First appeared in Detroit Free Press
Joshua Thompson loves the movies.
But he hates the prices theaters charge for concessions like
pop and candy.
This week, the 20-something security technician from Livonia
decided to do something about it: He filed a class action in Wayne County
Circuit Court against his local AMC theater in hopes of forcing theaters
statewide to dial down snack prices.
"He got tired of being taken advantage of," said
Thompson's lawyer, Kerry Morgan of Wyandotte. "It's hard to justify prices
that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else."
American Multi Cinema, which operates the AMC theater in
Livonia, wouldn't comment on the suit. A staffer at the National Association of
Theatre Owners in Washington, D.C., angrily hung up the phone when asked about
industry snack pricing practices.
Although consumer experts predicted that the case will be
dismissed, it struck a chord Friday with area moviegoers, who said they're
tired of being soaked on movie munchies.
"The prices are ridiculous," Rebecca Motley, 55, a
self-employed Southfield physician, said while leaving the AMC Star Southfield
20.
Motley said she and her office manager spent $5 each for
morning movie tickets and $11 each for soft drinks and popcorn.
"When I was a kid, $1 could get you into the movies and
buy you a pop and popcorn. But not anymore," Motley said. "I don't
know how kids can go on their own to a movie anymore."
Timothy Fells, 29, part owner of a Redford Township gym,
agreed with Motley.
"Movie concession prices are extremely high, and that's
why I don't stop at the snack bar very often," he said while leaving the
AMC theater in Southfield.
Thompson didn't want to be interviewed because he doesn't
want any notoriety, Morgan said. But Thompson said in his lawsuit that he used
to take his own pop and candy to the AMC in Livonia until the theater posted a
sign banning the practice.
On Dec. 26, he paid $8 for a Coke and a package of Goobers
chocolate-covered peanuts at the Livonia theater -- nearly three times the
$2.73 he paid for the same items at a nearby fast-food restaurant and drug
store, the suit said.
The suit accused AMC theaters of violating the Michigan
Consumer Protection Act by charging grossly excessive prices for snacks.
The suit seeks refunds for customers who were overcharged, a
civil penalty against the theater chain and any other relief Judge Kathleen
Macdonald might grant.
Two consumer lawyers predicted that Macdonald will dismiss
the suit.
"It's a loser," said Gary Victor, an Eastern
Michigan University business law professor. He said state Supreme Court
decisions in 1999 and 2007 exempted most regulated businesses from the Michigan
Consumer Protection Act.
Added Ian Lyngklip, a nationally known consumer lawyer in
Southfield: "Movie theaters are regulated, so the lawsuit won't go
anywhere"
Victor, an avid moviegoer, agreed that snack prices are
excessive at theaters. That's why he shuns the concession counter unless he's
with a date.
Griping about excessive prices at the theater concession is
a time-honored tradition, says Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for
www.hollywood.com , a movie industry website.
"But like high airline prices, it's just one of those
things that we've become accustomed to because we don't have any control over
it," he added.
Although movie ticket sales are down -- 1.2 million tickets
were sold last year compared with 1.6 million in 2002 -- he said a difficult
economy mainly is to blame, not snack prices.
To cope with the issue, some consumers eat before or after
they go to the movies, or resort to smuggling.
Fells said he sometimes smuggles Gummi Bears into the
theater to save money.
Kristy Belanger, 20, a real estate secretary from Redford
Township who showed up at the AMC in Livonia on Friday to see a movie with her
boyfriend, concealed two bottles of Pepsi in her purse.
"I did it to save money, and I feel like I did,"
she said, adding that what she saved on Pepsi enabled her to buy a $4.74
serving of nachos to share with her beau.
