Yes movie fans, you love Iron Man, you love Twilight, you love Harry Potter, and now you’ll love paying a surcharge to see them before everyone else you know… at least at one theater chain. “Bragging rights requires coin!” is Carmike Cinema’s new motto. The motion picture exhibitor, located out of Georgia with 244 theaters and 2,277 screens in 35 states, now charges extra if you want to see the latest event film’s opening midnight showing.
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I paid $12 to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at midnight. Normal evening ticket price: $9. That’s a staggering 25% increase. And for what?
Nothing! That’s right. Zip. Zero. No screening of previous Potter films. No discounted concessions. No giveaways. No costume contests. No additional fun. Absolutely nothing. There weren’t even trailers (although the theater refused to skip the plateful of obnoxious television commercials we all love to visit the restrooms during). Some could see no trailers as a perk, but it had more to do with theater management wanting to go home 25 minutes early than anything related to the surcharge.
When asked about the reasoning behind the surcharge, a Carmike theater manager looked perplexed and didn’t give much of answer other than to say it had something to with what corporate calls a “premiere screening.” Essentially, anyone could tell this person knew it was bullshit, but couldn’t say it outright. I was unable to obtain a corporate response on the midnight surcharge. And from Googling the issue, it doesn’t seem like Carmike is much interested in answering questions surrounding the selective cost ballooning, which has occurred throughout the last summer beginning with Iron Man 2.
If one would apply logic here, you have to ask why doesn’t Carmike charge extra for the first matinee screening of films that don’t demand a midnight opening from the general public? After all, that first showing would be the “premiere screening.” Of course that’s applying logic to something completely illogical to begin with.
You thought the 3D surcharge on tickets was bad? Ha! Everyone knows 3D is the flavor of the month. Theaters will wring the greenbacks from it while they can, but like blood-sniffing hounds they’re searching out new, more stable ways to jack their customer’s wallets. That would be midnight showings. People will always want to see things first. It’s the way of the world. Unlike 3D, midnight showings aren’t disappearing, extra cost or not.
That’s why this surcharge is a slippery slope. Who’s to say this premium won’t start sliding into other showtimes for blockbuster films. If we rubes paid extra to see it early Friday morning, why wouldn’t other rubes pay extra to see it Friday evening or Saturday afternoon of the opening weekend? Hey we already accept the higher cost of watching a non-matinee screening.
Yet, upping that peak-hour price for a midnight showing is going too far. There is simply no justification for a midnight showing to cost more than the usual evening price. It’s not a matter of supply and demand. As in, well we only have so many prints of Harry Potter and only so many seats for those prints and we will sell out all those seats. Therefore high demand and complete sellouts justify higher prices.
However, 94% of Carmike’s screens utilize digital projection. All 12 screens of my local Carmike theater project digitally. This means the theater can theoretically show it on all 12 screens at midnight if required, because the film is saved on a hard drive and that one copy can drive all 12 projectors. Deathly Hallows Part 1 was the busiest midnight showing I’ve seen at this theater in several years (although I did avoid the Twilight midnight films), and it only filled 4 auditoriums. Trust me, no film will ever fill all 12.
Nor can one say the fee is needed to pay for additional operating costs a midnight showing requires (such as additional staffing until the wee hours of the morning, electricity, etc). The revenue derived from midnight ticket sales and concessions for a film as popular as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows more than pays for whatever bump in operating costs a theater would incur.
Oh sure, some might argue, if you don’t like it then don’t pay for it. Go somewhere else or wait until the next day. That’s a possibility. There is another cineplex in my city owned by a different company (too bad it’s farther away, always busier, and consistently fails to project movies correctly). And I just might roll the dice and take my business there. After all, since my Carmike will never sell out the entire building for a midnight showing, it’s not as if my empty seat will get filled by someone who would have otherwise been unable to attend. It really is less money in Carmike’s coffers.
However, not everyone has this option. According to its website, Carmike locates its business in small to mid-size communities. At one time, Carmike owned 5 theaters in the Cedar Rapids area and they were the only game in town. I would bet in several small and mid-size cities today, Carmike is the only available exhibitor. Regardless, the whole “don’t go” argument is cowardly and avoids the entire point.
Carmike Cinemas is guilty of pure, greedy price-gouging. It is wrong. It is disgusting. And once other theater chains catch onto this scam and their eyes light up with dollar signs, it will be one more nail in the coffin of the movie-going experience.
