KEY POINTS:
Kiwi moviegoers will gladly pay top dollar for a night at the flicks, the country's cinema industry claims, as ticket prices continue their steady march north.
A Herald on Sunday survey of New Zealand cinemas found a single Saturday night multiplex ticket now costs up to $15.50 - and that's before approaching the candy bar - bringing fresh concern that going to the movies may soon be out of reach for ordinary Kiwis.
Luxury seating at the same cinemas costs up to $35. Standard tickets at independent "boutique", "luxury" or "art house" cinemas around the country are generally $1 to $2 cheaper, our survey found.
Bill Hood, executive director of the Motion Picture Distributors Association, said cinema owners had been scrambling to install luxury seating, mega-screens and menus extending beyond popcorn and drinks, in an effort to boost admission numbers, which have been declining for the past two years.
Their efforts appeared to be paying off. "Admissions for this year are so far up 9.51 per cent on last year."
He defended cinemas which are raising their prices.
A month ago, SkyCity raised its Friday, Saturday and Sunday admission prices by 50c to $15.50.
"There has always been increases, slow and sure," said Hood. "But what commodity or service has not risen in price?"
Kiwi filmgoers were getting better value for money than a few years ago, he claimed.
"Cinemas are now 100 per cent, totally consumer-friendly. Almost every cinema in the country has been at least refurbished over the past 10 years. The quality of cinema and the whole entertainment package at exhibition level has changed."
As of December last year, the average ticket price across New Zealand cinemas was $9.55, Hood said. But that took into account all the different price options and structures, including kids' prices and "cheap Tuesdays".
In reality, if you're an adult and want to catch a flick after 5pm on any day but Tuesday, expect to pay about $15.
Stuart McInnes, managing director of Hoyts NZ, said only 20 per cent of customers paid the top price. He said the company's new 10-screen multiplex at Sylvia Park in east Auckland - featuring the world's largest fixed 35mm projection screen, a cinema with bean bags instead of seats, and four luxury "La Premiere" zones - was performing "fantastically" well.
A standard ticket there cost $15, a price that hadn't moved for two years, he said. Five years ago, though, tickets were about $12.
"Fifteen dollars will get you an experience that won't be bettered anywhere in the world," he claimed. "There is no set formula in how we review our prices. We have achieved growth through enhancing the quality of the experience. And we have tried to keep ourselves affordable."
But editor of flicks.co.nz Paul Scantlebury said rising prices meant fewer people could afford to go to the movies. He denied the standard multiplex movie experience had improved in line with rising prices and said film lovers constantly complained to him about value for money.
"When you go to a multiplex and have to pay $15 it's a bit rich because of the overall standard and service.
"I can't imagine anything worse than visiting a big multiplex, like the Queen St one. It's pretty awful. Even the candy is 50c more, and you can tell the staff are on minimum wage and most of them just don't care."
He said while you could never beat the big-screen experience, it was understandable, for families especially, to forgo expensive tickets and popcorn in favour of watching a DVD at home for a fraction of the price.
"The only thing that the movies has left these days is selling the place and the experience.
"With a good cinema it's worth it for a film fan, but when you go to certain multiplexes and every time there's a sound problem, a picture problem or useless staff, that's when it's pretty poor."
Richard Dalton, owner of Auckland's independent Lido Cinema, where a standard adult ticket costs $14, said big companies like SkyCity just "kept on going" with price rises, while smaller operators held out.
He said there was no issue in the quality of smaller cinemas. "We are actually probably better than them."
He said he wouldn't be surprised if SkyCity's latest rise "backfired" in terms of admission numbers.
However, he believed all operators would be reviewing prices again come April, if the minimum wage went up. "Cinemas are a labour-intensive environment. Wages amount to about a third of our costs."
Kevin Peterson is joint managing director of Video Ezy NZ and chairman of the NZ Video Dealers Association. He said the rental industry hadn't reviewed prices in 10 years. Overnight rental for a new release was usually about $8.
He believed more families were finding it difficult to afford a night out at the cinema.
"There have been huge sales of plasma TVs, big screens and home surround sound. People can now get the full digital experience at home, without the hassle."
At United Video in Grey Lynn, a new-release DVD costs $6 overnight, or two for $10.
Prices there had gone down from $8 a new release two years ago, as a result of a new owner taking over the business, an employee told the Herald on Sunday.
