Everything in Australia really does try to kill you, or in this case your wallet.

Australian movie theater chain Village Cinemas recently got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. After an internal memo got leaked on Reddit detailing “dynamic pricing” on concessions during busy hours, theatergoers were in an uproar. After the leak, Village Cinemas announced that the “pricing trials” had been ceased.

Look, I don’t know exactly how it is in Australia, but I know what it’s like here. Any given concession item I could get at the theater costs 1/3 to 1/4 the price at any store. You’re kind of already getting away with highway robbery, and this is the kind of dumbass shit you pull? Those “pricing trials” ended because everyone found out, not because they were an actual test. That’s the kind of explanation people give doctors to explain why they have a Chewbacca action figure lodged up their ass.

The statement they provided to Gizmodo:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Village Cinemas acknowledges that some documents that appear to contain internal pricing information for cinema tickets have been posted on social media and in turn via the press. We are currently investigating the authenticity of these documents. Village Cinemas confirms that we were running pricing variation trials over the summer period which we appreciate may have caused angst and concern to our customers, we can now confirm that all pricing variation trials have been stopped effective immediately. There are still plenty of great deals to enjoy during this time like family passes which offers generous savings. We’ve also recently introduced a variety of exciting concept cinemas around Victoria, including Vjunior and 4DX, so pricing will vary depending on the experience. Village Cinemas is committed to providing customers with value via a range of attainable prices and promotions for the variety of experiences and concepts available. We are constantly working on improving and optimizing this model. Our goal is to ensure movie going remains as an affordable entertainment choice for our guests.[/perfectpullquote]

That isn’t even dynamic. You’re just upping prices during nights where you’re usually most busy. You created the anti-happy-hour. The unhappy hour. You may have rolled it back, but wow, that’s an accomplishment.

Source: Gizmodo

About Author