Daily Dose of Common Sense

…to get ourselves a treat. So went the movie theater jingle from a bygone era. Nowadays, you have to think twice before ordering from your cineplex’s concession stand. The prices of the snacks, not to mention the ticket itself, have steadily climbed in recent years. When I went to the theater in New York City today, I paid $4.50 for a small drink. That was on top of $12.50 for the movie ticket. Yeee-ouch! I could have kicked myself for not sneaking in a soda. Stupid thirst.

We know the theater chains make their money at the snack bar. However, in this economy the theaters had better wise up. As disposable income dries up, so will snack budgets. People will bring in their own treats and forgo the concession stand altogether. Charging $6.25 for ten small pretzel bites? That just seems crazy. Perhaps not selling as many Goobers will make the cineplexes lower their prices.

If you are a steadfast supporter of the snack bar, sign up for the theater chain’s frequent movie watcher club. Most of the big chains have some version of a customer loyalty club. Then, you might receive discounts and offers on tickets and snacks. And that means more popcorn for less money.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Economy, Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.