Local theater chain wants to raise prices

One of the advantages of being a moviegoer in Thailand is the relatively cheap ticket prices. For around US$2.50, you can get an assigned seat in a clean, new air-conditioned cinema for the latest movie. Another buck or two gets you popcorn and a Coke. So a night out with your girlfriend at the movie need not break your piggy bank.

But, I was horrified to learn today from an article in The Nation that one of the local chains is thinking about doubling its prices. Take a date, and you're looking at lightening your wallet by close to 20 bucks, if you go for the Cokes, corn and candy. That's too much to bear in Thailand, where foreigners make decent enough living wages, but not so much that a movie every weekend will be on the agenda with prices like that.

If the EGV theater chain does boost its prices and the other chains follow, I'll have to return to my stateside practice of being more selective about what films I'll go see. There was a time when I was living in the States when I didn't go to any films for like years, instead contenting myself to stay at home and catch whatever was on cable or video. It was only when a truly special film that must be seen in the theater to be appreciated was playing that I'd be drawn back to the cinemas.

I'm not so sure EGV will follow through. And even if they do, the other chains will likely hold their prices down in order to be competitive. Keep in mind, this is a country where Bt100 a day (about the cost of a movie ticket), is the average wage. So going out to the movies represents a big expenditure on the part of Thais, even though it seems like peanuts to relatively well-paid foreigners.

EGV is in a world of hurt, and the article only alluded to it. The chain has way overbuilt in the last couple of years, building vast new multiplexes and renovating old ones. Trouble is, they were operating below capacity most of the time anyway. Even so, even at off-peak times, they are understaffed at the ticket counters, creating big bottlenecks in the lobbies as people queue up.

They are also the chain that embarked on the idiotic "drive-in" restaurant concept at one theater (Seacon Square), having patrons sit in fake cars for dinner and movie. Okay, the idea ain't that bad - like Jack Rabbit Slim's in Pulp Fiction - but the prices are a bit high and the food ain't that great.

That said, I want to be fair to ol' EGV. Their hotline reservation system works great. Take last night for instance. I wanted to see Master and Commander. I saw from the Movieseer listings that they had a 9 o'clock show down the road from where I work at the Major Cineplex.

Then I got there, only to find the flick was only showing in the Emperor Class theater, where you get a big easy chair to sit in, but the cost is 500 baht (close to $12). This has happened to me before and I have some words for it: bait and switch. That's all I'm going to say about that. I voted with my feet and my fingers, dailing the EGV hotline as I turned around and walked out of Major.

A very nice woman answered the phone and spoke perfect English. "Yes, we have Master and Commander at 9 o'clock at Seacon. How many seats would you like?" She knows what I like. Toward the back, in the center. Just remember the four-digit reservation code she gives you and be there 30 minutes beforehand. But, even if you aren't, through that hotline, you've had the showtime and admission price confirmed and a seat virtually reserved.

Major and other theaters have hotlines, but have cumbersome answering systems with menus in Thai. If you're a barbarian English speaker like me, you hang up in frustration before you can find out any solid information.