Filmgoer takes stand on costly snacks, sues AMC Livonia theater

[The Northerner]

Joshua Thompson loves the movies.

But he hates the prices theaters charge for concessions like pop and candy.

This week, the 20-something security technician from Livonia decided to do something about it: He filed a class action in Wayne County Circuit Court against his local AMC theater in hopes of forcing theaters statewide to dial down snack prices.

"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."

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20120304/NEWS06/203040519/Filmgoer-takes-stand-on-costly-snacks-sues-AMC-Livonia-theater

[Little Star]

1. It is almost like being...

held hostage. If you can't afford the snack ya just have to do with out! It sucks!

[Lint Head]

2. They don't search me so I always take snacks in my pocket.

Screw the corporate rapists.

[joeybee12]

3. That's where the theaters make their money...

They make squat from the movie studios...it's all about the concessions.

[Quantess]

4. It's how theaters make their profit.

I have heard that they have to charge that much for snacks to turn a profit.

[phantom power]

5. Long as we're airing the grievances...

I'm also irritated by how long it takes them to get you a couple sodas and bags of popcorn. It always seem like several minutes for even the simplest order.

[Incitatus]

6. Then go 2 hours without a snack.

I just went to the movies and they were charging $13.50 for a large coke and popcorn. The price sucks, but I wasn't forced to buy it.

[Nye Bevan]

7. Movie soda is price gouging at its most blatant.

What other product costs about a dime to produce and sells for $4?

[exboyfil]

8. A ridiculous lawsuit

In effect the concession price is a voluntary extra payment to improve your theater going experience. No different than any other pricing structure. I stopped buying snacks a long time ago at movies (I don't bring things in either).

Of course I only go to two movies a year. I wait for the $1 Redbox.

[msongs]

9. they guy filing suit is an innocent victim forced to buy this stuff agains his will nt

[Snake Alchemist]

10. Nationalize them!

I mean seriously. What does this guy expect?

[lpbk2713]

11. Theme parks like DisneyWorld are just as bad.

You can go all day without eating or buy their overpriced crap.

There's only one choice when you have kids in tow.

[exboyfil]

13. I found if you are going to eat at these places

then do a sit down. The Irish Restaurant near the Blues Brothers show at Universal Studios is an excellent choice. Go around 2:00 pm when it is very hot. Nice air conditioning and great food that really is no higher priced than a sit down restaurant on the outside. Have the Shephard's Pie - you will not be disapointed.

Three things I hate - Standing in line for food, no place to sit to eat, and outrageous food prices. Followed closely by fighting insects outside and dying from the heat while trying to eat.

Budget the money to sit down to eat. Don't eat out in the evenings to save money. Look to rent timeshares with kitchen facilities. Your only meal out should be at the park. You usually have no issue carrying snacks and water in.

[obxhead]

12. That's why I sneak my beer and snacks in.

Fuck 'em.

If they charged a reasonable rate I would make my life easier and buy their snacks. Their price gouging makes me choose to bring my own goodies in.

[dsc]

14. Unlike most cases of monopoly price gouging

this serves a purpose. First run films rarely give much ticket price to the theater which runs them. Basicly the split does get better the longer a film has been out but for the first couple of weeks the theater makes nothing from the movie and thus needs the concessions.

[Scuba]

15. Apparently he's never been in an airport.

[trumad]

18. Or an NFL football game.

[sendero]

16. I have a better idea..

... I just don't go to theaters any more. Why should I? I can enjoy a film even more at home with modern equipment. It costs less, I can pause it if I need to, I can eat any snack I want at a reasonable cost, I don't have to listen to other people's cell phone or the tapping of the texting teens.

Really, IMHO the movie theater as we know it is all but obsolete.

[Maine-ah]

17. agreed

I haven't been to the theater in years. Ours is a Flagship Cinema, and one of the big reasons I don't go, is because they can't manage to get their heating/cooling right. The last time I went, it was a packed theater, with no air coming in. I couldn't breathe, and I had to leave. I prefer to sit on my comfy couch, drink a beer...pause for bathroom and smoke breaks.

[Atman]

19. My solution:

Big screen HDTV and a Blu Ray player. Haven't been to the movies since, and I can buy a whole bag of I popcorn kernels for 1/5th the price of the theater's small size popcorn. When you want to see a movie, throw the $13.50 in a jar instead. In due time you'll save enough for a decent tv.