Controversy over high movie ticket prices has been steadily rising for a few years. The prices of the tickets, which have been gradually increasing, were set at 14,000 won on weekdays and 15,000 won on weekends in April last year. In other words, it costs over 40,000 won for two people to watch a movie with a popcorn set. While the Korean film industry is experiencing a sluggishness time, the somewhat expensive movie ticket prices are cited as one of the main reasons. Furthermore, given the alternatives to theaters such as the various OTT services on offer, it is questionable whether the ticket price is worth it and whether film theaters still appeal to moviegoers.

First of all, why did movie ticket prices rise so much? The main reason might be losses resulting from COVID-19. During the pandemic from 2020 to early 2023, cinemas continued to raise movie ticket prices to reduce losses from drastically dwindling audiences owing to the virus that hit the whole country. Movie theaters expected audiences to return in 2023 due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, but this has fallen short of expectations.

Despite the end of the pandemic, consumers have been reluctant to go to cinemas like before due to the high cost of tickets. Before movie ticket prices rose, moviegoers used to spend money on movies freely as a hobby until the price was set at 10,000 won in 2018. However, ticket prices have increased by 1,000 won every year since 2019, reaching 15,000 won (weekend prices) now. "It is disappointing because it seems as though the damage incurred during the pandemic has been passed on to moviegoers. Prices have gone up too much," Kim Heon-sik, a pop culture critic said. Movie prices have increased by 50% in just five years. For moviegoers, watching movies in theaters has now become a luxury.

In addition to such high prices, alternatives like OTT and VOD services are cited as another reason for the sluggishness. Various OTT services played a big role as a substitute for theaters during the pandemic when people could not go to cinemas. During that time, the OTT service industry developed steadily. Despite the end of the pandemic, those who are now accustomed to watching movies through the use of OTT services and feel burdened by theater prices no longer have to visit cinemas in person. People can just lie in bed comfortably, turn on Netflix on their iPhones, and watch any movie they want from the wide selection. Besides, for the cost of watching one movie in a theater, people can watch an unlimited number of movies for a whole month through an OTT service. In other words, a very attractive substitute is now easily available.

While the cinema industry needs to encourage more consumers to visit, despite the high prices being one of the main reasons for the sluggishness, the industry shows no willingness to lower the price of tickets. "The movie theater is dying, but will audiences return if prices are lowered? Is this not a problem that can be solved by setting different admission fees by time and class? There are already various events and discounts on offer at each movie theater; therefore, to bring audiences back to the cinema, alternative solutions such as effective marketing are more viable than lowering prices," Kim Jin-sun, president of the Korea Cinema Industry Association said.

It is undeniable that the price of movie tickets is burdensome for college student consumers like us. Accordingly, it becomes harder to choose what movie to watch at the cinema, so I tend to visit the cinema only once in a while for a movie that I really want to see. Due to the complex reasons mentioned above, the film industry is still facing a downturn because people are not going to the theater as often as before. Consumers and the film industry are still at odds concerning a solution to the high cost of tickets. Indeed, the question of whether this is a shift in movie-watching culture, from visiting theaters to using OTT services, or a challenge to the theater industry’s future depends on the industry’s future actions.