A new survey released by PricewaterhouseCoopers this week revealed that more than half of those polled don’t go to the movies more often because of rising ticket prices. As usual, the average cost of a movie ticket is at all time high, its nationwide mean coming in at $8.08 per stub (which, to New Yorkers, is still a bargain basement price.)
Does this factor into the decreasing audience for movie theaters and lower box-office revenue? It’s more than likely, as high ticket prices were the biggest reason given by respondents. PWC asked consumers why they don’t go to the movies more often and offered 18 potential reasons for rejecting the multiplex. Respondents were allowed to choose three—the ten most cited reasons were then published.
The clear winner was “Ticket prices are too high,” with 53% of respondents listing that as a cause. The second most popular reason speaks to the creative dearth of Hollywood’s excessive reboots and remakes: “Movies are not as interesting as they once were.” Advances in technology and the cultural shift to streaming and DVR gave rise to the third most popular reason: “Prefer movies ‘on my own schedule.’”
It’s not all economic and technological reasons however—#10 on the poll just proves the universal conceit that sometimes, people are just jerks: Ten percent of respondents complained that “Too many people use photos and tablets in theaters.” This means, however, that the other 90 percent are the inconsiderate majority, checking Instagram and playing Candy Crush in the middle of the movie they just paid too much to see.
Here’s the top ten reasons and percentage of respondents who chose them:
- Ticket prices are too high – 53%
- Movies are not as interesting as they once were – 41%
- Prefer movies “on my own schedule” – 30%
- Prefer to spend money on other activities – 29%
- Can see movies at home shortly after theatrical release – 24%
- Prefer going out to dinner – 19%
- Don’t have as much disposable income as a year ago – 18%
- Decline in overall theater experience – 16%
- Online content is equally entertaining – 13%
- Too many people using phones and tablets in theaters – 10%
What keeps you from going to the movies more often? Let us know in the comments!