Blowhard, Esq. writes:
The most interesting thing about my latest outing to see Zero Dark Thirty wasn’t the film, it was the theater. I saw it at the iPic Theater, an upscale chain that combines moviegoing with a posh restaurant and bar.
The theater is located in One Colorado Square in Old Town Pasadena…
…in the building on the right.
Tickets are $30 a pop, so not cheap, but hey, that includes free popcorn. At this location you go down two escalators and enter the lounge/bar area.
A hostess seats you and takes your drink order. Cocktails were about $12-$16 each, beer was $6-$8 a glass, and wine was available by the glass or bottle. Oh, that’s right, we’re here to see a movie.
The theater sits 48. Each seat is an electric recliner with a pillow and blanket. That little table you see between each pair had a lit button so you could summon a server to order drinks or appetizers.
As our homes become more like movie theaters — with large flat screen TVs and high-end audio — our movie theaters become more like our homes. It’s a nice experience, but I’m not sure how much of a market there is for such a thing. The price for two people, including tickets and a couple of drinks, can easily hit $100. But I guess some movies really are a different experience on the big screen, so why not splurge if you’re gonna go through the trouble of going out?
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
Whoa…$10/ticket generally strikes me as being too much. Did they at least show an actual film (as opposed to a digital projection)?
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No, digital projection. The “print” was flawless.
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We have an iPic down here in Austin and my wife and I have managed to tame the prices a bit. If you sign up for their rewards program, the price comes down a bit. We tend to see films there in the late morning, so again the price comes down. Overall, we end up paying about $35 in total for a really comfortable movie experience.
That said, for most movies the Alamo Drafthouse theaters are cheaper and more fun.
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Yeah, I should’ve noted that the only reason we went at all is b/c we had gift cards — $150 to spend between four of us. $35 for two people is very reasonable.
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A friend told me about a filmgoing experience he had that sounds very similar — it’s a theater in Corona Del Mar on PCH. But for $30, I want at least one beer provided. 🙂 I could see an option like that being good for three-hour movies.
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I know what theater you’re talking about — I drove by it a few months ago. It was abandoned for years. Nice to see that someone refurbished it. I’ll hafta check it out sometime.
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Half the country is starving, the other half is going to luxury movies.
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