At Over $8 a Pop, are Movie Tickets Still Worth it?

The average price of a single U.S. movie ticket crept past the $8 mark late last year, according to the latest figures from U.S. theater owners. That’s about the same price as a month's worth of all-you-can-eat video streaming on Netflix.

Of course, streaming "Dude, Where's My Car?" or "Lost Boys: The Thirst" isn't quite the same thing as, say, watching "Tron: Legacy" in 3D on a mammoth IMAX screen. Still, word that average U.S. movie ticket prices have eclipsed $8—if only by a penny—is certainly food for thought (and no, I don't mean the buttery, popcorn-y kind on sale for $10 a bucket at the concession stand).

The report from the Los Angeles Times is quick to point out that the latest averages from the National Association of Theater Owners (a.k.a., NATO—no, really) include matinees and children's ticket prices. See a movie in Manhattan and you'll end up paying a lot more—think $19 for a single ticket to an IMAX 3D showing of "The Green Hornet." (I'll pass, thanks.)

Indeed, it's the whole 3D thing that's playing the biggest role in rising movie ticket prices, NATO rep Patrick Corcoran told the L.A. Times, who also pointed out that the average ticket price in 1970, $1.55, comes out to $8.71 once you account for inflation.

Then again, it's also worth noting that theater attendance dipped a small but noticeable 5.3 percent in 2010, with many movie fans presumably deciding to save their money by staying at home.

And in our living rooms, of course, there are more and more home-video options to be had, ranging from $4 movie rentals on iTunes, Xbox Live, PSN, Vudu, and Amazon to buck-a-night Redbox DVD rentals and $8-a-month unlimited Netflix streaming.

Panasonic VIERA TC-P50VT25 50" 3D TV

We've also got big HDTV screens and surround sound at home—and hey, there's even 3D TV, if you're cool with coughing up $100 for a pair of active-shutter 3D glasses.

Personally, I find myself going to the movies far less than I used to back in the day. In my 20s—when VHS and Laserdisc (remember those?) were the only real home video options, and HDTV displays were only something you read about in Popular Science—I was going to the movies once, maybe twice a week. Sure, I saw a lot of turkeys (I'll never get the two-hour running time of "Scent of a Woman" back), but going to the theater used to be the only real option for widescreen, surround-sound nirvana.

Today? Please. I've got my 46-inch, 1080p HDTV, my Blu-ray-packing PS3, 5.1 channels of surround sound, and nobody nearby who's talking through the whole movie. Given the choice of plunking down $10 or more (not counting subway fare) to see a first-run movie in a theater or waiting a few months to rent it on Netflix or Vudu, well … more often than not, I'll wait to watch at home.

That's not to say I never go to the theater anymore. Given the right movie, I'll pay $15 to sink into the plush seats at the Ziegfeld, a luxurious New York movie palace with a giant 52 by 20-foot screen. (Last movie seen at the Ziegfeld: "True Grit." Thoroughly enjoyed it.) But nowadays, my wife and I are going to the movies maybe four or five times a year, rather than four or five times a month.

Do you think it's still worth it to go to the movies—and if so, are you going for the 3D, or the big-screen IMAX experience, or just to be with other moviegoers in a dark auditorium?

Or have you had it with the pricey tickets, the expensive popcorn, and the rude cell-phone chatterers? Are you perfectly happy skipping the theater for watching at home?

— Ben Patterson is a technology blogger for Yahoo! News, where this piece was originally published.

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Update: The latest version of this post adds a key piece of information missing in the original: namely, that average ticket prices for the fourth quarter of 2010 had risen to $8.01. Apologies for the oversight.