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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be shocked at this price!

168 replies

UpAndGoing · 13/04/2020 17:32

Was going to take dd to the cinema to see the new Trolls movie, but for obvious reasons we can't. I heard it was going to be available to rent on Amazon Prime for a one time view, and expected it to be 5 pounds at the most. Turns out the bloody thing costs 16 pounds to view ONCE.
No way in hell am I paying 16 quid for a kids movie you don't even get to keep.

AIBU to be shocked at this price?

OP posts:
Alsohuman · 13/04/2020 17:53

It would cost a lot more to see it in the cinema. We’ve happily paid it for Emma.

dworky · 13/04/2020 17:54

False equivalence stating similar cost at cinema. Watching at home is not comparable to the fully immersive experience of the big screen.

Definitely taking the piss, knowing people have no choice.

notacooldad · 13/04/2020 17:55

How much would the cinema have cost you?
It would have cost me £5.00 for 2 people going on a Monday or Tuesday so that would be £2.50 each!

RaynaJaymes · 13/04/2020 17:57

We rented it for 48 hours
Think ds racked up about 5 viewings in that time. So def got our moneys worth

Isithometimeyet0987 · 13/04/2020 17:58

It would cost more for me, dh and dd to go to the cinema (London) after we’ve bought the snacks and drinks aswell.

Jammydodger1981 · 13/04/2020 17:59

Our tickets are £4 each at the cinema and it would only have been me and dd3 going to see it so it’s twice the price! She’s not that bothered so I think we’ll wait for it to be on tv, we’d have been more likely to pay if it had been £10 so I think they’ve shot themselves in the foot a bit there.

Queenoftheashes · 13/04/2020 17:59

It’s fucking ridiculous and I can’t believe anyone is stupid enough to pay it. The cinema is a commercial building with staff and therefore far higher costs! Not to mention maximum showtimes and capacity limiting numbers. Annoys me as well when books are expensive on kindle when they are supposed to be cheaper due to no printing costs.

user1471517900 · 13/04/2020 18:00

"Knowing people have no choice"

Tories are getting worse aren't they. Forcing people to pay to watch this film.

Smileyaxolotl1 · 13/04/2020 18:04

People saying their tickets are £5 each or even £2.50. Is that for brand new releases?
That’s incredible.
For people in the south east the trolls price is around half of the cinema price but I can see why you wouldn’t want to pay it if it’s actually more expensive.
I do think a lot of people on this thread are not understanding that it’s instead of a cinema release though so can’t be compared to streaking movies on sky premiere for instance which are always months old.

user1485461206 · 13/04/2020 18:04

I’ve paid £16 on sky for it, and I bloody loved it! My daughter left the room halfway through and I sat watching the rest eating her Easter egg, was a cracking afternoon

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe · 13/04/2020 18:06

Oh, it's because it's a new release, isn't it? Not an existing film. That is steep, I agree.

Perhaps it will be out for mainstreaming very soon given that many won't pay the price to stream at home and nobody's going to the cinema anytime soon... hope so anyway.

The cinema popcorn though... Morrisons does a really good range of popcorn, that's the brand we seem to like best.

shineaflight · 13/04/2020 18:06

Get Disney+ instead. By the time she's worked her way through that it'll be cheaper!

NoTeaForMe · 13/04/2020 18:07

notacooldad for a brand new film?

I must admit I thought it would be a bit cheaper but I think you were kidding yourself that it would be £5! I know it’s not the same at home as it is at the cinema but at a big cinema (odeon etc) you’re looking at double that for a family of 4 and then there’s the inevitable drinks and popcorn etc. We’ll be renting it as a treat and making a home cinema with popcorn etc I should think.

perfectstorm · 13/04/2020 18:09

Cinemas have a massive number of overheads - rent, tax, utilities, staffing (inc. HR and all NI implications) insurance and health and safety compliance and assessment, fixtures and fittings and maintaining/replacing/cleaning of those, including windows etc., electronic and IT systems, marketing... the list is endless.

Streaming to your screen has none of the above.

Not to mention the reality that watching on your own tv or laptop/tablet is nothing like sitting in a cinema with a screen larger than the front of most people's houses.

Total false equivalence. And in a lockdown, it's not even as though people can have other kids over to watch it at the same time.

FrankRattlesnake · 13/04/2020 18:09

We paid it, and watched it 3 times in the 48 hours... its awesome!

Teacher12345 · 13/04/2020 18:11

It's on PLEX apparrently. Don't kow how you get the app on your smart TV but if you can, its on there for free.

LightACandleHoney · 13/04/2020 18:12

Two things matter here:

  1. This is INSTEAD of a cinema release. The film studio still needs to make money. No - watching in your own home is not the same as going to the cinema, but none of us can go to the cinema at the minute so this is a way for people to still experience a brand new film while in lockdown.
  1. £16 may be expensive if you are a family of two (1 adult & 1 child), but if you have even 3 people in your family (2 adults,1 child // 1 adult,2 children) then it’s no more than going to the cinema. (And that’s IF you live in an area with a cheaper than usual cinema - plenty don’t.) For MANY families, £16 is a total bargain for the whole family to see a brand new film.

If you don’t like it - don’t pay it. But quit whinging about it.

Ginginwine · 13/04/2020 18:13

It’s a tenner to rent from virgin. Really good.

perfectstorm · 13/04/2020 18:13

Not saying that it's not completely worth it for some, though. It's not hideously expensive if it keeps small kids entertained and happy in a lockdown, and you can afford it! Just that it's besides the point to try to justify it with cinema prices. You might as well argue that you don't mind spending five times more on your groceries because it would cost that in a restaurant. The two aren't comparable.

I think a better argument is that the studio are trying to recoup potential losses, because they released a film into a pandemic. Their costs in creating the movie don't get any smaller, just because the cinemas have shut.

Elephantonascooter · 13/04/2020 18:14

We were also shocked at the price op. 16quid is a lot to watch a film at home in my opinion. It's a shame because I think a lot more people would have paid a 10er to watch it at home and they possibly would have made more money

perfectstorm · 13/04/2020 18:14

X post with LightACandleHoney

Dieu · 13/04/2020 18:14

YANBU.

thethoughtfox · 13/04/2020 18:15

If it helps, you can rewatch it over the next 2/3 days.

recededpronunciation · 13/04/2020 18:15

It costs over £40 for our family of four to go to the nearest not very large or at all impressive cinema, thanks to a lack of competition. I’m more than happy to pay £16 for us to enjoy a new release at home. We make a night of it with our favourite food.

keepingbees · 13/04/2020 18:16

We got it as with 3 children it was cheaper than a cinema trip, but yes it is expensive for what it is.
I'm glad we didn't pay £50+ for the cinema though as it was utter rubbish.