Mom just came back from Japan. Says that's the cost of a movie ticket in Japan. She decided not to go see Snakes on a Plane with her sister...

 

That's the funny thing about "art," it's value is very very subjective.

 

$18

 

Well, now that I think about it:
1. A movie there is probably the same as a movie here (that is to say: a lot of people sit in a theatre and watch moving pictures).
2. Somebody has to pay for for the movie to get distributed and translated/subtitled (as necessary).
3. Somebody has to pay for the movie itself (no different than here)
4. Theatres are usually big. Big places require real estate. Real estate prices in Japan are insane.
5. Japan's taxes are a bit wacky. That could very well factor into the price.

$18 in a major metropolitan area vs. $10-$12 here doesn't sound all that outlandish.

 

she goes to china right? you can get a DVD of SOAP in China for $10.

 

Yikes!! Well, everything in Japan is expensive.

The real estate is probably a big factor as 8D said. Maybe the theatres there don't make as much $$ from their concession stand? Maybe they don't have revenue from annoying pre-show ads like we do in U.S.? In any case it's nuts.

 

My friends who live in England and Switerland told me prices were something along those same lines. In the case of England, no translation required (hopefully )

I think perhaps it's a matter of what people are willing to pay. Back in the early days of movies, they probably really cost more to distribute to other countries (particularly in other languages), so the citizens of those countries were accustomed to higher prices than we are. As time passed, prices increased, say by the same percentage there as here, hence the ridiculous prices, but prices they're willing to pay. Just a theory.

 

Just like the technology, Japan's economy is ahead of us of by years. A dollar over there is consider a quarter over here and five dollars is consider a dollar over here. They have $1 and $5 in coins. Their consider loose change just like dimes and quarter over here.

 

I'm pretty sure you can get at least 5 copies for that price.

 

I just saw "Cars" last night on the big screen for $1! That is the Tuesday discount price, normally it's $1.75.

You guys need to move out of the big cities. A first run movie is $7.75 here.