Movie Tickets 30,000 Won for 2 People... Audience Burden Increases Due to Harsh Movie Prices

Theater Scene Returns to Pre-Pandemic Days
Megabox Raises Movie Ticket Prices Following CGV and Lotte Cinema

Seoul CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall is bustling with citizens. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As movie ticket prices continue to rise, the burden on audiences is growing. Since the lifting of social distancing measures, a series of highly anticipated films have been released, drawing crowds to theaters. However, due to the sharply increased ticket prices, some argue that using online streaming services (OTT) like Netflix is more advantageous.

With the easing of COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the number of moviegoers is rapidly increasing. According to the integrated ticketing system for movie theaters, the cumulative number of visitors from June 1 to 30 reached 15.46 million. Sales amounted to 158.1 billion KRW. This is about 1 million more than the 14.5 million visitors in May, with sales increasing by approximately 7.4 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, when films like "The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It" were screened, both audience numbers and sales have more than tripled.

Although movie theaters, which were hit hard by COVID-19, are seeing a return of audiences, the cost of admission is becoming increasingly burdensome. Currently, the three major multiplex chains have successively raised ticket prices, with weekend adult 2D movie tickets now costing 15,000 KRW.

Earlier, Megabox raised the price of 2D general admission tickets (adult) to 14,000 KRW on weekdays and 15,000 KRW on weekends starting July 4. Prices for general, comfort, and MX theaters increased by 1,000 KRW, while special theaters such as Dolby Cinema and The Boutique Suite saw increases of 2,000 to 5,000 KRW. CGV raised prices to similar levels on April 4, and Lotte Cinema followed on July 1.

This is related to the stagnation of the film industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, social distancing guidelines have imposed restrictions such as bans on eating and drinking inside theaters and spacing out seats, leading to a sharp decline in audiences. Meanwhile, fixed costs such as labor and maintenance expenses have increased, worsening the business situation. Megabox also stated regarding the recent price hike, "Due to continuous increases in fixed costs, it has become difficult to recover through internal measures alone, making a price increase unavoidable."

The cinema in Seoul is bustling with visitors./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Consumers are voicing dissatisfaction over the successive movie ticket price hikes. While they understand the losses caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the viewing environment remains unchanged, yet ticket prices have steadily increased. In particular, some say that when adding the cost of popcorn and drinks to the 15,000 KRW ticket price, the total approaches 30,000 KRW, which is a significant burden.

Office worker Kim (27) said, "Before COVID, if a good movie came out, I would watch it two or three times, but these days, the prices have gone up a lot, so watching the same movie multiple times is burdensome. Now, the price of one movie ticket is comparable to a hearty meal. When a new release comes out, it's more economical to wait and watch it on OTT."

There are concerns that the increase in movie ticket prices could reduce audience demand. Currently, the price for watching one movie is not much different from the monthly subscription fee for OTT services like Netflix. The Netflix Standard plan currently costs 13,500 KRW per month. This means more people might choose OTT over going directly to the theater to watch movies.

Popular culture critic Jung Deokhyun said, "During the pandemic, audiences have become accustomed to watching movies in new ways through OTT. Therefore, now that social distancing has been lifted and it is easier to go to theaters, audiences will question why they should bother going to the cinema to watch movies."

Jung added, "Action blockbuster films allow for immersion thanks to the unique atmosphere of theaters. This is why audiences are willing to pay high ticket prices to go to the cinema. Ultimately, theaters need to provide entertaining content that audiences find worth the cost."