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Cinemas practising ''reduced prices ploy''

15 Nov 2005 13:4819 commentsBizLike
I recently went to the East Rand mall to see a movie. Upon my arrival I was told that the cinema has upgraded to "Classic" at a price of R35 or so, and no longer R12 on Tuesdays.
Just out of curiosity I asked what the difference is, and the lovely lady told me that, "Oh, you get to choose your seat. Remember, initially you would just walk in and seat wherever."

I said: "Good Lord. Is that an improvement?"

Two weeks before that I came to the same place and two weeks later, there are new placards of "Classic" but nothing has changed. The "reduced prices ploy" was some temporary measure to get bums on the seats.

And now it’s festive season the prices have gone up, but when its quiet again, they will be all over the show telling people that movies are affordable.

Surely you can do better?
 
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Christelle
Totally agree-
We were at Fourways Mall last week and exactly the same happened to us - a party of 5 people. We used to go to the movies almost every week, but lapsed for a couple of months. When trying to buy tickets for 3 people, I was confused when the R38 the ticket seller asked me for wasn't enough. She then informed me R38 EACH!!! What a shock - what used to be a simple night out is now unaffordable. A rise to R20 would have been acceptable, but to more than triple the price for exactly the same service (with a few shiny new pillars and pretty floor tiles), is not what I call value for money. So, instead of having 5 bums in the seat (and a popcorn and Coke for each one), we went home - rented a DVD for R12 and bought some snacks! I can just imagine what the new ticket prices will do for people who have children - we'll just wait for movies on DVD and go and spend our money elsewhere on a good meal. Posted on 17 Nov 2005 09:40
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Andz
Absolutely agree!-
I couldn't agree with you more! It is a total rip-off to charge such a high price to watch a movie (and then still to pay for popcorn and a Coke).
I never go to the movies anymore, and instead rent the DVD. On many occasions I even choose to buy the DVD or spend the money that I would have spent on movies on a good meal or another night out! Posted on 19 Nov 2005 16:24
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Options-
There are alternative options:

Discovery's Vitality - not sure but it is cheaper - Ster Kinekor
Momentum's Multiply - R5 a ticket - Nu Metro
Edgars Club members - R16 a ticket - Nu Metro

So go WILD! Posted on 17 Nov 2005 10:02
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John Doe
When Marketing Tactics go Wrong-
Ster-Kinekor thought that dropping the price at certain cinemas would attract more people but have realised that there hasn't been an increase and therefore now have the same amount of people but are getting less then half per ticket sale.

It's a case of BIG marketing, bad thinking and no follow through resulting in the customer losing out more now then if they hadn't had tried to change it in the first place. Posted on 17 Nov 2005 11:18
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Zoe
Sterkinicor Movie Price Scam-
Hi there

I totally agree with you.
Just last Tuesday I went to see Crazy Monkey @ Bayside mall, Tableview Cape Town on a Tuesday.
And we were told the movie ticket price is R19 on a Tuesday.

Aint that Funny!

Try Numetro their prices are pretty standard.
They haven't disappointed me yet.

Cheers
Zoe Posted on 17 Nov 2005 11:47
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Maldini
What the hell does "Classic" mean to these Cinema managers-
They use the word as if to describe something special whereas they know its not. I guess this is in line with their mission to encourage piracy in this country. Posted on 17 Nov 2005 11:53
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dissapointed movie-goer
Dissapointed-
I also do agree that since the movie price has gone back to R38, I have opted to renting DVDs instead Posted on 17 Nov 2005 12:49
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Andy Ray
General Dissarray-
An outing to the movies has become an expensive option, for an outing.

I am never too sure of what I am going to have to pay and where I will pay what. Then, I am never too sure if I can sit where I want. (Once we were told to sit anywhere, then some people came in and it turned out [correctly] we were sitting on their seats...)

So maybe the box office price has come down, in some way or another, depends if the cinema has a certain rating??.... but then when you go and buy refreshments, it is like you need to have a direct line to your bank manager for an overdraught facility.

So has the overall movie experience become any nore affordable? I think not. The prices of the goods there are overpriced!! But then, in their defence, it is a freemarket system and you can opt not to go for what is on offer. (But when you are being ripped in that manner, it does not leave you with a good taste in your mouth.

I am thinking - if you have R12-00 Tuesdays, you HAVE R12-00 Tuesdays. Posted on 17 Nov 2005 12:47
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Gail Helyar
R37 for a movie ticket is too much!-

Last week I headed off to the movies and was flabbergasted that the tickets had gone up again, no warning.... otherwise I would not have wasted my time. I am furious and will NOT be visiting the cinema again until the prices come down again! Same indifferent service same unclean seats and same irritating ads at double volume. Who needs it. Posted on 17 Nov 2005 16:47
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Not too much - cheaper than overseas!-
I agree that R37 is too much but just to let you know - I live in London and the average ticket price for a movie here (off peak) is £7.50 - which is about R84.50. I know that it is relative, but assuming that salaries are roughly double in the UK as they are in SA, the ndividing the price of that in half, that would still equate to a ticket price of around R43. Not so expensive after all! Movies are international commodities - so don't blame the movie house sharks - blame the crappy rand exchange rate. Posted on 23 Nov 2005 18:36
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Nic
But still...-
...people are not willing to accept the price flutuating like that. Movie houses should make up their minds and then stick to it.

It's a case for piracy. Why pay R37 for a movie ticket, when you can buy the DVD on Willima Nicol for R50? Posted on 11 Apr 2006 15:09
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snuzz
demand and supply-
This thing about movie ticket price fluctuating is a nonsense debate since all things in the marketplace adhere to the same principles of demand and supply.

Did anyone complain about the cheap air fares after 9/11 Posted on 19 Nov 2005 11:10
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SKiZM
cheap airfares?-
uh....airfares went UP after 9/11 not DOWN... Posted on 10 Mar 2006 11:13
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sindi
Shocking!!-
I thought the idea was to make movies more affordable to the public,this price is not only confusing,but upsetting too.Especially since I found out that all the cinemas closest to me are classic,East Rand Mall,The Zone,Eastgate,Sandton.....I think all Sterkinekor is going to get is quite cinemas during the festive season and people will settle for dvd machines which will prove a lot cheaper in the long term. Posted on 22 Nov 2005 10:14
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Jacques de Villiers
Reduced tickets at movie houses a total scam-
Whenever I go to the movies, only one or two movies are given the discount. From what I gathered after two weeks, the new shows are supposed to be cheaper. Not a chance.

www.jacquesdevilliers.com Posted on 22 Nov 2005 15:17
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Kirsty
Breaking the bank... -
So to go to a movie for two people is R80 for the ticket + popcorn and coke will probably be - what? R40? That's R120 just for two people to go to the movies. If a DVD is R12, it's 10 times the price. As a student, I can't afford the movies any more... Posted on 30 Jan 2006 23:28
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WATER FROM A DUCK'S BACK-
I'm the marketing manager of the biggest movie rental group in Africa. This bold move from firstly Ster and then Nu Metro obviously created massive pannic in our industry. Now a movie ticket costs less than a DVD rental. We retaliated with an "anti-cinema" ad campaign, placing emphasis on the reasons why staying home, watching movies is better that going to cinema. I can, with a sigh of relief say that their reduced prices had zero impact on home entertainment. This just again proved what we in the industry have known for a long time - cinema is dying - due to the boom of DVD, big screen TVs and surround sound. They managed to only increase cinema attendance by 29% (unofficial), now cinema turnovers are lower that ever before. To all the marketers out there that ever link your products or brands to licensing on big cinema release titles, I say to you that you are missing a massive sector of your target market. The release of a box office hit onto DVD has far more hype than the cinema release simply due to the change in consumer behaviour of the past few years. Here is an interesting trend that will hit our shores soon: Movies will be released on cinema and DVD at the same time. Posted on 2 Feb 2006 16:40
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The Analyst
Stop being cheap.-
If you can't then i suggest you go to Sterland in Arcadia, Tshwane. R10 a movie daily, except on Tuesdays where it R5 Posted on 6 Feb 2006 11:33
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Indigo
I know! It sucks!-
I was looking forward to seeing ten times as many movies...but no. Fourways has also "upgraded." Posted on 26 May 2006 14:22
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