Courts, Lawyering, Society

The Popcorn Revolution

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Joshua Thompson, 20-ish, of Livonia, Michigan loves the movies, but could not understand why his soda pop  and candy purchase rang up the till for another $8.00 on top of the price of admission.  In the same cinema, popcorn and a soda can run you $11.00. Rather than just griping, he filed a consumer class action suit in Wayne County (Michigan) Circuit Court on behalf of us all to get some answers.

The suit “seeks refunds for customers who were overcharged” and “a civil penalty against the theater chain.””He got tired of being taken advantage of,” said Thompson’s lawyer, Kerry Morgan of Wyandotte. “It’s hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else.”

Not so to American Multi Cinema (AMC) that operates his local theater. They had no comment on the suit, but a representative of the National Association of Theater Owners in Washington, D.C., angrily hung up the phone on a reporter from the Detroit Free Press when he simply asked about the reason for the markup on concessions.

Thompson wasn’t rash in bringing the suit, first trying to bring his own soda and candy to the theatre. AMC would have none of it and banned the profit-reducing “contraband.”

Most Michigan court watchers predict a losing effort for Thompson though. Protecting consumers is passe’ in the Republican-dominated Michigan Supreme Court. Gary Victor, an Eastern Michigan University business law professor said the case was likely a “loser.” In Michigan, theaters are a regulated business. Victor pointed to two state Supreme Court decisions in 1999 and 2007 which exempted most regulated businesses from the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. And we all know how conservatives “regulate” business. Thompson and his lawyer press on nonetheless.

Theater owners blame the high concession prices on declining ticket sales in the tight economy and rising costs. With the advent of NetFlix and other on-line movie providers, things can’t be rosy for the industry. Nationally, movie ticket sales are down — 1.2 billion tickets were sold last year compared with 1.6 billion in 2002. Still one wonders how you get gold from a throttled goose.

My last experience in a theater wasn’t pleasant. Amid the hubbub of talking teenagers, ringing cell phones, and fellow patrons snaking through the rows of seats or the aisles during most every scene of the movie, I welcomed the chance to get to the lobby to be taken advantage of by the $7.00 popcorn and $5.00 sodas.

Here’s a thought: reduce concession prices, ban ringing cell phones, police talkative patrons, and maybe the experience will be pleasant enough to bring people and their kids back from their dens and into the theaters again.

Source: Detroit Free Press

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

88 thoughts on “The Popcorn Revolution”

  1. anon nurse
    1, April 7, 2012 at 10:06 am
    ————————————–
    I don’t remember that….(TG)…but yes, so called ‘entertainment’ has often saved my psyche from the dark pit….for nurses and those of similiar service ilk, I believe it is a necessity!

  3. “While waiting for both shows I was subjected to numerous advertisements for which I am certain that the Theatre was amply compensated.” -Woosty’s still a Cat

    Woosty,

    My favorite was all of the theater surrounding “The Jimmy Fund”: Lights, camera, action; shots of Jimmy dying and then the lights would come on; “ushers” would collect from the audience, passing around jumbo popcorn containers; yada, yada, yada. Another tax-deduction for the theater owners, many of whom don’t really give a damn about the poor Jimmy’s of the world, IMO.

    As a nurse, confronted with death and dying on a daily basis, I went to the movies to escape from the poor Jimmy’s of the world. The Jimmy Fund collections sunk that ship for me…

  4. Jeff:

    Oh forgot this little gem from you: “oh, and it is not “corporations first, people second”. It is people being allowed to engage in a mutually agreed to transaction.”

    *******************

    Can’t bring in your own so you have to “mutually agree” to pay whatever is demanded. Quite the choice.

    I love conservatives. They always contradict their own arguments.

  6. I’ve been informed by movie theater insiders that movie houses don’t make their money on showing movies — that ticket prices basically cover the fees paid to the movie companies. They make their money on concessions.

    I like watching movies in a movie house (only I can remember when the big screen was a REALLY BIG screen — sigh!). And I buy lots of concessions so that I can keep going.

  7. Turn it around. Many people feel people who work at certain jobs get paid way too much. The employer and the employee have agreed to those terms however. Should someone then be able to waltz in and demand that the price (salary) be lowered to some arbitrary number?
    ——————————-
    You know, we weren’t talking salary. We were talking about the gouging of the nasty popcorn. But since you mentioned it….current:

    Operations Manager – Hourly 8 AMC Entertainment Salaries
    $12.27/hr

    Film Crew Lead – Hourly
    8 AMC Entertainment Salaries
    $7.66/hr
    $6$8

    Projectionist – Hourly
    8 AMC Entertainment Salaries
    $7.62/hr
    $6$9

    Supervisor – Hourly
    6 AMC Entertainment Salaries
    $9.11/hr
    $8$11

    General Manager
    4 AMC Entertainment Salaries
    $51,500
    $33k$83k

    Salaries in USD
    $20k$50k$80k
    ————–
    contrast to Compensation of CEO Scott Brown in 2003 (couldn’t find the more recent….)

    Base Pay $700,000

    Bonus $614,250

    Restricted Stock $455,700

    LTIP Payouts $0

    Present Value of Option Grants $1,022,066

    Other Annual Compensation $12,643,851

    All Other Compensation $8,351

    >>>>> Total Compensation $15,444,218 <<<<<<<<<<
    ————————————————————
    ——————–

    Stock Option Exercises and Cumulative Balances

    Shares Aquired on Exercise (#) 0

    Value Realized for Options Exercised $0

    Remaining Exercisable (vested) Options (#) 444,485

    Remaining Unexercisable (non-vested) Options (#) 53,495

    Value of Remaining Exercisable Options $236,448

    Value of Remaining Unexercisable Options $0
    —

    Last time I went to the theatre I paid $$$ 9.00 for my ticket. The theatre smelled like mold and there were maybe 5 other people at the early evening mid-week show. The live event I attended was a 1x, mid-week showing of a London Museum showing of DaVinci works. [it was only so-so but i am thrilled this is a venue that is now being explored…].

    While waiting for both shows I was subjected to numerous advertisements for which I am certain that the Theatre was amply compensated.

    I no longer buy popcorn at the theatre and have occasionally smuggled in hard sugar candies to compensate for and ward off the potential breathing difficulties.

  8. Higher prices for concession items isn’t new. I worked a concession stand in a movie theater in the late ’50s and the candy and popcorn were higher than outside. The popcorn came in bags and didn’t look or taste like popcorn until it was heated. It’s been awhile since I went to a movie theater but when I did, I brought my own. Why else would I carry a big purse? Paul Newman made it his thing to carry in his own popcorn in a paper bag. No one stopped him. But then, we aren’t Paul Newman.

  9. Jeff:

    ” We are not talking about a doctor charging 10′s of thousands of dollars to give your child the medicine she needs to live.”

    *****************

    Thanks for a wonderful example to refute your own argument. I had others but I like yours best. Are conservatives self-defeating by nature?

  10. oh, and it is not “corporations first, people second”. It is people being allowed to engage in a mutually agreed to transaction. Again we are not talking about the only electric company charging whatever they want. We are not talking about a doctor charging 10’s of thousands of dollars to give your child the medicine she needs to live. We are talking about snacks that you can can choose to purchase or not.

  11. Why shouldn’t a corporation be able to charge what it wants (except in cases of necessities, gouging, etc ? It is popcorn, not electricity, gas, etc

    If you don’t want to pay the price, don’t purchase the goods.

    “Grow up”? No, expecting the courts to force someone selling a candy bar to charge what you want to pay as opposed to what the public is willing to pay is the act of a spoiled, entitled child. This is especially true when the price of the popcorn is factored in to the price of the cost of doing business and helps lower the cost of the ticket. You don’t have to drink a soda but you do have to pay the admission ticket.

    Turn it around. Many people feel people who work at certain jobs get paid way too much. The employer and the employee have agreed to those terms however. Should someone then be able to waltz in and demand that the price (salary) be lowered to some arbitrary number?

    Should we sue hotels for selling items out of the minibar at high prices? Maybe force Disney World to sell their popcorn at a certain price? Could go on and on listing more examples but you get the point. At least you should be able to.

  12. Nal, Daughter goes to movies there all the time. Landmark and Angelica in Dallas have better popcorn and you don’t run into the phone problems. Looking at property in Austin this morning online.

  13. Jeff:

    Corporations first, people second. Do you worship at the altar of corporatism or just foolishness?

  16. A company should be able to charge what it wants.
    A company should be able to charge whatever its customers will pay.
    You do not have a god-given right to reasonably priced snacks.
    A company should have the right to bar the bringing if of products into their private property. This is double for items such as food and drinks that not only cut into their profit but represent a cost due to cleaning,
    The idea that the lawsuit is not thrown is obsene

  17. If your want a theater that bans ringing cell phones, polices talkative patrons, including texting, you should try the Alamo Drafthouse:

  18. Odd how it’s changed. But, it is only meant to be so as it has become. The movies are not meant to be for seeing movies, not really, that you can do free of charge at home through “sharing” on-line.

    No, movie auditoriums are hangout places for youth, pure and simple.
    Disciplined viewing and “ruly” behaviour are not encouraged.

    To cater to their actual customers they could extend their environmental entertainment features: WIFI, built in gag bags inflateable by chance when the seat is pushed down for sitting, smartphone control of mini-spots for highlighting any couple noticed making out, special hat-gear with “your name” as reward to frequent visitors, etc.

    What competing “hangout” franchise are you thinking of starting?

  19. Alive and well is ALEC in Michigan….. They own the house, senate, governors office as well as the Sct….. The theater owners will win….. Consumers have no rights in Michigan….. He was lucky he didn’t get arrested for bringing banned goods into the theater as well as trespassing…. I kid you not…. There was a successful case prosecuted out of Howell, MI……

  20. Going to a movie used to be a treat, but with the cell phone chatter the clicking of texting keys and the outright uncivil behavior of so many, going to a movie is a struggle. I wouldn’t mind paying the sky-high prices for the concession junk if the theater owners took more responsibility for ensuring that movie goers were given an orderly and somewhat quiet movie viewing experience. Until cell phones are banned and uncivil behavior is properly managed in movie houses, I’ll stay in the den.

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