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Man sues over price of movie popcorn

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A Michigan man says the price of movie theater popcorn is ridiculously high. Same goes for the sodas and candies sold by movie concessionaires. So Joshua Thompson is taking the issue to a higher authority: He's filed a class-action lawsuit to end what he says is price gouging.

Thompson, an avid moviegoer from Livonia, Mich., used to bypass the high prices charged for theater popcorn, soda and candy by bringing in his own treats, said his attorney, Kerry Morgan. But Thompson arrived at his local theater outside Detroit recently to find a new sign telling customers they were no longer allowed to bring in their own goodies.
"He called me and said, 'Can they do that?' " Morgan told The Times. The attorney said his first reaction was, "Sure, they can do that, it's private property." But then he began doing a little legal research and came across the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, a statute designed to prevent price gouging.

And a lawsuit was born.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/...-lawsuit-20120305,0,3059649.story?track=icymi

I think we have all secretly wanted to sue the theaters for how much they charge for their food. Too bad I don't see this going any where.:rommie:
 
How would movie theatres police a ban on customers bring their own food and drink - full body scanners, sniffer dogs, and concealed night-vision cameras? Makes me glad I took the decision to stop going to see movies a couple of years ago, and I never ate or drank anything there in any case.
 
Asbo Zaprudder said:
How would movie theatres police a ban on customers bring their own food and drink
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They can ask to check your bag or backpack when you give them your ticket. I think all movie theaters can refund your money then ask you to leave if you don't follow the rules.
 
Sad thing is that this doesn't necessarily hit the giant entertainment corporations that run the studios and theater chains. It also hits any/all independent theaters that actually need those concession sales to survive.
 
They have signs up at my local cinema, but nobody's ever checked my bags/pockets...hell I've seen people munching away on Subways and the like inside.
 
If it's not worth the price to someone, they just shouldn't eat it. Maybe it'd force hollywood to start making movies worth watching without the snacks then! It's unbelievably unhealthy anyway. And if it's not worth it to you to go to a movie without popcorn, then don't! ...Anyway, added to the list of silly lawsuits.
 
Theatres have to bid a portion of the door proceeds in order to get a movie in the first place. And usually they pay 90% of the door in order to have the movie at all. The concession is where they make money.
 
My local cinema charges over twice the cost it would be in a supermarket or even the local corner store.

I suspect most movie goers don't mind paying a small premium maybe upto 50% but 100%+ is being taken for a ride.
 
I'm against the cost of popcorn at the movies and I never buy it. Still, I am afraid that they would raise the price of tickets in order to make money if they weren't allowed to raise the price of popcorn. I'd rather have cheap ticket prices.
 
Really? Just don't buy it. I've always found it prohibitively expensive and I've weened myself off buying popcorn at the theatre. The worse ones are the big chains. But even so, it's no cause for suing. It's just what they do to make a bottom line. But if enough people don't buy popcorn for them to be profitable, they'd likely lower the price. But if you think about it, concession food is made to make you buy more stuff. They make the popcorn really salty so you need a drink, so already they know people will buy a drink if people buy the popcorn.
 
If I'm going to be hungry at the movies, I bring in my own food. I refuse to subject my body to their junk, even if it were given away free. Screw them and their bullshit policies. They're lucky to have customers at all, given how the theater business has been going.
 
the G-man said:
Sad thing is that this doesn't necessarily hit the giant entertainment corporations that run the studios and theater chains. It also hits any/all independent theaters that actually need those concession sales to survive.
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All of the independent (usually nonprofit) art house cinemas that I've been to didn't price gouge like the big chains do when it comes to concessions.
 
Harvey said:
the G-man said:
Sad thing is that this doesn't necessarily hit the giant entertainment corporations that run the studios and theater chains. It also hits any/all independent theaters that actually need those concession sales to survive.
Click to expand...

All of the independent (usually nonprofit) art house cinemas that I've been to didn't price gouge like the big chains do when it comes to concessions.
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I think it heavily depends on where and what kind of neighbourhood. The independent one near here is actually a smaller indie chain that likes to be the art-house chain that usually gets the movies much later than the big national chain and doesn't have an in with the studios like the big one does. Other than that, there really isn't much choice in terms of where to go. But recently it added a 3D projector, and guess where the money's going to come from to cover that? It surely isn't going to be the ticket as they charge less than the big national chain.

The big national chain is the only choice for many, and it knows it and likes to price gouge as much as possible. I recently saw a show where they described themselves as having 90% of the profits of movie theatres in Canada. Yeah, no kidding!
 
I rarely go to the cinema due to the cost, maybe 2-3 times a year. I might consider buying food and drink there if it was more reasonable priced. As I supsect a great many more people would.

So sometimes a lower price = sellling more = more profit.
 
Until a few years ago, I'd take my little nieces and nephews to the movies and pay for their tickets and refreshments (popcorn and all). Although it was fun and I got a chance to spend time with them, it was an outrageously expensive activity.

Nowadays when I go to the movies (usually by myself), I just get a bottled water, and that's even 5X the original price for a small bottle.
 
I always get snacks when I go to the movies. I usually get a large popcorn and large Diet Coke (the refills are free), and I'll buy snacks for my friends. Yes, the prices of the snacks are high, but the theater has to turn a profit, because they're not getting it from the film. It's like a gas station. People complain about the price of gas, but really the gas station isn't getting anything from selling gas. They depend upon people buying chips, beer, pop, etc., because that's where their actual profits come from. If I'm going to see a movie, I budget accordingly, so that I can still buy those snacks when I get there. That's part of the fun.

If anything, this should point to the shameless greed of the studios. 90%? That's absurd.
 
I hope he wins. If he does, I'm filing lawsuits against Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo for pricing their games outrageously high. :wtf:
 
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