Dynamic Pricing in Cinema Halls

In the digital era, everyone wants to beat the ‘queue’ and hence, online ticketing is such a hit in the country – be it Airlines, shows, IPL matches, trains or movies. But as the case is, not all programs are planned in advance and hence, most often than not, we see people rushing in at airports or railway stations at the last minute to buy a ticket. But this is more true for a movie ticket as such plans are spontaneous! Alas, not always there is time to book a ticket online in such a scenario. So, people rush to the cinema hall to catch THE movie but thanks to traffic (especially in cities) and Murphy’s Law, people are late. The ticket price is the same (average Rs. 150 in a decent multiplex) and sometimes people prefer to spend time in the mall or a coffee shop. What the cinema hall has not realized that it has lost a great opportunity!

Assuming an average movie length of 135 minutes, no one minds missing first 5 minutes and will be ready to shell out the complete price for the movie. But generally, after 5-10 minutes, people are not interested in going in for the movie even if decent seats are available. At the same time, if the cinema halls drops the price to say a 100 (on base of 150), I feel they can make a decent sale!

I feel there is some catch here which I am not able to figure out and hence I have not seen this approach being taken in the country. Or maybe, if it is happening then I have not encountered it till now.