $80-100,000. That doesn't even include the cost of the upgraded sound system to go with it. The operator needs to make back that investment, and only gets to keep around 45% of the box office revenue to do so. This means that the oerator is keeping $1.80 per ticket where the ticket increase was $4.00 per ticket ... so not including interest (if they financed the purchase of the projector) we are talking about needing to sell at least 44 - 50,000 tickets to cover the cost of the projector ... Tht's a lot of tickets. Not so unreasonable considering the giant leap forward in the movie-going experience the new technology provides ...

Stitch -1 (not verified)

at 10:59 on March 26th, 2010

You might be right, but we're in a recession, so the timing is bad. Although I guess the ones to truely blame are the studios for releasing so many 3D movies. Clash of the Titans, for example, shouldn't have been 3D. It was intended as a 2D movie and should have stayed that way.