Storm cinemas!

Ghandee

Just got back from the cinema a few mins ago.
Storm cinema charging €12.50 for 1 x popcorn and drink???
Before the trolls get ripped into me, I didn't pay for it, but this form is for rip offs and to make other members aware of potential rip offs!
12.50???? Us Irish need to stand up for ourselves! We bloody well pay ridiculous prices without questioning them, and as such companies will keep charging extortionate prices!
Incidentally 12.50 is more than Eddy Rockets charge for an atomic burger with fries and coke (10.50)!!!!
sort it Storm!!!!!!

Victor

Sure but the staff don't have to clean up some much in eddies, its not like you spill half the coke on the floor and throws fries at your mates at the next table.

dr.bollocko

Victor wrote: »

Sure but the staff don't have to clean up some much in eddies, its not like you spill half the coke on the floor and throws fries at your mates at the next table.

TBF If I was charged that much for anything in a cinema I'd make it my mission to be as messy as possibly. Plus the fact that they have to pick up some cardboard hardly makes up for blatantly ripping people off. Cinema probably makes most of its profit from selling food.
I find it hard to believe it's that much tbh.

Ghandee

Victor wrote: »

Sure but the staff don't have to clean up some much in eddies, its not like you spill half the coke on the floor and throws fries at your mates at the next table.

Sorry Victor, but that's really besides the point! Their is no man alive today that's going to either justify to me, or convince me that 12 euros and 50 cents for one box of popcorn and one paper cup of syrup and water (coke) is good value or a fair deal! It's extortion plain and simple!
Part of the experience of going to the cinema is eating popcorn etc, and I feel these folk running the movies are trying to abuse this fact!

Ffs it only cost 7.40 to see the film!

hitlersson666

That cinema is a mega rip off but I have never had trouble there >.< I just never buy food there but saying that my ticket in mallow was 5.50 and me and my dad had the cinema to ourselves and a large coke is only 3 euros

ronaneire

Totaly agree with the OP. 12.50 for a soft drink and popcorn is a complete rip.

Smokin_Aces

Cinemas need to make money in order to survive. They can't just rely on ticket sales so obviously the concession prices are going to be a bit more than you expect.

Ghandee

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Cinema probably makes most of its profit from selling food.
I find it hard to believe it's that much tbh.

As God is my witness!
I was in the Naas chain today to see Blind side (good film btw)
if it makes any difference, (it doesn't in my eyes tbh) it was a LARGE popcorn and coke! But when we sum it up it's still ONE portion of each! Never seen two lads down the pub sharing the same Guinness?

dr.bollocko

Smokin_Aces wrote: »

Cinemas need to make money in order to survive. They can't just rely on ticket sales so obviously the concession prices are going to be a bit more than you expect.

You can't actually tell me you're defending a 12 euro price tag on a poxy popcorn and coke?

carefulnow100

yeah I agree too its a disgrace really and i go to the cinema on a fairly regular basis. TBH I think the companies are looking at this a completly different way than the customer.
we see it as something to do for 2 or 3 hours when we hae nothing else to do.
IMO I think the cinemas are seeing it as a night out. They look at it as well people are coming here for 2 hours so they have nothing else to do, so we may aswell charge them for it. if people go out drinking for the night the spend upwards of 50 euro. so if people go to the cinema for 'a night out' they feel they have the right to basically rob us!

GerardKeating

Smokin_Aces wrote: »

Cinemas need to make money in order to survive. They can't just rely on ticket sales so obviously the concession prices are going to be a bit more than you expect.

Actually they cannot rely on ticket sales at all, most of the ticket price goes to the film distributor.

Ghandee

dr.bollocko wrote: »

TBF If I was charged that much for anything in a cinema I'd make it my mission to be as messy as possibly. Plus the fact that they have to pick up some cardboard hardly makes up for blatantly ripping people off. Cinema probably makes most of its profit from selling food.
I find it hard to believe it's that much tbh.

That doesn't matter one iota to me!
12.50 for one popcorn and drink equals a rip off!

gerrycollins

Gucky wrote: »

That doesn't matter one iota to me!
12.50 for one popcorn and drink equals a rip off!

just out of curiousity anyone have comparision prices between cinemsa?

12.50 a little rich to me

Captain Flaps

It's about 9.40 for large popcorn and drink in Cineworld in Dublin, for the sake of comparison...

the_syco

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Cinema probably makes most of its profit from selling food.
I find it hard to believe it's that much tbh.

This is correct. 90% of the price of the ticket goes to the company whom the cinema gets their reels from.

From the profits of the food sales they pay:
maintenance of the cinema
electricity
staff wages
etc, etc.

Don't like it? Don't buy it.

dr.bollocko

the_syco wrote: »

This is correct. 90% of the price of the ticket goes to the company whom the cinema gets their reels from.

From the profits of the food sales they pay:
maintenance of the cinema
electricity
staff wages
etc, etc.

Don't like it? Don't buy it.

Yeah that's fair enough but actually paying 12 bucks for a coke and a popcorn at the cinema? That's ridiculous. It's simple to produce and costs a teeny fraction of that. 12 quid? For a coke and some popcorn? Really? It's enough to make you wait for the DVD tbh.

the_syco

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Yeah that's fair enough but actually paying 12 bucks for a coke and a popcorn at the cinema? That's ridiculous. It's simple to produce and costs a teeny fraction of that. 12 quid? For a coke and some popcorn? Really? It's enough to make you wait for the DVD tbh.

Yes, really. If you think that is bad, look at the price of two small drinks and a small popcorn, and it'll probably work out to the same as a combo including two medium drinks and a large popcorn. It's an easy way to make money. I'm not saying it's not overpriced, but I am saying that they get most of their profit from this. And due to been programmed to think that you must buy popcorn in a cinema, people buy it by the bucket full. Astounding, but they keep coming back for more popcorn

Victor

the_syco wrote: »

Astounding, but they keep coming back for more popcorn

That said, Swan cinemas must be regretting black carpets in the corridors. Every last speck of spilled popcorn is visible.

dr.bollocko

the_syco wrote: »

Yes, really. If you think that is bad, look at the price of two small drinks and a small popcorn, and it'll probably work out to the same as a combo including two medium drinks and a large popcorn. It's an easy way to make money. I'm not saying it's not overpriced, but I am saying that they get most of their profit from this. And due to been programmed to think that you must buy popcorn in a cinema, people buy it by the bucket full. Astounding, but they keep coming back for more popcorn

Say you're on a date with a girl going to the cinema. "Nah, lets just bring in a couple of bottles of coke and some tayto popcorn. It's much cheaper."
Wouldn't work would it?
Bloody cinemas and their getting laid tax.

ejmaztec

Victor wrote: »

That said, Swan cinemas must be regretting black carpets in the corridors. Every last speck of spilled popcorn is visible.

It's probably a good idea to take a dust-buster to suck it up and put it in a bag, so that you don't have to pay over the odds for it on the way to your seat.

the_syco

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Say you're on a date with a girl going to the cinema. "Nah, lets just bring in a couple of bottles of coke and some tayto popcorn. It's much cheaper."
Wouldn't work would it?

Well, a meal before the cinema and then chill after in the cinema has more of a chance. And may work out cheaper, depending on what your date gets.

I know when I goto the cinema, I'd usually grab a "Double Take" burger beforehand, and just grab a bottle of water to keep my mouth from going dry in the cinema. It'll be costly, but as the Double Take would stuff me, I wouldn't feel the need to get sweets, popcorn, etc. May still get some Ben & Jerrys, but only cos I have a small addiction to the stuff

foggy_lad

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Say you're on a date with a girl going to the cinema. "Nah, lets just bring in a couple of bottles of coke and some tayto popcorn. It's much cheaper."
Wouldn't work would it?
Bloody cinemas and their getting laid tax.

bring her/him to the pub it would probably be cheaper and better chance of getting laid.

91011

I can't see how this is rip off republic as these types of prices are charged world wide in cinemas.

£6 for a large popcorn & £4 for large coke is fairly standard in the UK.

$8 / $5 is standard in the USA

This explains it a bit
http://money.cnn.com/2002/03/08/smbusiness/q_movies/

rubadub

I simply do not buy anything. I never got the whole fascination with eating at the cinema, I have mates who always buy stuff as a rule, but I do not see people at home going "oh that film is on in a minute, now what am I going to eat with it?". Its only 90+mins or so, in cinemas you'd swear some people are stocking up a bomb shelter.

They can charge what they want of course, I have no problem with the high prices TBH as they do not effect me, no doubt they have the whole supply & demand worked out. Though at €12.50 it does seem demand should plummet. But as long as people are happy to pay it then I am glad for them to subsidise me, i.e. if they banned food from cinemas for some reason then the ticket price would skyrocket to maintain the same profits. Even if they cut prices in half it would be too expensive to me compared to alternatives, a half cup of popcorn kernels vs a dirty big cheeseburger at half the price, no-brainer.

Dundrum has KFC & mc donalds beside it, I have stashed in burgers & beer with no problem.:pac: but usually I would eat before or after, I do not like eating during any films, at home or in the cinema, it is distracting to me. If they did drop prices more people would be munching away around me in the cinema, put the prices up I say.

eth0_

Unfortunately snack sales are the only way cinemas make a profit because as another poster has said, around 90% of the ticket sales go to the film distributors for the first few weeks a movie is shown.

Add to this the lower number of people going to the cinema because they're downloading movies illegally and I can "understand" why they've increased the price of their snacks.

On the other hand, what do you expect when you go to a soulless multiplex?

Ghandee

Ah lads, there's making a profit to stay in business and then there's bloomin daylight robbery!
Put it this way, if the pubs decided to increase the price of a beer to 12.50 to try and claw back a few bob due to the smoking ban, and the increasing amount of folk staying in and buying cheap beer from supermarkets, our beloved Ireland would be in OUTRAGE!
"12.50 for a bloody beer?" we'd all shout at Fergus the barman! "that's fcuking scandalous!" we'd all roar at him!
Yet, on a nightly basis thousands of us head to the movies and hand it over for coke an popcorn!
At least if it happened in the pub after spending 75euro the local pig with lipstick may actually look attractive!

It doesn't matter how the cinema, or anyone else try and massage that pricetag, it's a RIPOFF!

Dotsyx

Gucky wrote: »

Ah lads, there's making a profit to stay in business and then there's bloomin daylight robbery!

You seem to be of the opinion that businesses should just be making enough to stay open. You do realise we're living in a capitalist society right? Shareholders want to make as much money as possible, just like you or I.

If you're selling an old battered corsa and some guy was willing to pay €20k for it, wouldn't you take the money? As long as there's enough people willing to pay, prices won't come down.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, as other's have said. If enough do that the prices of the food will be lower.

Ghandee

Dotsyx wrote: »

You seem to be of the opinion that businesses should just be making enough to stay open. You do realise we're living in a capitalist society right? Shareholders want to make as much money as possible, just like you or I.

If you're selling an old battered corsa and some guy was willing to pay €20k for it, wouldn't you take the money? As long as there's enough people willing to pay, prices won't come down.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, as other's have said. If enough do that the prices of the food will be lower.

Dotsyx.

I am presuming you did not read the OP's (thats me by the way) post?

Had you have done, you would have read where I stated I did NOT buy it as it was a rip off!

Also, once again in case you havent yet noticed, this thread is posted in the RIPOFF Ireland section. Let me run you through the jist of what this forum exists for, to let people KNOW, and therefore AWARE of POTENTIAL ripoffs!

I seen the rip off mentioned at the start, I refrained from purchasing because it was (in my eyes) a balatant rip off!
I then returned home and posted in the rip off section of boards.ie! (to make other readers aware!)

Had I have returned home from the cinema, and they had €2 popcorn and coke offers, i would have duly posted in the Bargain alert sections (As I have done on numerous times already)

Dotsyx

Yes of course I read it. I just wanted to note that the purpose of business is to make as much money as possible. They do not exist to convenience us, or offer us the best deal - they will only do what they have to. Low costs, high profits. My post was merely in response to your "there's making a profit to stay in business and then there's daylight robbery" line.

I appreciate that you didn't do the Irish thing and "buy it anyway". I wish more people would do what you did. I didn't mean my post to sound sour (reading it back it came across that way a bit). I was just surprised by your surpise, if that makes sense.

Mark Hamill

the_syco wrote: »

This is correct. 90% of the price of the ticket goes to the company whom the cinema gets their reels from.

Do you have a source for this? Anytime I look it up, its closer to 60%, eg it says here:

— THE $9 TICKET BREAKDOWN —

Theater receives: $4.05
Helps pay for everything from maintaining the popcorn machines to air conditioning to ticket takers' salaries

Studio receives: $4.95

And here it says:

During the film's opening week, the studio might take 70 to 80 percent of gross box office sales. By the fifth or sixth week, the percentage the studio takes will likely shrink to about 35 percent, said Steven Krams, president of International Cinema Equipment Co.

One thing that I think people forget is the amount of money cinemas make from putting on ads before the film starts, especially since they can claim to have a guaranteed audience to watch them.

ejmaztec

Dotsyx wrote: »

You seem to be of the opinion that businesses should just be making enough to stay open. You do realise we're living in a capitalist society right? Shareholders want to make as much money as possible, just like you or I.

If you're selling an old battered corsa and some guy was willing to pay €20k for it, wouldn't you take the money? As long as there's enough people willing to pay, prices won't come down.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, as other's have said. If enough do that the prices of the food will be lower.

And the prices of the cinema tickets will be increased to compensate.

I don't think that there are many cinemas out in the sticks making much of a profit, if any. The combination of high running costs and dwindling ticket sales has many provincial cinemas teetering on the edge.