Let’s face it — movie tickets cost too damn much money for what people generally get from the theatergoing experience. If the price was based upon the quality of the movie, it wouldn’t be so irritating, for perhaps A-list actors wouldn’t always make outragous numbers of millions, and scripts would strive for quality. Instead, we get flat rates based upon a given theater and the time of the movie showing (as well as the whole 3-D/IMAX surcharge factor). So, we’ve got a frightening number of potential audience members who feel entirely justified in pirating whatever the hell they desire (see this comment thread), and they honestly believe that illegally downloading movies is just like stealing a a loaf of bread when one’s family is starving.
On one end of the spectrum, the Wall Street Journal describes the $20-dollar movie-ticket phenomenon as a mere “psychological barrier” that moviegoers must (sooner rather than later) “overcome.” And let’s not act like film studios wouldn’t have put that price into effect long ago if they thought they could get away with it.
Moral of the Story: There isn’t one really… except that they’re all assholes.
