Illegal movie-related activities result from loose regulation

A large popcorn: $7.75. One box of candy: $4.25. Two medium drinks: $10. These concessions total to $22, more than the price of the actual tickets at Saratoga’s AMC 14 ($18 for two matinee seats). From these extreme expenses, it’s no wonder that high school students resort to movie hopping—buying a ticket and watching as many movies as desired—and snack smuggling in order to save a few dollars.

The theaters generally overlook these illegal actions and do not attempt to enforce them. Junior Patrick Xiao recalled theater hopping with a group of his friends around May 2010. An employee discovered the group, but he merely ushered them out of the theater without any further consequences.

Xiao disagrees with movie hopping, but he believes that the inflated snack food prices partially compensate for the lost revenue.

“People shouldn’t [movie hop], because it’s cheating the theater out of money,” Xiao said. “[Still], I think the theaters get most of their money from the concessions stuff—snacks, drinks, the like.”

Junior Angela Kempf-Luu said movie theaters’ expensive food and drinks lead to another issue: sneaking in snack items.

“It is common for a lady to carry a purse which tends to be a bit too large,” she said. “It can be useful for storing Nature Valley snack bars, cut up fruits, snack mixes and other foods, just for the sake of not paying $7 for a small bag of popcorn, $10 for a bottle of water or other ‘extravagant” foods.’”

The reverse, Kempf-Luu claims, also holds true; theaters raise their prices to counteract the consistent snack smuggling.

“I think movie food is so overpriced because [the theaters] know some people sneak in food,” Kempf-Luu said. “So, to balance out the lost of income from those who sneak in food, they overcharge those who buy food. The same goes for the movie tickets.”

This inflation of food and ticket prices generates a negative feedback loop: the higher prices of tickets and food indirectly encourage more people to “cheat the system,” which in turn presses theaters to elevate their rates.

Kempf-Luu reasons that movie-goers should be able to bend the rules and get around the theaters’ snack food monopoly, if only to avoid excessive expenses. On the other hand, she says, the aforementioned activities are still illegal.

“I know both [movie hopping and sneaking food into theaters] are morally wrong, but they’re done so often that they seem somewhat normal,” Kempf-Luu said. “I think it’s OK to sneak a few foods in, but don’t bring your whole lunch or dinner with you. Try to be a bit fair, and at least buy their popcorn. Movie theaters have to make money somehow, right?”

Moving beyond the theaters

In order to completely avoid movie expenses, some students turn to the Internet. It is no secret that many students download or stream movies on their computers through sites like Megavideo, despite the activities’ illegal nature. Still, the convenience of online movies are tempting in certain circumstances.

“I think it’s fine [to download or stream movies] as long as you’re using it for your own personal viewing, and you’re not obtaining it and selling it to other people (piracy),” sophomore Raiza de Vera said. “Sometimes streaming a movie online is way easier than going out to Blockbuster and buying a $5 copy of a movie that you’re only going to watch once.”

De Vera attributes the popularity of online movies to the ease with which people can obtain them, usually without punishment. Yet, she insists, these practices will continue until people truly understand the gravity of movie piracy.

“[These activities are] definitely wrong, but it’s really hard to enforce [the law],” de Vera said. “If movie streaming and downloading are against your morals, of course you’re not supposed to do them. They’re definitely something that a lot of students do, and I don’t think a lot of people realize that they are illegal.”