Get ready for the $35 movie ticket. It's coming and although it won't be cheap, the moviegoing experience will be quite luxurious.
The theaters hold only 40 people and include luxurious seating and tableside food service. It's the brainchild of an Australian movie company, Village Cinemas.
That's the estimated price of tickets for a new deluxe cinema to open this year in suburban Chicago, one of 50 U.S. multiplexes set for construction during the next five years through a new $200 million joint venture headed by Australian entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow.
The planned theaters will boast boosted amenities, including plush reserved seating, special parking privileges and upscale food and beverage offerings with seat-side waiter service.
Some or all of those offerings are available at existing deluxe cinemas in select U.S. markets that charge $20 or less for movie tickets. But Gold Class auditoriums will feature a 40-seat-maximum patron capacity and an even higher-end atmosphere, officials said Tuesday.
"It's an absolutely different environment than anything else that exists," Village Roadshow CEO Graham Burke said.
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Village Roadshow operates more than 100 Gold Class screens in Australia, Singapore and Greece, part of its roughly 500-screen worldwide theater circuit.
"Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas are renowned worldwide for providing the ultimate luxury cinema experience," Village Roadshow deputy chairman Robert Kirby said. "Introducing that experience in the U.S. is a natural extension of our highly regarded brand."
There are already some movie/theater combinations in operation around the country, but the food isn't upscale. We'll be interested in seeing how the luxury, clearly adults-only, concept plays out. We'll certainly be trying it out. And we don't expect to find any gum on the floor, either.
