Nearly 25 euros at the Gaumont in Montpellier in an Imax or 4DX theater: are the price of cinema tickets really too expensive ?

Les prix des places pratiqués par les cinémas multiplexes, dans certaines conditions, comme ici au Gaumont Multiplexe Montpellier, font l'objet de critiques encore plus fortes en période de pouvoir d'achat en berne. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

If these are maximum price levels, most often practiced by multiplexes, the average was, in 2022, rather around 7.20 euros, according to the National Federation of Cinemas French (FNCF), which wants to "reestablish some truths and some preconceived ideas".

It’is, according to Jacques Font, owner of the Méga Castillet multiplex cinema, in Perpignan, a "chestnut", a "recurring topic". The price of cinema tickets never ceases to provoke reactions. It regularly comes to the surface and becomes even more sensitive in periods of declining purchasing power.

And yet, the debate cannot help but come to the surface. A quick detour to the website of the Gaumont Multiplexe Montpellier cinema is enough to see this. For a screening for "Godzilla x King : the new empire" in an Imax theater or in 4DX, you will have to pay, at full price , the sum of 24.60 euros. In the normal version, it’s 15.60 euros.

The promise of a "spectacular experience"

Certainly, we promise you a "spectacular experience, with an extraordinary screen, a monumental room and breathtaking sound", nonetheless, the total is close to 75 euros for a couple with one child (who would still pay 16.90 euros if they have less aged 14).

So, cinema is too expensive? In 2022, the National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) had established an evolution of the average price of tickets over the last 20 years, of 1992 to 2022. And, above all, compared it to the evolution of inflation, the story of "reestablishing some truths and some preconceived ideas" . Result : the average price was 7.20 euros, up 2.3 %, when inflation was showing a increase of 5.2%.

"It’has become a luxury to satisfy your passion"

"It’has become a luxury to satisfy one’s passion, explains Colette, 74 years old, living in Agde. Now, I select my cinema screenings, which are however 7.30 for a city like Agde". "Since cinema tickets are so expensive, I've given up going", adds Nicole, who lives in Béziers. "Which family with one or two children can afford to pay a minimum of 60 euros for four, not counting the passage to the counter of sweets and other ice creams and popcorn, whose prices& ;nbsp;border on indecency ?", asks François, residing in Jacou, near Montpellier.

According to the National Federation of French Cinemas, the price of cinema tickets is growing less quickly than inflation.

"To say that prices are high is very simplistic, reacts Raphaël Vion, director of two independent cinemas, in Sète . It is the big circuits which display the most expensive seats and not the cinemas like ours". He specifies that the average price at his two cinemas is 6.20 euros. "In our rooms, prices are based on the local clientele, they are adapted according to socio-economic considerations", adds Daniel Vidal , co-director of the Le Sémaphore cinema, in Nîmes.

"Technological solutions find their audience"

He nevertheless recognizes that each type of cinema has its audience. "The high cost of cinema must be put into perspective, insists- he. The public is free to choose their room and the prices charged. There are people for whom paying 18 euros for a cinema ticket is not a problem. Knowing that major circuits like Pathé or CGR "offer premium packages" and that the "technological solutions they propose find their audience".

The subscription strategy

With the rise in the price of cinema tickets, the different networks have developed their services. an aggressive subscription policy. Just to sweeten the bill. Pathé, for its Gaumont Multiplexes, has set up monthly subscriptions ranging from 18.40 euros (for those under 26) to €18.40 (for those under 26). 37.90 euros (for two). Kinépolis, which has a fitness room. Nîmes, launches its "Movie Club" &agrav; 8.95 euros per month for… a cinema seat. At Sémaphore, also at N&imes, the ten-session subscription, valid for one year, brings the place back to normal. 6.50 euros. At Méga Castillet, à Perpignan, where the base price is 11.90 euros, the 20-seat card allows you to benefit from a session at the same time. 7.50 euros. "I'm going two à three times a week at the cinema. I pay the minimum because I take cards of 10 credits, transferable what's more: , says H&lène, Montpelli&eacute ;raine, who frequents the three cinemas "which have reasonable prices", between 4 and 7&nbsp ;euros, which are Utopia, Diagonal and Nestor Burma.

"We are a family with three children and in the age of streaming and other more or less legal means of accessing new releases online ;rsquo;show, the prohibitive price charged in certain cinemas really doesn't help", says Barbara. Because, "with 30 euros for two, there is enough to have a nice little romantic meal instead". Interested one Sunday morning with a screening, with her husband, at the Gaumont Comédie cinema, in Montpellier, and "surprised, even stunned" by a place at "almost 15 euros per person".

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