Movie chain Village Cinemas has been slammed for increasing its prices on Friday and Saturday nights over the school holidays.
The surge pricing trial, which is also used by ride-share app Uber, will raise the cost of tickets and snacks and drinks by up to $1, according to a Reddit user.
The increases will come into effect after 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of the month, at several of the chain’s Victorian locations.
Movie chain Village Cinemas has been slammed for increasing its prices on Friday and Saturday nights over the school holidays (stock image)
All popcorn and soda sizes will increase by 50cents and a bottle of water will increase by 30cents to $5.20, a chart of the new pricing strategy shows.
Choc Tops will increase by 30cents to $5.50 – an increase of 5.77 percent, but Maxibon and Connoisseur prices will not change.
The largest increases come on combos, with several different options seeing $1 price rises during the surge period.
The pricing scheme – called ‘dynamic pricing’ by Village – has been blasted by internet users.
The surge pricing trial, which is also used by ride-share app Uber, will raise the cost of tickets and snacks and drinks by up to $1 (pictured is an image a Reddit user says is a staff memo)
All popcorn and soda sizes will increase by 50cents and a bottle of water will increase by 30cents to $5.20, a chart of the new pricing strategy shows (pictured)
‘I don’t think this is even “surge pricing”, it’s just a predetermined uplift in prices and not driven by demand. What if it’s a quiet night? It’s a bit cheeky to call this dynamic,’ wrote one user.
‘It doesn’t charge more for patronage at busy times to encourage more cinemas to be showing the same film to get a greater total of people in the door,’ said another.
It’s just creaming the popular date-night timeslot for more money because that is the only reliable time people are going to the movies.’
‘I would rarely have gone to the cinema on a weekend so I am not their target market but these changes will help ensure I am never part of their target market,’ protested another.
‘If we continue this model, soon Coles will be charging more as the queue at the registers increase.’
An image of a staff memo shared on Reddit contained the following information to be given to customers:
‘Village Cinemas have commenced a pilot investigating dynamic pricing models at different times at selected sites across the summer period.
‘Village Cinemas is committed to provide affordable cinema options through our Vrewards offers and discounts, promotional pricing and tailored screening programs.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted Village Cinemas for comment.
The increases will come into effect after 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of the month, at several of the chain’s Victorian locations (pictured is the Reddit post)