Cinema as very expensive entertainment. Multiplex also charges a fee for buying a ticket online

We live in a time when viewers can choose movies and series from the extensive video library of Netflix or Disney+ from the comfort of their couch at home, for a regular monthly price that roughly corresponds to one visit to the cinema.

For example, a monthly subscription to the Max service starts at 219 crowns, with Netflix, the cheapest option is 20 crowns more expensive. Disney+ can be purchased for 199 CZK per month, and Prime Video from Amazon is available extra cheaply, for example, where the customer pays only 79 CZK. The purely Czech Voyo streaming service from Nova TV will cost 159 CZK.

Cinemas in general were harmed by this new competition in combination with the covid-19 pandemic in terms of attendance. In the Czech Republic, the record year of 2019, when 18.3 million people found their way to the cinema, will probably not be repeated, but the situation seems to have stabilized. Last year’s attendance of 13.3 million viewers was only 200,000 or one percent lower compared to 2022, according to data from the Union of Film Distributors.

It seems that the need for a cultural experience in the form of a visit to the cinema remains rooted in society. On the other hand, the price that people pay for it is higher year after year, as evidenced by last year’s sales, which were more than seven percent higher year-on-year compared to 2022. The higher prices are also evidenced by the data of the Czech Statistical Office, from which it follows that for less than for three years, the price of a cinema ticket increased by an average of 16.5 percent to 167 crowns.

Looking at the current CineStar price list, the cheapest ticket can be purchased through the application for 179 CZK. But the condition is to have a membership and an application. In case of purchase on the website, the ticket is ten crowns more expensive, when paying only at the box office, you will pay 209 CZK. Without membership, the customer pays even 229 CZK at the checkout.

Prices are even higher at Cinema City. As recently pointed out by the Kinomaniak server, the company slightly increased the price of admission. Starting in November, a basic ticket without membership will cost a visitor 240 CZK, with a loyalty card 20 crowns cheaper.

Cinema pricing is then crowned by the so-called handling fee when buying a ticket online, which is 24 CZK per ticket. Thus, while the competing CineStar rewards the viewer with a discount for buying online compared to the box office, it “punishes” him for the same behavior in Cinema City. This is also noticed by people on social networks who are surprised by the fee.

For example, a family of four can afford only this fee for a family ticket of 80 CZK, without it being clear what it actually costs.

The editor’s question, what people are paying for in this case, left Cinema City without an answer. “We allow our customers to choose whether to buy tickets online or buy them directly in the cinema at the box office or through an ATM for a more favorable price. Our loyalty program also offers, among other things, a reduction in the ticket price with each purchase. We continue to strive to provide the best and quality movie experiences and we do not stop looking for innovative ways to offer our customers added value,” replied the operator.

There is a possibility that Cinema City covers the fees of the card companies with the handling fee, but the company itself refutes this. “Manipulation fee means a fee of CZK 24 (CZK 20 for the family offer) for using the online purchase of a ticket to visit any multiplex cinema operated by us. This is not a fee for payment by credit card. The fee is charged when the customer purchases a ticket via the website,” the company’s general terms and conditions state.

And the rich price confusion of both multiplex networks does not end there. The prices mentioned above do not apply to visitors in Prague and Brno. On the contrary, you will pay extra, and not exactly a little. In CineStar, compared to the rest of the country, they will pay a surcharge of CZK 26, and at Cinema City even CZK 45 per ticket. For people without a membership, or with an additional fee, such as 3D projection, an amount starting with a three may appear on the ticket.

If, in addition to the ticket price, we add popcorn and a drink or other refreshments purchased at the cinema box office, then a visit for one person will easily cost 500 CZK or more.

Once in a while, multiplexes lower ticket prices for visitors, at least during various discount events, such as “cheap Tuesday”, or through a loyalty card, where points are recorded for each ticket purchase, which the viewer can later exchange for a ticket or refreshments.

Only traditional cinemas, which are not part of a larger multi-cinema network, offer a permanently cheaper alternative. These cinemas generally have prices lower by a few tens of crowns. For example, in Světozor in Prague, a ticket can most often be bought in the range of 160 to 175 crowns, but sometimes it costs even less. Audiences at the Scala Cinema in Brno or the Metropol Cinema in Olomouc usually pay 160 CZK. In smaller cities with single-screen cinemas, the price can be even lower.