“Avatar: The Way of Water” (hereinafter referred to as “Avatar 2”), which is regarded as a lifeline at the box office, has performed poorly in the Chinese market.RMB(The same below) The sky-high price of 300 yuan of movie tickets has been questioned by consumers that “Avatar 2” has become a tool for some cinemas to “cut leeks”. The spread of the epidemic has also made people fear to quit.
“Chinese Entrepreneur” reported that since “Avatar 2” was finalized on November 23, cinema owner Wang Qi has been extremely excited every day, setting up equipment, preparing materials, recruiting part-time jobs and pre-purchasing group. it has never been idle for nearly a day.
Wang Qi’s theaters have hardly shown a single “blockbuster” this year, and with the spread of the epidemic, they are basically operating at a loss. Wang Qi regards “Avatar 2” as a life-saving drop, hoping that “Avatar 2” can create another box office myth and save the theater from losing for a whole year.
However, “Avatar 2” was only released for three days, and Wang Qi’s hopes were almost dashed. On the premiere day of “Avatar 2” on December 16, he specially opened a 0 o’clock show, only to sell three tickets and 16 On the 17th, 18th, total sales only exceeded 3,000 yuan. “These three days are not even as good as “Lonely Moon” sold in one day.”
As of December 18, “Avatar 2” had an 8.4 Douban rating and cumulative box office has exceeded 400 million, including 200 million from presales and projections. For ordinary films, this seems to be quite a good result, but for “Avatar”, which once created the myth of cinematic history, it falls far short of expectations.
“Avatar”, released in 2009, is a myth in the mind of every movie fan. The film directed by James Cameron was the world box office champion for ten years with a box office of 3 billion US dollars, and also became the first strong film in China to break through the billion box office mark.
High ticket prices and the epidemic have become two factors to deter the public. In movie theaters in the central areas of first-tier cities, the ticket price for the IMAX special effects hall of “Avatar 2” is mostly around 200 yuan, and some even go as high as 300 yuan or more. In some counties, the ticket price for ordinary theaters is also 50 or 60 yuan, while the price for IMAX special effect theaters is hundreds of yuan.
Some viewers complained, “Watching a movie for two, with popcorn and Coca-Cola, the thousand yuan is gone, and I don’t despise it at all.”
The sky-high price of cinema tickets, which cost two or three hundred yuan, has also been questioned by the public whether “Avatar 2” has become a tool for some cinemas to “cut leeks”.
An industry insider said that behind the “skyrocketing ticket price” there is a “collusion” of the cinemas.
According to the source, on the eve of the release of “Avatar 2”, the cinema specially adapted the names of some “old and small” ordinary halls, such as changing it to “4K Laser Hall”, and the ticket price immediately doubled, but the equipment and screens have not changed at all.
The “Avatar” series is famous for its technological innovation. Many moviegoers prefer to pay more to see special effect theaters than ordinary theaters. This has given many cinemas the space to operate.
“In an ordinary old room, adding Dolby sound effects, laser, giant screen, panorama, 4K, original version and other keywords that sound ‘high-end’ can significantly increase the price.” The person said, these are all routines that the industry is familiar with.
As the epidemic spreads in China, many people have become the first wave of people infected with the new crown and are resting at home. Some temporarily “safe” people are more cautious than before and dare not go to crowded closed places such as cinemas.
Wang Qi said that if there are more than a certain number of people for each session, other people will not dare to buy tickets. One viewer said that in the usual way he would definitely choose the middle position in the fifth and sixth rows, which is recognized as the best viewing position, but now he only dares to choose the corner seat, the further away from the crowd the better.
At the same time, the repayment rate is higher than in the past. Many viewers who bought presale tickets reported experiencing cold and fever symptoms on the same day and asked for a refund. Wang Qi said, “The movie tickets were originally not refundable or exchangeable, but in view of the special period, we will handle all refund requests.”
