AMC Is Right To Try Surge Pricing, But The Batman Is The Wrong Way To Do It

thegamer.com:

AMC is testing out a surge pricing system by charging cinemagoers more money to see The Batman, in a move that has roundly been condemned as a scummy cash-grab. There's a little more to it than that, however. I hate to side with the megacorps, but surge pricing for cinemas isn't the worst idea in the world, although this might be the single worst way you could trial it - especially from an optics point of view.

I love the cinema. I go most weekends, often to see a double feature. The last two weeks I've also been to midweek showings. In 2022, I've caught ten different pictures on the big screen, and have watched 149 movies in total. The Batman will be my 150th of the year if I don't watch anything else over the weekend, which I likely will. This isn't a brag - Christ, I mean... obviously - but it is important context. Most people who complain about the cinema being too expensive don't go very often, and probably aren't getting the best out of it. This goes double (or triple, or quadruple) if they're taking their kids to see the latest animated toy commercial and have to shell out for multiple tickets.

Related: Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, And Paul Dano Interview - Behind The Batman

For me, paying £13 a month to go as often as I want feels like a fair deal. Considering we're only just into March, let's call it five movies a month, each costing £2.60 each. The cinema gets the regular, reliable income from my subscription (plus the money I spend on concessions), and I get to watch movies at a much lower price than their ticket value. Of course, not everyone will get this same value from a subscription, which is why they pay at the door, which is why they think it's too expensive. Whether I've found a loophole in the high