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spots and prizes at prices. A suburban
matinee in Sydney or Melbourne in
the fifties cost about 6d in the Stalls or
9d in the Circle, prices that probably
helped parents set the rate for pocket
money. Those parents might pay
between 2/- and 4/- for their night in
the same theatre.
One counter to television was the
introduction of concurrent city and
selected suburban theatre screenings.
This often meant increased prices.
Cinema advertising did not mention
prices. You had to ring up the box
office for anything as mundane as that.
For an exclusive release the
advertised higher price was meant as
an inducement; price equals quality.
War and Peace at the State (1957)
was promoted with a top price of 12/-
in the Lounge on Saturday nights, a
hefty rise. In 1958 admission to The
Bolshoi Ballet at the Grosvenor had a
top price of 13/-. ‘Free List Entirely
Suspended’ began to appear.
The surviving cinemas of the
sixties had it tough – any price
increase was likely to further scare off
a dwindling patronage.Upgrading
facilities was often out of the question.
By the early seventies prices were
edging up to $1.90 to $2.00. These
were the sort of prices commanded by
My Fair Lady.
The industry/customer relationship
was re-negotiated with the advent of
the twin cinema, triples and finally the
multiplex cinema. By 1989 the major
distributors had formed new alliances,
and divided up the business of cinema
into the Village, Greater Union, Birch
Carroll and Coyle, and the Hoyts
empires. The numbers of independents
shrank accordingly.
Prices with the Majors ranged
from $5.50 or $6.50 and upwards with
children charged around $3.25. Some
independents competed with lower
prices. As always the specialty
cinemas that screened first release
foreign films stayed at the high end of
ticket prices. All groups began
offering Cheap Monday or Cheap
Tuesday prices.
As a point of comparison with
cinema at the start of the nineties live
theatre prices in the capital cities An industry report claimed average cinema experience: Gold Class, La
ranged between $19 and $29 with admission prices in 2000 to be $8-10 Premiere and Directors Suite are the
major events reaching around $40 and (including GST). The real issue is - current examples of a long standing
sometimes a lot more. have cinema prices got out of step with principle - appeal to all segments of
weekly earnings? The evidence says the market. Bring in the high flyers,
no, they haven’t. The high price impress a special girl, pay according to

14 2003 CINEMARECORD