U.S. movie theaters have been outstanding at extracting money from their patrons with expensive snacks. A $10/ticket experience can easily be upgraded to another $10-$15+/person with popcorn, soft drinks etc. In truth I understand that the business model for movie theaters depends on this “cross-sell” to survive.
Well AMC has taken share of wallet to a whole new level with the dine in movie experience. This combination of a movie and complete dinner, waiter/waitress served is an interesting option. I was unaware of its existence and had the chance to try it here in Olathe, KS. Based on this experience, I say it has merit, and drawbacks.
Firstly, the food and service were excellent and the food pricing fair for the product delivered. And my dinner was much more expensive than my usual popcorn and soft-drink so the added value caused an increased share of wallet, thus allowing AMC to make more money.
The negatives, for me, were potential interruption of the movie experience by the waiter and excess noise from the other diners. As it was a Tuesday night the theater was fairly empty and the wait staff was reasonably unobtrusive. This theater allowed kids, and one dad insisted on admonishing his child’s food choices … loudly. I suspect that in a full theater the experience might be off-putting, at least to me.
However, I would definitely do it again and it is an excellent example of increasing share of wallet by increasing the value-add.
Mitch
