All-Time High

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I still haven't seen the IMAX 3-D Avatar (20th Century Fox's press screenings only showed the regular-sized 3-D version) so last night I bought two tickets on Fandango to a 3:15 pm Friday show at Leows 34th Street. And they hit me for $16 or $17 bucks a pop. I was slightly trembling after the purchase. $32 or $34 dollars for a pair of tickets to a damn film?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 17, 2009 at 2:47 PM

comment #1

moviesquad says ...

I had to pay $15.50 to see "Up In The Air" at the Arclight last week. That was highway robbery for what amounted to a Lifetime Movie of the Week with a more ambiguous ending. Paying $16 to see Avatar on Imax seems like a bargain by comparison.

Posted by moviesquad at December 17, 2009 2:57 PM

comment #2

MeekayD says ...

Fandango charged me $14 plus a $2 "convenience fee" (like I'm not making it more convenient for THEM by selling out their theater days in advance) in my record-breaking purchase.

Sure, it's IMAX, but it's also Dallas, not L.A. or N.Y.

Posted by MeekayD at December 17, 2009 3:13 PM

comment #3

JR530 says ...

I bought four tickets off Fandango for a total of $80 to see it at the AMC Citywalk in Universal City. I'm pretty positive that it's a legit IMAX screen. Other than the pure excitement to see this flick after I viewed the sneak peak, the only other thing that warranted me dishing out $80, was my XMAS bonus. XMAS for IMAX.

Posted by JR530 at December 17, 2009 3:19 PM

comment #4

The Hey says ...

Jeff,

The only decent IMAX in Manhattan is at Lincoln Square. At least you didn't get tix at the dreadful AMC Empire "imax".

Posted by The Hey at December 17, 2009 3:57 PM

comment #5

SamWasson says ...

Wow. Sorry, Jeffrey. With $34, you can buy yourself a martini, a decent burger, and rent at least two of the greatest films ever made. I'd get DOUBLE INDEMNITY and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and call it a day.

Posted by SamWasson at December 17, 2009 4:02 PM

comment #6

erniesouchak says ...

Did that include the 3-D glasses, or will those be extra?

Posted by erniesouchak at December 17, 2009 4:45 PM

comment #7

DeeZee says ...

Well, yeah. That's why 3D won't take off.

Posted by DeeZee at December 17, 2009 5:55 PM

comment #8

corey3rd says ...

for an extra $20 you can get popcorn buttered

Posted by corey3rd at December 17, 2009 6:07 PM

comment #9

JR530 says ...

For an extra $20, I should get popcorn with hole already cut in the bottom of it.

Posted by JR530 at December 17, 2009 7:08 PM

comment #10

nbxzero says ...

Why don't you guys just buy them at the theater? I paid $13.00 for each ticket to an IMAX screening a week ago by purchasing them right from the theater.

Posted by nbxzero at December 17, 2009 7:26 PM

comment #11

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Okay, I have to call a giant give-me-a-fucking-break on Jeff's boo-hooing over having to pay $17 to see this particular film.

Beyond the fact that A) he seldom has to shell out his own green like the rest of us (and has already seen it for gratis last week), and B) this is one film that deserves extra consideration considering that it seems you are getting much more than your everyday 120min cinematic entertainment, there is the fact he routinely plucks down the big clams for B'way shows.

This year alone he seems to have spent something like $200 on shows (GOD OF CARNAGE, STREETCAR). So now he wants to bitch about $34 to share supposedly cinematic history with his son?

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at December 17, 2009 9:10 PM

comment #12

Matthew Starr says ...

Jeff you probably should have gotten tickets for the real IMAX theatre in Lincoln Square.

Posted by Matthew Starr at December 17, 2009 9:17 PM

comment #13

Eloi Manning says ...

Yeah, after paying IMAX prices you'll be disappointed when you see the size of the screen at 34th St.

Posted by Eloi Manning at December 17, 2009 11:17 PM

comment #14

DeeZee says ...

Deathtongue: The Broadway performances have a better roster of actors.

Posted by DeeZee at December 18, 2009 12:11 AM

comment #15

Gordon27 says ...

I can't tell whether DZ hates Tarantino or Worthington more. He talks about them both with the hatred most people reserve for their mother's murderer.

Posted by Gordon27 at December 18, 2009 12:15 AM

comment #16

Jonathan Spuij says ...

So, what did you think of the IMAX version?

Posted by Jonathan Spuij at December 18, 2009 12:22 AM

comment #17

DeeZee says ...

Gordon: I don't hate Worthington. He just comes off out-of-place as a lead.

Posted by DeeZee at December 18, 2009 1:32 AM

comment #18

DeeZee says ...

Oh, and the Arclight has a Q+A w/ Cooper+Duvall on the 19th for Crazy Heart, and a Q+A w/ Reitman on the 21st for Up in the Air.

Posted by DeeZee at December 18, 2009 2:37 AM

comment #19

The Hey says ...

In a related issue, great article by Ty Burr of the Boston Globe about possible projection issues this weekend.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/2009/12/the_avatar_proj.html

Posted by The Hey at December 18, 2009 6:36 AM

comment #20

Lehigh says ...

I paid $31 to reserve 2 tickets for Sunday's showing -- and that's in depressed Michigan.

I'll kill if there are projection issues. Saw Princess and the Frog, and after having the screen matted for the trailers, nobody moved the shade screens for the feature. As a result, the movie was being projected onto the matting screen. I looked around for 15 seconds, and saw nobody doing anything, so I left the theater to tell someone to fix it.

Five days later I'm watching Up in the Air, and about 20 minutes in, for whatever reason, the projector changed lenses and starting projecting in a 2.35 instead of the 16:9 ratio. Again I looked around for 15 seconds, again no one moves, again I leave the theater to tell someone to fix it. There was a sound sync issue that never quite got fixed, either.

I'm flabbergasted at the movie public's willingness to sit through shit projection. I know this is a pet peeve of Jeff's, but it's like they don't even notice.

Posted by Lehigh at December 18, 2009 6:51 AM

comment #21

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

16 bucks for IMAX 3-D strikes me as cheap for NYC., no? Regular IMAX is 15 here in SF; I paid 14 bucks last week for "Up In the Air" because Cinemark had it on their new "Extreme Digital" screen, whateverthefuck that is. Didn't seem any different or better than their usual projection (which was 11 bucks).

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at December 18, 2009 7:03 AM

comment #22

rr3333 says ...

If you have a Visa Signature Credit Card, you can buy 1 and get 1 free online.

Tell them RR sent ya!

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Posted by rr3333 at December 18, 2009 11:22 AM

comment #23

Bob Violence says ...

Tickets for Birth of a Nation came out to $40 a pop adjusted for inflation, we've got a little ways to go before we hit the "all time" mark

Posted by Bob Violence at December 19, 2009 8:51 AM

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comment #27

atish says ...

Five days later I'm watching Up in the Air, and about 20 minutes in, for whatever reason, the projector changed lenses and starting projecting in a 2.35 instead of the 16:9 ratio. Again I looked around for 15 seconds, again no one moves, again I leave the theater to tell someone to fix it. There was a sound sync issue that never quite got fixed, either.
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comment #28

badpete says ...

The only decent IMAX in Manhattan is at Lincoln Square. At least you didn't get tix at the dreadful AMC Empire "imax".

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comment #29

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comment #30

atish says ...

I'm pretty positive that it's a legit IMAX screen. Other than the pure excitement to see this flick after I viewed the sneak peak, the only other thing that warranted me dishing out $80, was my XMAS bonus. XMAS for IMAX.
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