IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecl/stabus/1983.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Why Does Popcorn Cost So Much at the Movies? An Empirical Analysis of Metering Price Discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Gil, Ricard

    (U of California, Santa Cruz)

  • Hartmann, Wesley R.

    (Stanford U)

Abstract

Prices for goods such as blades for razors, ink for printers and concessions at movies are often set well above cost. This paper empirically analyzes concession sales data from a chain of Spanish theaters to demonstrate that high prices on concessions reflect a profitable price discrimination strategy often referred to as "metering price discrimination." Concessions are found to be purchased in greater amounts by customers that place greater value on attending the theater. In other words, the intensity of demand for admission is "metered" by concession sales. This implies that while some consumers' surplus may be reduced by the high concession prices, surplus of other consumers on the margin of attending may increase from theaters' decisions to shift their margins away from movies and toward concessions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gil, Ricard & Hartmann, Wesley R., 2008. "Why Does Popcorn Cost So Much at the Movies? An Empirical Analysis of Metering Price Discrimination," Research Papers 1983, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1983
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP1983.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Davis, 2006. "Spatial competition in retail markets: movie theaters," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(4), pages 964-982, December.
    2. Anita Elberse & Jehoshua Eliashberg, 2003. "Demand and Supply Dynamics for Sequentially Released Products in International Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 329-354.
    3. Peltzman, Sam, 2005. "Aaron Director's Influence on Antitrust Policy," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 313-330, October.
    4. Rosen, Sherwin & Rosenfield, Andrew M, 1997. "Ticket Pricing," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(2), pages 351-376, October.
      • Rosen, Sherwin & Rosenfield, Andy, 1995. "Ticket Pricing," Working Papers 120, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    5. Meghan Busse & Marc Rysman, 2005. "Competition and Price Discrimination in Yellow Pages Advertising," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(2), pages 378-390, Summer.
    6. Richard Schmalensee, 1981. "Monopolistic Two-Part Pricing Arrangements," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 445-466, Autumn.
    7. Glenn Ellison, 2005. "A Model of Add-On Pricing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 585-637.
    8. Julie H. Mortimer, 2008. "Vertical Contracts in the Video Rental Industry -super-1," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 75(1), pages 165-199.
    9. Ron Borzekowski & Raphael Thomadsen & Charles Taragin, 2009. "Competition and price discrimination in the market for mailing lists," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 147-179, June.
    10. Orbach, Barak Y. & Einav, Liran, 2007. "Uniform prices for differentiated goods: The case of the movie-theater industry," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 129-153.
    11. Ronald L. Goettler & Phillip Leslie, 2005. "Cofinancing to Manage Risk in the Motion Picture Industry," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 231-261, June.
    12. Julie Holland Mortimer, 2007. "Price Discrimination, Copyright Law, and Technological Innovation: Evidence from the Introduction of DVDs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1307-1350.
    13. Shepard, Andrea, 1991. "Price Discrimination and Retail Configuration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(1), pages 30-53, February.
    14. Röller, Lars-Hendrik & Miravete, Eugenio, 2003. "Competitive Non-Linear Pricing in Duopoly Equilibrium: The Early US Cellular Telephone Industry," CEPR Discussion Papers 4069, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Phillip Leslie, 2004. "Price Discrimination in Broadway Theater," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 35(3), pages 520-541, Autumn.
    16. Walter Y. Oi, 1971. "A Disneyland Dilemma: Two-Part Tariffs for a Mickey Mouse Monopoly," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 85(1), pages 77-96.
    17. Peter Davis, 2006. "Spatial competition in retail markets: movie theaters," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(4), pages 964-982, December.
    18. Ricard Gil & Wesley Hartmann, 2007. "The Role and Determinants of Concession Sales in Movie Theaters: Evidence from the Spanish Exhibition Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 30(4), pages 325-347, June.
    19. Katja Seim & V. Brian Viard, 2003. "The Effect Of Entry And Market Structure On Cellular Pricing Tactics," Working Papers 03-13, NET Institute, revised Nov 2003.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107069978, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ricard Gil & Wesley R. Hartmann, 2009. "Empirical Analysis of Metering Price Discrimination: Evidence from Concession Sales at Movie Theaters," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(6), pages 1046-1062, 11-12.
    2. Ricard Gil & Wesley Hartmann, 2007. "The Role and Determinants of Concession Sales in Movie Theaters: Evidence from the Spanish Exhibition Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 30(4), pages 325-347, June.
    3. Wen-jhan Jane & Wei-peng Chen & Yuan-lin Hsu, 2015. "The impact of deregulation on the movie box office after Taiwan’s entry into the WTO: the difference-in-differences estimation," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 289-308, December.
    4. Anita Rao & Wesley Hartmann, 2015. "Quality vs. variety: Trading larger screens for more shows in the era of digital cinema," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 117-134, June.
    5. Anita Rao & Wesley R. Hartmann, 2015. "Quality vs. variety: Trading larger screens for more shows in the era of digital cinema," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 117-134, June.
    6. Gihwan Yi & Min Kim & Hoe Sang Chung, 2024. "The Revenue Impact of Differential Seat Pricing and Competition in the Movie Theater Market," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 64(3), pages 361-382, May.
    7. Jordi McKenzie, 2023. "The economics of movies (revisited): A survey of recent literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 480-525, April.
    8. Stole, Lars A., 2007. "Price Discrimination and Competition," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 2221-2299, Elsevier.
    9. Ambarish Chandra, 2020. "Price Discrimination along Multiple Dimensions: New Evidence from a Regional Airline," Working Papers tecipa-676, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    10. Fernanda Gutierrez-Navratil & Victor Fernandez-Blanco & Luis Orea & Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, 2014. "How do your rivals’ releasing dates affect your box office?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(1), pages 71-84, February.
    11. Katja Seim & V. Brian Viard, 2011. "The Effect of Market Structure on Cellular Technology Adoption and Pricing," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 221-251, May.
    12. Marcella Nicolini & Claudio A. Piga & Andrea Pozzi, 2023. "From uniform to bespoke prices: Hotel pricing during EURO 2016," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 333-355, September.
    13. Natalia Fabra & Juan-Pablo Montero, 2022. "Product Lines and Price Discrimination in Markets with Information Frictions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 981-1001, February.
    14. Darlene Chisholm & George Norman, 2012. "Spatial competition and market share: an application to motion pictures," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 36(3), pages 207-225, August.
    15. W. Walls, 2010. "Superstars and heavy tails in recorded entertainment: empirical analysis of the market for DVDs," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 34(4), pages 261-279, November.
    16. Burkey, Mark L., 2010. "Geographic access and demand in the market for alcohol," MPRA Paper 36913, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Victor Fernandez-Blanco & Luis Orea & Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, 2013. "Endogeneity and measurement errors when estimating demand functions with average prices: an example from the movie market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 1477-1496, June.
    18. Ricard Gil & Evsen Korkmaz & Ozge Sahin, 2014. "Optimal Pricing of Access and Secondary Goods with Repeat Purchases: Evidence from Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery Fees," Working Papers 14-10, NET Institute.
    19. Courty, Pascal & Pagliero, Mario, 2012. "The Pricing of Art and the Art of Pricing: Pricing Styles in the Concert Industry," CEPR Discussion Papers 8967, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. STROUKAL Dominik, 2013. "Price Discrimination On The Marijuana Market: Schwag Or Endo?," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 8(2), pages 128-136, August.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1983. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/gsstaus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.