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. idealist, The best mineral water I have had was in Scandinavia – Carlsburg. Husband drank the beer and I drank the water. Better that way……..

  2. id707,

    I am an espresso addict. I have spent oodles of money on espresso machines only to be drawn to yet another. Then, one day I received an email from my friend in Italy in which he mentioned his Bialetti espresso pot. I ordered one for $35. Then I stumbled on the Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker for $25. I use the Bialetti at home and the Aerobie when traveling.

    I gave away all the fancy machines.

    (Bialetti is an Italian company and Aerobie is an American company)

  3. I hope y’all know that when I write doing good, that it’s just my imitation of Southern talk, ‘ course it’s doing well, and all that proper spelling, but t’aint fun alla time.
    Yours in infirmity.

    And how groan was your valley? Sigh.

    Or a Tom Lehrer imitation: Greenbacks, greenbacks, greenbacks my darling to me. He was up the other day here and love the man.
    And that was a good Harvard product. He could do math, which the last two prez can’t. Romney does not even know what’s up, or down.
    Except how to buy dogs for their PR value. Look at his wife. I wonder who taught him the first time?

  4. We can bathe and drink the water from Lake Mälaren in Stockholm.
    And we are too poor for water machines, but expresso machines are all the rage with some.
    Does everybody drink warm colored water with funny essences there and call it coffee?
    Only the Finns drink more coffee that Swedes.

    And penny wise is penny poor, or so I made up. My friend in Tuscon says her ex is pound wise but penny stingy.

    Good luck with selling the house. I’m too old to move.
    Blouse can you hear for all the groaning in the theatre?

    Now I’ll shut up, promise!

  5. Blouise, That machine is great. I use it at home everyday.. I just keep a few small bottles of the other to take out.

  6. idealist707, I am not rich. Spent too much money on private schools. If I remember Stephens was a finishing school in Missouri. I was just looking at the real estate. I am moving in a year but need to sell this house first. I found a new Mexican mineral water, Topo Chico. If Romney wins you will have another President from Harvard. lol

  7. SwM,

    I fill up 2 empty water bottles with “kitchen” water.

    I drink mineral water the rest of the time.

    Didn’t you get that fancy water machine for Christmas from your son? How’s it working out?

  9. Blouise,
    You’re a great story-teller. Keep it up. LOL. You’re increasing, you say. Either the news is getting around, or Medicare is doing good.

    SwM.
    First it was shopping for real estate on the net, and now it’s bringing your own Pelligrino. Honey. we already believed you were rich from the Swarthmore moniker. But I love you and will tease you anyway.
    And warmhearted teasing isn’t intended to be harassing, hope you know.

    BTW, I once had a former Stephens girl. How does that rank?
    Being a red clay engineer, I have no idea, and don’t care.

    Schools are obviously unimportant. We’ve had two Prez now from Harvard, and see what that got us into.

  10. Ridiculous, if you don’t want to pay the price don’t pay it. I go to enjoy the movie in a theater on the big screen. Concessions have always been pricy. the lawsuit is a waste of time.

  12. Blouise, They each pay for their own, I think. I smuggle the Pelligrino water in.

  13. I really like that I am seeing doubles of names. If I did not know better, one is spoofing the other.

  14. Tex and I go in the afternoon to take advantage of cheaper ticket prices; arrive late in order to miss all the commercials; smuggle in our own bottles of water, and split one small buttered popcorn.

    Five years ago we and one or two other couples were the only ones in the theater. Now the place is over half full with couples just like us … white hair, slow-moving groaners. Everybody nods to each other when taking a seat and a few of us nod off during the movie. (There’s always a steady stream [pun intended] of bathroom goers.)

    At least one person forgets to shut off his/her cell phone so first you hear the ringtone followed by fumbling noises and then someone yells out, “Sorry ’bout that!” For the next couple of minutes there are more fumbling noise as everybody else who forgot finds their cell phone and powers down. We are no longer strangers but comrades in absentmindedness.

    When the movie ends and the lights come up we all just sit there discussing different scenes. Finally, with great effort, we pull ourselves out of our seats and hobble out … slowly.

    Without fail, someone always wonders out loud, “How do young people afford to go on a date?”

  15. I will be headed to the Magnolia later, and I will have popcorn. They have very good popcorn plus I am addicted to popcorn.

  16. Great article Mark. I very rarely go to the theater anymore and the cost of the ticket and the concessions is just two of the big reasons. For anyone to say that this kind of markup is reasonable is crazy. I have a choice and that choice is to not attend the theaters at all. How does that work for their business model?

  19. Movie theatres stopped using Ushers to keep the peace about thirty years ago and that is when I last went to a movie theatre. Their choice, my gain.
    Popcorn is bad for you anyway.

  20. mespo727272

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

    Of course you have a choice. Your choice is to actually go 2 hours without eating popcorn or drinking a soda.

    If you go a club, concert, show, play, etc you don’t have to buy high mark-up drinks and food. You can’t however sue demanding that the bar lower their drink prices to a price you feel is reasonable. Heck even if there is a 2-drink minimum or something you still can’t sue to demand that the business lower their profit margins

    If they were forced to lower their prices on concessions what do you think would happen? Some may shut down taking jobs, others would increase prices for admission, may just do away with concessions, decrease salaries, or otherwise recoup the money lost to people demanding that they have an inalienable right to juju beans

    Again, I am not saying that there shouldn’t be price controls for anything at all. I am just saying demanding that happen in this situation is ridiculous and counter-productive.

Comments are closed.