Can A Luxury Theater Get People To The Theater?

from the might-be-tough dept

We've talked for years about how the movie theater industry's real problem was that the movie-going experience was terrible. The prices went up and the actual experience kept getting worse and worse. That drove people to look for alternatives, such as home theater systems. A simple solution would be to make the experience better and convince movie goers that it was a fun social experience to go out to the movies, to be able to experience the movie in a way that was different from the home theater experience. Last week, we pointed out that some theaters were moving more towards things like IMAX screens, which is a start. However, rob wrote in to point out that a few firms have teamed up to build a series of "luxury theaters" around the country, targeting a higher class of movie-goer willing to spend more for a top notch experience. As Variety explains:

Each complex will sport theaters featuring 40 reclining armchair seats with footrests, digital projection and the capability to screen 2-D and 3-D movies, as well as a lounge and bar serving cocktails and appetizers, a concierge service and valet parking. But the circuit will especially push its culinary offerings -- made-to-order meals like sushi and other theater-friendly foods from on-site chefs (a service button at each seat calls a waiter).

That seems like a step in the right direction... other than the fact that the price is probably going to turn an awful lot of people off. It's $35 per movie ticket, and that doesn't include that special on-site chef food. While it definitely makes sense to charge more for tickets to such a theater, a $35 entrance fee, not including any food seems pretty steep. What's wrong with just making the regular theater experience better?

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Luxury Mobile Operator Not So Luxurious Any More

from the the-rich-and-famous-aren't-that-dumb dept

In late 2005, we were amused by the story of a Japanese company trying to launch a special mobile phone service, called Voce, for the rich and famous in the US. The selling point had little to do with a fancy phone. You would get just a common RAZR. But, for a $1500 entry fee and $500/month (!?!) you would basically get unlimited calls, get a new phone each year and get a full-time concierge service. It's not difficult to recognize why this is a terrible idea. The people who could afford this sort of thing are probably smart enough to recognize they can simply buy themselves a new phone each year and sign up for an unlimited (or close to it) service from one of the big carriers. As for the concierge service, there are plenty of those around -- with most being a lot more established and trustworthy. Soon after launch, the company discovered that no one had signed up. So it dropped prices to a $1000 entry fee and $400/month. That didn't work either. So a year later, it dropped prices again to $500 entry and $200/month. Stunningly, it turns out that the rich and famous are still smart enough to recognize that's not a very good deal either. Well, other than about 2,000 people who actually did sign up. That's really not enough customers to run a business like this, so the company has shut down completely. Amusingly, the way the COO found out the company was shutting down was that his phone stopped working. As Engadget points out, you would think that the Chief Operating Officer would know that the company's operations were being shut down. Apparently not.

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