In times like these citizens are looking for outlets to take their mind off of issues around the world. But are the price of movie tickets alone, along with the quality of movies being produced, worth it?
The big three movie theater companies in the Central Valley are Regal Cinemas, Maya Cinemas and Santa Rosa Cinemas who own Sierra Vista Cinemas 16 in Clovis. Regal has a major clutch on the movie industry in the Central Valley with three theaters in Fresno alone.
But which of these major theater chains gives you the Best Bang for Your Buck? Which offers the cheapest tickets and which offer the cheapest concessions?
The first theater I looked at was Regal. If you wanted to go see a movie like “The Super Mario Galaxy” you’d be paying $14.99 for an adult ticket or $13.99 for a child or senior ticket. There is also a $2.00 added fee, according to the online website.
The price seems to have increased. For the Regal in Marketplace, it’s $17.49 + tax for an adult ticket, $14.99 + tax for a child ticket and $15.99 + tax for a senior ticket. The kicker is that the other two Regal’s see an even higher price. $18.49 + tax for an adult ticket, $15.99 + tax for a child ticket and $16.49 + tax for a senior ticket.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to look at a morning showing of the same movie, and that was the same price as the afternoon showing.
Photo of Maya Cinemas across the street on April 8. Photo by Donovan Rivas.
Next, I decided to take a look at Maya to see how it compares to Regal with the same movie at the same times. At Maya at 2 p.m. for the showing of the “Super Mario Galaxy” movie, an adult ticket is $10.00 and a child and senior ticket is $9.50 each.
For an 8 p.m. showing, the prices increase. An adult ticket is $12.75 and child and senior tickets stay the same at $9.50. Maya sees a $2.75 increase for adult tickets, compared to Regal’s $2.50 increase.
While Maya has a higher pricing curve than Regal, the tickets are still much cheaper than what Regal is offering.
But how do they both stack up against Sierra Vista Cinemas? For the same 2 p.m. showing at Sierra Vista it is $14.25 + $1.75 tax and $14.00 + $1.75 tax for child and senior tickets. For a 9 p.m. showing it is $13.75 + tax for an adult ticket, $12.00 + tax for student and military tickets and $10.50 for child and senior tickets.
I think it’s very interesting that Sierra Vista is the first theater where the prices actually see a decrease as the day goes on. It’s also interesting that it’s the first theater which offers student and military tickets.
So as far as it goes for tickets, Maya wins in terms of general pricing, for both movies during the day and at night.
Concession Price Comparison
Great, now you’ve got your tickets and you’re set right? But what is a good movie without getting a concession from the stand, what about popcorn with a drink or a snack?
According to Cinemark Theatres in 2022, the most popular movie theater snack was peanut M&M’s. How much does a popcorn, drink and Peanut M&M’s cost at each theater?
At Regal a small popcorn sells for $10.49, a medium for $11.49 and a large for $12.49. A small drink costs $8.49, a medium $8.99 and a large $9.49. Finally Peanut M&M’s sell for $6.49. If you were to get a large popcorn and drink with Peanut M&M’s your total would be $28.47.
At Maya a small popcorn costs $8.50, a medium $9.50 and a large $10.50. Their drinks cost $8.00 for a medium and $8.50 for a large. If you were to also get Peanut M&M’s alongside that costs $6.00. Overall, your total would come out to $25.00 exactly.
At Sierra Vista a small popcorn costs $9.75, a medium for $10.75 and a large for $12.00. A small drink costs $7.50, a medium $8.50 and a large for $9.50. Finally Peanut M&M’s cost $6.50. If you were to get a large popcorn and drink with Peanut M&M’s your total would be $28.00 exactly.
As far as prices on concessions go, Maya once again wins in that category. If you were to buy one ticket for a 2 p.m. showing, as well as popcorn and soda with Peanut M&M’s your total cost would be $35.00 exactly.
If you were to watch an 8 p.m. showing, your total would be $37.25.
I think this is a fair price, especially in this economy and certainly the cheapest out of the three movie theaters being compared.
Membership Perks Between Theaters
Regal’s membership program is called “Regal Unlimited.” This membership offers three contract lengths, a 3 month subscription which is $77.97 + tax. A six month subscription which costs $155.94 + tax and a 12 month contract is $311.88 + tax.
The Regal website also says that your tier is determined by the price at your primary theater. A theater in a higher tier will have you pay a surcharge of $1.50 to $3.00 per ticket.
Regal also offers discounted movie tickets for members on Tuesdays, prices vary between locations. At the Regal in Marketplace tickets cost $6.99, and at both the River Park and Manchester locations they cost $7.99.
The perks with Regal Unlimited allows you to see any movie at any time, 10% off of all food and drinks, a free large popcorn and drink on your birthday, early access to new movies and opportunities to bring a friend for free to select showings.
Maya offers a free program called the “Maya Rewards Membership.” It allows you to earn one point for every dollar spent. These points can be used to spend on tickets and concessions. You also get a free birthday ticket every year, no ticket fees on the Maya Cinemas website and app when you are a gold or platinum member. Special email offers are also a part of the program.
Sierra Vista offers a program called “Encore Movie Rewards.” This program seems to only give members points to spend on tickets and concessions and just like Maya, rewards one point for each dollar spent at the ticket office and concession stand.
Overall, when considering the categories discussed above, the theater that is the most worth your money is Maya Cinemas. Maya offers the cheapest tickets and concessions while also having a good rewards program.
While there may be other factors that can go into determining the best theater i.e., theater comfortability, distance and handicapped accessibility, Maya has all the other theaters beat in pricing and membership perks.
