At the Movies: Paying Up for Popcorn

May 19, 2007 — -- At 7:15 on a Friday night at the Pavilion, a multiple-screen movie theater in Brooklyn, N.Y., a steady stream of parents shuttle their fidgeting children from the box office to buy tickets, to the concession stand to buy popcorn and soda, to their seats for the opening weekend of "Shrek the Third."

But what was once a time-honored tradition for American families -- the Friday night movie -- has transformed into something else entirely: a money-spending extravaganza.

"It's expensive. It's pricey," said Tonika Gray, a Brooklyn woman, as she waited with her 5-year-old son Zaire for her husband outside the theater before seeing "Shrek." "A small popcorn is $5, a soda $5. ... I feel a kid's movie should be cheaper."

Gray estimated that with the tickets ($11 per adult, $7.50 per child) and concessions, the night would cost at least $40 before the family went out for dinner afterward. Although the high prices did give her second thoughts about attending movies, she said Zaire, and the movie itself, prompted her to attend.

"I have a little boy," she said. "This is like the most popular movie out there."

It's no secret that the typical movie-going experience is getting more expensive. The average ticket price has risen steadily over the past 10 years, from $4.42 in 1996 to $6.55 in 2006, according to the National Association of Theater Owners. In most major cities, the ticket price for adults hovers around $10.

But what is surprising is that, although theaters are pulling in the most money from ticket sales, which they split in agreements with movie studios, they make the highest profit margins off of consumers at the snack bar.

A recent study done by a London-based trade publication estimated that in the year 2000, 20 percent of the gross revenues of U.S. theater owners came from concessions, but those same sales accounted for 40 percent of the profits. In other words, that small bag of popcorn you just paid $4 for is one big business.