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《新蝙蝠侠》大卖,电影票价飞涨时代来临?

Dan Reilly
2022-03-27

电影的观赏价值与需求驱动了价格的提升。

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今年3月,共有数百万美国人走进影院观看《新蝙蝠侠》(The Batman),若你也是其中一员,你所花费的票价就很有可能比其它同期电影要高。中国的春节档电影也是同样情况,国家电影局数据显示,今年除夕至初六电影平均票价为52.8元,创历史新高。

这种所谓的大片溢价现象到底从何而来?近期,AMC院线(AMC Theatres)的首席执行官亚当·阿伦谈及他在连锁影院实施的“可变定价”试验,其中高需求量的电影票价被调高,超越了同期影片的水平。

根据媒体《Deadline》的数据,《新蝙蝠侠》首映周末便为北美票房贡献了1.34亿美元,在AMC院线的平均票价为14.50美元,其它同期电影的平均票价则为13.22美元。

AMC并非首个采取溢价策略的院线。2021年年底,《蜘蛛侠:英雄无归》(Spider-Man: No Way Home)上映数日内,Regal和Cinemark便分别将其票价上调了82美分与67美分,而AMC则涨了71美分。然而观众并不会因此望而却步,该片的美国首映票房恰好稳过2.6亿美元大关。

影院之所以持续采取这种“价格飙升”、“可变定价”或“动态定价”策略——显然是为了弥补新冠疫情带来的损失。两年几近停摆后,随着新冠疫苗推出、口罩限制令放松,人们对新冠疫情也不再像之前那么恐惧,大家开始回归影院,对院线而言,每一美元的票价都弥足珍贵。况且,优质产品的小幅提价对消费者而言并不陌生。

Comscore的高级媒体分析师保罗·德加拉贝迪安说:“电影的动态定价十分常见,例如周二特价日或者平时日场的票价会更便宜,比如儿童、成人与老人的票价各不相同。日常各类消费都会出现价格变化,现在的Lyft和Uber就更是如此。很多企业都会动态定价,不同的商品和服务也会出现涨价。但电影行业以前并没有这类涨价现象,是如今电影的观赏价值与需求驱动了价格的提升。”

B. Riley Financial的高级分析师埃里克·沃尔德补充道:“我认为电影业早该出现动态定价了。很多人唯一担忧的就是时机问题。如今新冠疫情尚未结束,通货膨胀依然存在,经济现状堪忧——人们会担心开启电影特殊定价的时机是否成熟。”

影院方必定认为答案是肯定的。安永(EY)的美国媒体与娱乐部主管约翰·哈里森指出:“从2020年至2021年,影院的确度过了一段十分艰难的时期,重新开放后基本处于复苏阶段。影院希望能够在提升入座率的同时驱动经济效益,因此每一美元的提价都至关重要。基于影院现状,这些热门大片的票价飙升也是情有可原的。”

《蜘蛛侠:英雄无归》连锁影院周末首映票价上涨,票房大获成功。图片来源:Courtesy of Columbia Pictures/Sony

大片涨价也带来了一个关键问题——低成本独立电影应该如何定价?考虑到这些影片在上线流媒体平台之前有45天的院线窗口期,影院是否会为了吸引观众而利用折扣为低入座率电影卖座?

目前为止,大型电影公司与独立电影工作室都未对可变定价做出任何评论,AMC也拒绝透露与华纳兄弟(Warner Bros.)合作上映《新蝙蝠侠》是否存在特殊收入分配。如今,AMC与其他院线均已经设定票价,但升价后影院具体可以得到多少收入,并未有清晰的模板说明。

只要不影响入座率,并且能够带来较高的票房回报率,华纳与其他电影工作室大约都可以接受涨价。然而《财富》杂志采访的专家们均表示希望了解提价的结果究竟如何。对于能够保证高入座率的电影IP,电影工作室是否会继续提价?是否会为了提高低入座率电影的档期与票房而提供票价折扣?是否会因为特定电影票价降低而认为其质量不及同期?

北美院线联盟(Exhibitor Relations)的高级媒体分析师杰夫·博克说:“我希望‘可变定价’的影响是双向的。对那些在首映周末爆火的电影,院线的动态定价是有利的。毕竟广告宣传费已经花出去了,影院至少会想方设法吸引人们来看。但影院方与电影工作室之间肯定要有商量。负责定价的是影院,若票价过低,电影工作室必定不乐意。因此,若确定开启动态定价,肯定要事先做好沟通。”

德加拉贝迪安则反对这一观点。他说:“最基本的问题是,你要怎么跟一个电影制造商说‘其他同期电影票价15美元,但你的电影票价就值10美元’?如果是大片,就不存在这种行业性问题,你可以说:‘这部电影制作成本极高,需求量巨大,因此我们要涨价。’但若情况相反,此时独立电影的价值会突然被贬低,进而导致票价下降。我认为这样将酿成对行业无益的滑坡现象。”

影院座位的方位与质量可能将成为另一种可变定价的因素。3月1日的财报线上会议中,AMC的首席执行官亚当·阿伦便暗示了这一点,表示公司不怕风险,愿意“大胆创新”。他说:“欧洲的影院会对最佳座位收取额外费用,就像体育赛事、演唱会与剧院等行业一样。”

沃尔德认为观众既然能够接受重磅大片的溢价,座位的提价也同样是可行的。他说:“为核心座位制定基本票价,为那些相对不受欢迎的座位——例如第一排或两侧靠边的座位——提供折扣。如此便可以提高入座率并增售优惠票,合情合理。”

博克则认为票价飙升后,座位的定价变化不太可能紧随其后。他指出:“这种做法很难实现。我们已经习惯了先来后到排队选座。如今,若提前计划好,还能够在手机软件上以同样的价格选到好位置。若影院今年就开始实施座位的动态定价,老实说,我会非常震惊。短期内,这种现象应该还不会出现。”

如今,随着电影院对运营成本与策略实施微调,博克与电影业的专家同僚们只希望电影的动态标价可以继续维持。

博克说:“AMC和其他院线已经发出了较为委婉的警告,意味着溢价现象将贯穿整个夏天,甚至还会延长,除非影院与整个电影行业能够总体回归新冠疫情前的水平。每部电影的制作成本都不一样——单看预算就一目了然——因此部分电影的票价将有所差异。这样做多多少少会产生价格冲击,但我认为即使涨了一到两美元,大部分人依然会心甘情愿为某些大片走进影院,认为它们值这个价。”(财富中文网)

译者:陈书陶

今年3月,共有数百万美国人走进影院观看《新蝙蝠侠》(The Batman),若你也是其中一员,你所花费的票价就很有可能比其它同期电影要高。中国的春节档电影也是同样情况,国家电影局数据显示,今年除夕至初六电影平均票价为52.8元,创历史新高。

这种所谓的大片溢价现象到底从何而来?近期,AMC院线(AMC Theatres)的首席执行官亚当·阿伦谈及他在连锁影院实施的“可变定价”试验,其中高需求量的电影票价被调高,超越了同期影片的水平。

根据媒体《Deadline》的数据,《新蝙蝠侠》首映周末便为北美票房贡献了1.34亿美元,在AMC院线的平均票价为14.50美元,其它同期电影的平均票价则为13.22美元。

AMC并非首个采取溢价策略的院线。2021年年底,《蜘蛛侠:英雄无归》(Spider-Man: No Way Home)上映数日内,Regal和Cinemark便分别将其票价上调了82美分与67美分,而AMC则涨了71美分。然而观众并不会因此望而却步,该片的美国首映票房恰好稳过2.6亿美元大关。

影院之所以持续采取这种“价格飙升”、“可变定价”或“动态定价”策略——显然是为了弥补新冠疫情带来的损失。两年几近停摆后,随着新冠疫苗推出、口罩限制令放松,人们对新冠疫情也不再像之前那么恐惧,大家开始回归影院,对院线而言,每一美元的票价都弥足珍贵。况且,优质产品的小幅提价对消费者而言并不陌生。

Comscore的高级媒体分析师保罗·德加拉贝迪安说:“电影的动态定价十分常见,例如周二特价日或者平时日场的票价会更便宜,比如儿童、成人与老人的票价各不相同。日常各类消费都会出现价格变化,现在的Lyft和Uber就更是如此。很多企业都会动态定价,不同的商品和服务也会出现涨价。但电影行业以前并没有这类涨价现象,是如今电影的观赏价值与需求驱动了价格的提升。”

B. Riley Financial的高级分析师埃里克·沃尔德补充道:“我认为电影业早该出现动态定价了。很多人唯一担忧的就是时机问题。如今新冠疫情尚未结束,通货膨胀依然存在,经济现状堪忧——人们会担心开启电影特殊定价的时机是否成熟。”

影院方必定认为答案是肯定的。安永(EY)的美国媒体与娱乐部主管约翰·哈里森指出:“从2020年至2021年,影院的确度过了一段十分艰难的时期,重新开放后基本处于复苏阶段。影院希望能够在提升入座率的同时驱动经济效益,因此每一美元的提价都至关重要。基于影院现状,这些热门大片的票价飙升也是情有可原的。”

大片涨价也带来了一个关键问题——低成本独立电影应该如何定价?考虑到这些影片在上线流媒体平台之前有45天的院线窗口期,影院是否会为了吸引观众而利用折扣为低入座率电影卖座?

目前为止,大型电影公司与独立电影工作室都未对可变定价做出任何评论,AMC也拒绝透露与华纳兄弟(Warner Bros.)合作上映《新蝙蝠侠》是否存在特殊收入分配。如今,AMC与其他院线均已经设定票价,但升价后影院具体可以得到多少收入,并未有清晰的模板说明。

只要不影响入座率,并且能够带来较高的票房回报率,华纳与其他电影工作室大约都可以接受涨价。然而《财富》杂志采访的专家们均表示希望了解提价的结果究竟如何。对于能够保证高入座率的电影IP,电影工作室是否会继续提价?是否会为了提高低入座率电影的档期与票房而提供票价折扣?是否会因为特定电影票价降低而认为其质量不及同期?

北美院线联盟(Exhibitor Relations)的高级媒体分析师杰夫·博克说:“我希望‘可变定价’的影响是双向的。对那些在首映周末爆火的电影,院线的动态定价是有利的。毕竟广告宣传费已经花出去了,影院至少会想方设法吸引人们来看。但影院方与电影工作室之间肯定要有商量。负责定价的是影院,若票价过低,电影工作室必定不乐意。因此,若确定开启动态定价,肯定要事先做好沟通。”

德加拉贝迪安则反对这一观点。他说:“最基本的问题是,你要怎么跟一个电影制造商说‘其他同期电影票价15美元,但你的电影票价就值10美元’?如果是大片,就不存在这种行业性问题,你可以说:‘这部电影制作成本极高,需求量巨大,因此我们要涨价。’但若情况相反,此时独立电影的价值会突然被贬低,进而导致票价下降。我认为这样将酿成对行业无益的滑坡现象。”

影院座位的方位与质量可能将成为另一种可变定价的因素。3月1日的财报线上会议中,AMC的首席执行官亚当·阿伦便暗示了这一点,表示公司不怕风险,愿意“大胆创新”。他说:“欧洲的影院会对最佳座位收取额外费用,就像体育赛事、演唱会与剧院等行业一样。”

沃尔德认为观众既然能够接受重磅大片的溢价,座位的提价也同样是可行的。他说:“为核心座位制定基本票价,为那些相对不受欢迎的座位——例如第一排或两侧靠边的座位——提供折扣。如此便可以提高入座率并增售优惠票,合情合理。”

博克则认为票价飙升后,座位的定价变化不太可能紧随其后。他指出:“这种做法很难实现。我们已经习惯了先来后到排队选座。如今,若提前计划好,还能够在手机软件上以同样的价格选到好位置。若影院今年就开始实施座位的动态定价,老实说,我会非常震惊。短期内,这种现象应该还不会出现。”

如今,随着电影院对运营成本与策略实施微调,博克与电影业的专家同僚们只希望电影的动态标价可以继续维持。

博克说:“AMC和其他院线已经发出了较为委婉的警告,意味着溢价现象将贯穿整个夏天,甚至还会延长,除非影院与整个电影行业能够总体回归新冠疫情前的水平。每部电影的制作成本都不一样——单看预算就一目了然——因此部分电影的票价将有所差异。这样做多多少少会产生价格冲击,但我认为即使涨了一到两美元,大部分人依然会心甘情愿为某些大片走进影院,认为它们值这个价。”(财富中文网)

译者:陈书陶

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who saw The Batman in theaters this March, there’s a good chance your ticket was more expensive than if you’d opted to go to any other movie playing at the same time. You might not have even been aware of this so-called tentpole tax, unless you read about AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron touting his chain’s experiments with “variable pricing,” in which tickets for high-demand films cost more than the competition.

According to Deadline, the average ticket price for The Batman, which brought in $134 million in North American theaters on its opening weekend, was $14.50 at AMC theaters, compared to $13.22 for all other showings. (As of this week, The Batman has raked in close to $600 million at the box office globally.)

AMC wasn’t the first to do this in the movie-exhibition world. Both Regal and Cinemark hiked the cost of admission for Spider-Man: No Way Home when it opened in late 2021, respectively adding an average of 82 and 67 cents per ticket over movies during its first few days in theaters, while AMC tacked on 71 cents. And audiences certainly didn’t shy away from seeing that superhero flick, as it opened domestically at just over $260 million.

It’s a clear sign that this strategy—referred to interchangeably as a “price surge,” “variable pricing,” or “dynamic pricing”—is here to stay as theaters look to rebound from their pandemic woes. After two almost-lost years, every dollar counts as moviegoers return, bolstered by the vaccine and fewer restrictions on masking, not to mention less fear surrounding COVID-19 in general. Plus, a slightly higher price for what’s deemed a premium product isn’t all that foreign to consumers.

“Dynamic pricing has always happened in theaters, with regard to matinees or Tuesday bargain days, or different prices for children and adults and seniors,” says Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at Comscore. “We see this in every aspect of life, especially now with Lyft and Uber. You pretty much name the business and there's some sort of upcharge being applied to many different goods and services. But it hasn't been until now that this is something that is actually happening in terms of movies based on the perceived value of that movie and the demand for it driving up the price.”

“It's something I think should have been in place long ago,” adds B. Riley Financial senior analyst Eric Wold. “The only thing that's of concern is, for a lot of people, the timing. We're coming out of a pandemic, we're in an environment of inflation and concerns around the economy—is it the right time to introduce premium pricing for specific films?”

Theater owners certainly seem to think so. “The theaters really had a tough go of it during the pandemic, 2020 to 2021 and they're very much in recovery mode as we open up,” says John Harrison, EY’s Americas Leader for the Media & Entertainment. “They're trying to drive attendance but also really trying to drive financial performance as well, so every incremental dollar helps. Introducing a surge element to some of the biggest blockbusters, given the conditions of the theater owners, makes sense.”

The big question stemming from this blockbuster surcharge is what happens to the lower-budget indie fare? Will theaters offer a discount on lower-demand films in order to get people in the door, especially when there’s only a 45-day theatrical window before they hit streaming services?

So far, major and independent studios have yet to comment on variable pricing, and AMC declined to say what kind of special revenue split, if any, it had worked out with Warner Bros. for The Batman. As it stands, AMC and other exhibitors set their ticket prices, but there's no template for the amount they can keep when tacking on a surcharge.

Warner and other studios are probably fine with the higher price as long as it doesn't deter audiences from seeing their films and the box-office returns are high. But the experts Fortune spoke with are all interested to see how these deals play out. Will studios be in favor of even higher prices for movies with the kind of IP that guarantees big audiences? Will they allow the discounting of tickets in order to boost the reach and box-office returns of lower-demand titles, or will they view any price reduction as implying that their title is of lesser quality than the competition?

“I would hope that by ‘variable’ we're playing in a two-way street,” says Jeff Bock, senior media analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “For films that bomb out right at opening weekend, having a variable window would be great. The advertising has already been spent. It would behoove theaters to at least get people to come check these films out. Of course, that's going to be a discussion between theater owners and studios. Theater owners set the price but I think if you set it too low, you're going to field a lot of calls from studios themselves. So, these are discussions that need to be had if we’re really going for variable pricing.”

Deragarabedian disagrees. “On a basic level, how do you tell one filmmaker ‘your movie is worth $10 a ticket and this other movie is worth $15’? Applying this to a big blockbuster, I don't see that being an existential problem for the industry. ‘This movie has a huge budget, it has a massive demand, and therefore we upcharge.’ But going in the other direction would not be good for the industry if suddenly independent film was perceived as having a lesser value and thus commands a lower ticket price. That'd be a slippery slope that I think wouldn't serve the industry well.”

Another area for variable pricing that’s likely coming to theaters is charging different amounts based on seat location and quality. AMC CEO Adam Aron hinted at introducing that on a March 1 earnings call, when he talked about the ways his company is willing to take risks and be “imaginative.” “In Europe, we charge a premium for the best seats in the house, as do just about all other sellers of tickets in other industries—think sports events, concerts, and live theater,” he said.

Wold believes it’s something audiences would accept, just like they will for higher blockbuster prices. “Have a base-level ticket price for the core seats, then discount the ones that are maybe not desirable—the front row, side of the theater. Getting more people coming in and more concessions being sold is something that would make sense.”

Bock, meanwhile, thinks that variable seating prices aren't likely to be introduced so soon after surge pricing for tickets. “That would be tough to do. We are so used to standing in line to get the seats that you want. And now that you can get on an app and choose your seat, if you plan ahead, you can get a good seat and not have to pay more. I'd be surprised, honestly, if theaters went down that road this year. It's something that maybe, in the not too distant future, could happen.”

For now, he and his fellow movie-industry experts simply expect dynamic pricing to stick, especially as theaters fine-tune their costs and implementation strategies.

“This was the warning signal sent by AMC—and other theaters, but not so bluntly,” he says. “This is letting us know this is going to continue all summer, and likely beyond, until theaters and the industry in general get back to pre-pandemic levels. All movies are not created equal—you can just look at the budget to know that—so there's going to be a different price sticker on some. We're all going to feel a little bit of sticker shock. But again, at $1 to $2, I think most people would agree that for certain films, that's worth the price of admission.”

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