I do. Tuesdays used to be famous for being $2 Tuesdays at movie theatres across the land.
Then the price of going to the cinema began to rise. Two dollar Tuesdays became half price Tuesdays…then prices soared until movie admissions were in the range of $13. These days, most theatres have adopted a single admission price (in the $9 to $10 range)…at the expense of matinee prices, children’s prices, and senior’s prices.
Those toonie Tuesdays were consigned to history (that misty time known as the 1980s!), and big time Hollywood sought to soak us for every penny we had…offering mostly various degrees of celluloid crap in return. Going to the movies was akin to paying first class fare & being forced to sit in economy class, between two fat people smelling of urine!
And yet…lo and behold…what did my eyes spot on the CBC website today? Cheapo Tuesdays are pulling a Lazarus on the world:
COMING SOON: Cheap movie nights
Last Updated Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:02:55 EDT
CBC News
Cinema companies are hoping to bring moviegoers back to theatres by introducing cheap movie nights.
Cineplex Entertainment has chosen Winnipeg and Ottawa as test markets for a discounted movie deal. Starting Tuesday, film fans in both cities can buy adult admission, a regular drink and a small popcorn all for $10 — half the price of a similar bundle any other day of the week, and the same price as a movie ticket alone.
In Winnipeg, Cineplex is offering the deal at its Silver City Polo Park and St. Vital locations, as well as its theatre at Kildonan Place.
The Ottawa test sites are the Cineplex Odeon South Keys, Silver City Gloucester, Coliseum Ottawa and Cineplex Odeon Barrhaven.
Cineplex officials will monitor the program over the next few weeks and use the test markets to establish prices for discounted movie nights for the rest of the country.
Hmm…ok, it’s not exactly $2 Tuesdays, but it’s a start.
That said, it’s a paltry offering. With competition from the internet, you’d think movie theatre chains would be offering better deals than this. But prices remain high, and it’s almost as much to see a movie at Cineplex as it is to attend a decent play in a large city. These days, I don’t go near the big theatres unless it’s a movie I absolutely want to see. Discount theatres and second-run houses offer nearly the same experience at almost half the price.
The big guys are going to have to do a hell of a lot more than this to get me to become a regular. Stadium Seating and endless commercials before the film aren’t worth sacrificing my first born. The films being offered these days don’t exactly tempt me either…
