Home Entertainment Ready your wallets for a movie price increase

Ready your wallets for a movie price increase

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Admit One - Movie Price Increase

As much as we love movies, we are a movie site after all, it’s getting quite expensive to head out for an evening’s entertainment at the cinema. And unfortunately it’s about to get a little more expensive.

As reported by MyBroadband, both Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro have announced that their movie ticket prices have gone up. This is mostly thanks to our ever-fluctuating currency and while we’ve had stable movie prices for a while, that was bound to change.

Currently, the most expensive Ster Kinekor tickets are for IMAX, which will now set you back R120, where it used to cost R110. Regular 3D movies at Ster Kinekor have gone up from R85 to R91. Over at Nu Metro, 4DX tickets are now going for R175 a pop, while their normal 3D movies are R85 as opposed to R80. Here’s the full comparison of the increases between this year and last year:

Ster Kinekor pricing comparison (courtesy of MyBroadband)
Ster Kinekor pricing comparison (courtesy of MyBroadband)
Nu Metro pricing comparison (courtesy of MyBroadband)
Nu Metro pricing comparison (courtesy of MyBroadband)

Well, okay then. Honestly, all in all that’s not a heck of a big increase, but there’s no doubt it’s going to turn a few more consumers away from the cinemas.

At least we’re not the only ones suffering.  The National Association of Theatre Owners has reported that average ticket prices in the U.S. have hit an all-time high of $8.73, which is roughly as much as an IMAX movie here. And that’s the average, bear in mind, so some parts of the U.S. with a higher cost of living are paying a lot more than that.

According to /Film, this is mostly thanks to the popularity of the more expensive formats like 3D and IMAX. Studios are releasing more and more movies on these platforms, so they’re selling more tickets than their cheaper, 2D counterparts. That in turn pushes the average up.

Unfortunately, higher prices aren’t making up for the fact that movie attendance in the States is down. On average, ticket sales are down by 9.5% compared to this time last year, mostly because of some high-profile flops and disappointing releases. People are obviously getting far more picky when it comes to watching movies on the big screen, it’s definitely an exercise in caution now.

We know stuff gets more expensive, it’s a fact of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier on us, or our wallets. So what do you think? Is this price hike going to keep you out of cinemas for good, or will you just be cutting back? Or did you never venture out in the first place?

Last Updated: July 21, 2016

5 Comments

  1. Unavengedavo

    July 21, 2016 at 10:39

    It’s about a R6 average increase on some of the movie prices which isn’t that bad to be honest O_o

    And the biggest price jumps are at the Grand West casino.

    Reply

  2. Koko

    July 21, 2016 at 11:02

    I’m fine with the ticket price increase. What’s the popcorn and other foodstuffs increase going to be? That is where I’m going to stop spending money first.

    Reply

    • Glenn Runnalls

      July 21, 2016 at 11:26

      I hear you. I’m thinking of buying a 2nd wardrobe 1 size to big to sneak in food ano drink.

      Reply

      • Tracy Benson

        July 21, 2016 at 13:14

        This is where being a girl and having an oversized handbag comes in handy!

        Reply

  3. Glenn Runnalls

    July 21, 2016 at 11:25

    This just makes the case of the downloaders easier to win. Not great news at all.
    Won’t stop me attending the movies but does not make me happy that’s for sure.
    Next up…..the price of Popcorn. From 5000% mark up to 7500% mark up.

    Reply

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