HOYTS Candy Bar Ripoff - Small Drink & Popcorn Combo for $17.90 Whereas Items Can Be Purchased Individually for a Total $14.40

partymix on 21/02/2017 - 13:07
Last edited 21/02/2017 - 14:07 by 1 other user

Hi everyone, last week I went to Hoyts cinema in Melbourne Central for my free screening of Hidden Figures (thanks OzBargain!).

I was at the candy bar and asked the girl serving me what combos they had and how much they were. As you would expect, everything cost an arm and a leg so I asked if she had a small combo. At first she told me she didn't, but then the girl next to her said there was one and showed the girl serving me on the screen where to get to it. She charged me $17.90. I paid, and off the movies I went.

Whilst in the movie, I remembered the price list rotates between advertisements and the cost of a small drink was $6.60 (for some reason it had caught my eye whilst waiting at the candy bar). I was curious if a small popcorn had indeed cost me $11.30!

After the movie I went to the candy bar to check the price list, and in fact the individual prices for a small drink is $6.60 and a small popcorn was $7.80. So I asked the staff members behind the counter - they explained that the small combo included a collectors cup (I did not receive any such cup, just the normal paper packaging).

I then checked with someone I know who works for Hoyts and it seems they are very much aware of this pricing issue and have done nothing about it.

I'm also going to write a complaint directly to Hoyts but I just wanted to share it with the community but I think this is bs!

Entertainment

Related Stores

HOYTS
HOYTS

Comments

    • partymix on 21/02/2017 - 18:03
      +2

      When I asked them why they charged me for the combo instead of advising me to get the items individually for a cheaper price, their response was "it's not our fault you asked for a combo so that's what we sold you".

    • Gronk on 24/02/2017 - 15:59

      Go on… say his name a 3rd time, I dare ya :D

  • narcoleptic-haze on 21/02/2017 - 17:18
    +5

    Cinema's are BS period. Last movie I went to see said it started at 6:30pm. The actual film started at 7:15pm.. 45 minutes of ads (ok 10 mins of that was trailers), and still a $20+ ticket price and outrageous food prices as mentioned by the OP. I only go once a year when people drag me along.

    • partymix on 21/02/2017 - 18:05
      +1

      I normally go to Reading cinemas which have $10 tickets all the time, or you can get premium for $15 which is like gold class but more seats in the cinemas. Not sure where you're located but this is the Epping one on VIC

    • FeRGan on 22/02/2017 - 14:11
      +1

      I have noticed that there are a lot more ads than usual. I have been thinking of going to the next movie 10 mins later to try to miss them. I don't watch T.V anymore, so the ads are more irritating to me now.

      • Schezwon on 23/02/2017 - 16:52

        It's becoming like Foxtel, they are milking us all with dumb ads to annoy everyone.

  • Savas on 21/02/2017 - 17:33

    So in other words you didn't enjoy the movie because you were too busy worring about being overcharged?

    • partymix on 21/02/2017 - 17:53
      +2

      Lol, the movie was awesome.
      I had to try extra hard to enjoy my overpriced popcorn and drink.

      • Savas on 21/02/2017 - 17:58

        Good on you! Which movie?

        • partymix on 21/02/2017 - 18:00
          +1

          Hidden Figures (free preview tickets I got vis Ozb). Highly recommend the movie… maybe not via Hoyts lol

        • Savas on 21/02/2017 - 18:03
          +1

          @sparathecat: Oh man that was in the first sentence in your post, sorry man. Appreciate the recommendation, yes snacks are so expensive there.

  • sirrobin on 21/02/2017 - 19:21
    +5

    While not applicable to Hoyts, RACV sells $6.50 popcorn and drink combo vouchers for Village cinemas on their site which are excellent value

    • Ivan Krazy on 22/02/2017 - 06:45

      I do this all the time!!!! :)

    • JVHifi on 23/02/2017 - 11:47

      And this is a medium popcorn and drink as well! The deal is bound to be cancelled anytime though

  • hell0 on 21/02/2017 - 19:25
    +3

    Hello. Sorry to say it, but even as a 10 year old I realised that combo or not, NEVER EVERY go to buy ANYTHING from the candy bar.

    However, you would be the first ozbargainer to EVER go to the candy bar at a cinema, I am disappointed in you.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 20:07
    +2

    there needs to be an investigation

    same with private health insurance going up 25% annually….but that's a story for another day

  • Hirolol on 21/02/2017 - 21:13

    Tried to go Hoyts mc with subway and they told us no we can't bring it in.
    This was about 4-5 years ago.

  • ronnknee on 21/02/2017 - 21:18
    +2

    If you're purchasing food from the cinema then you're OzBargaining wrong.

    • maxdba on 23/02/2017 - 22:53

      ozbargainingly?

  • T1OOO on 21/02/2017 - 23:32
    +1

    LOL paying for movies!!!!!!!!

  • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 01:59

    So you got to go to a free movie, called 'Hidden Figures' and got ripped off at the candy bar.

    As the joke goes you got to see a $25, 000, 000 movie for free but were overcharged for drink and popcorn.

    • syousef on 22/02/2017 - 18:15
      +1

      I get that it's a joke but it is nonsensical. A bit like suggesting that any plane ticket under USD357 million for a flight on a Boeing 747 is a bargain. Or that if I let you drive across the Anzac Bridge for under $170 million I'm doing you a favour. Shared costs and not having exclusive use nor being a consumable put a lie to that.

  • Windows7forever on 22/02/2017 - 04:17
    +4

    Why the need to splurge on food and drinks? Eat a meal before you go into the movie so you are full.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 06:24
    -1

    Just think of it as $17.90 movie with free drink and pop corn.

    • lolmao on 23/02/2017 - 19:31

      $17.90 for a movie would be a ripoff

  • marc86au on 22/02/2017 - 07:31
    +3

    I'm a big fan of Cineplex cinemas around Brisbane. Their full priced adult tickets vary between $6.50 and $8.50 depending on the day and the candy bar food is reasonably priced. Choc top icecreams are around $2 each and much nicer than what I've had at Event cinemas for 2-3x the price.

    The cinemas are unique and interesting, most have a different theme in each one (such as Brisbane nightscape photo on the walls) http://www.cineplex.com.au/cineplex/4

    Most of the ads before the movie are for local businesses which I like also, they aren't ads I've seen 100x already

    • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 09:15
      +6

      Your caps lock is broken.

      • theguyrules on 22/02/2017 - 17:05

        He/she always posts all caps.

        • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 17:55
          +3

          Maybe we should forward him/her a keyboard deal.

    • lyl-Lychee on 22/02/2017 - 23:11

      Well I've got to say, new owners did an AWESOME job with upgrading the Chadstone Hoyts. That venue looks amazing now, much more luxurious and more of a "cinema experience" than before.

      And ppl whinge about the Chinese buying up all Australia's assets … well it worked out for the best here IMO.

  • yoonibear on 22/02/2017 - 11:42

    There's also their new recliner seats - extra $3.50 per ticket and extra if you attend the X-treme screens!
    Partner ended up paying nearly $40 (we used optus perks) for two people excluding food to watch a movie last night

  • Skramit on 22/02/2017 - 15:32
    +3

    I am pretty sure in one of Heston Blumenthals chef shows I was watching, he tries to re-vamp cinema food. In the show he talks to the execs who explain a bucket of popcorn costs about 3c to make, and they sell it for ~$10 means the profit margins are simply enormous. Their whole business model is based around the pricing of food and drinks. Popcorn is their best profit margin by a country mile.

    Cinema companies are essentially popcorn companies, who have a side business in screening movies :P

    • itajac on 22/02/2017 - 19:21

      Would have loved to have seen that episode!

      • Skramit on 22/02/2017 - 20:45

        I'm sure you can prob find it on YouTube.

        The execs challenge him to make new healthier tastier cinema food. But essentially he fails because he can't beat 3c popcorn profit margins.

  • Ranagade on 22/02/2017 - 15:41
    +1

    I go to Hurstville Cinemas with my partner and parents quite a bit. One choc top is $6.60! So I just go down 2 sets of escalators to Woolies, grab a Magnum or Drumstick box on sale for $4 which has 4 pieces inside. Why pay 660% more???

    • ronnknee on 22/02/2017 - 17:21
      +2

      560% more.

      • Ranagade on 24/02/2017 - 11:53

        Yep, you're right. Still a lot more!

  • brentsbits on 22/02/2017 - 17:23

    Ah, the old collectors cup gambit. I keep asking them that even if I'm paying for it can I get it without the collectors thing cause I don't want it and throwing it out seems a waste.

    I always get the collectors cup apparently.

    • partymix on 22/02/2017 - 21:10

      Well it seems you CAN get it without the collectors cup by buying it individually, and you save* money.

      *relative to candy bar prices

  • Herbse on 22/02/2017 - 17:29

    I paid $27 for a popcorn and 2 drinks the other day. I stared blankly at him when he told me the price.

  • BradH13 on 22/02/2017 - 17:40

    Event, Hoyts, Wallis (SA chain), independents - never been stopped from bringing my own food in ever. I always do a supermarket stop beforehand and get chips or lollies, and a drink or two. I've even taken a 4 pack of Magnum ice-creams in for me and the crew without being questioned.

    I think it's mainly hot food that they try and stop you on, due to the smell and potential mess. I've never tried though, so I can't say that for sure.

  • syousef on 22/02/2017 - 18:06

    According to this we are the 5th most expensive country in the world for movie tickets. But do note that NSW and VIC are higher than QLD if my colleagues are to be believed.

    http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-most-expensive-movie-…

  • syousef on 22/02/2017 - 18:16

    They will keep charging like this while people keep paying. This alone takes away from my enjoyment of any cinema experience. I'm supporting rip off merchants.

    • brentsbits on 22/02/2017 - 19:16
      +2

      It's part of going to the movies so when I buy a ticket to go see something, I'm already expecting to pay that for the candy bar so it doesn't really worry me. If I think about it of course it's a rip off but it's all about setting expectations. If you can't see yourself paying, there's always Netflix :-)

  • tomokaicho on 22/02/2017 - 18:41

    I have a question about the candy bar at the cinema. I know for a while that it was permitted to bring stuff from outside if it was the same category of food sold at the candy bar, but I have been stopped before. It is allowed to bring stuff from outside?

  • Donaldhump on 22/02/2017 - 20:42

    It's three bucks, how much do you value your time!

    Why would u even worry

    • partymix on 22/02/2017 - 21:11

      It's the principle. Multiply $3 by the number of other people they're ripping off… especially as they're doing it knowingly.

    • Ahbal on 22/02/2017 - 22:31

      Well considering combo deals are supposed to shave off around $5…

  • djmm on 22/02/2017 - 21:35
    +1

    Oz bargainer buying stuff from cinema kiosk? You bring shame to the community.

  • yycan on 22/02/2017 - 22:57

    If you were supposed to get a special cup but didn't, couldn't you have asked for a refund?

  • Sleeken on 23/02/2017 - 00:12
    +1

    I used to work for a large cinema chain, very similar to the one mentioned and the policy of charging more for a combo was not only known but actively encouraged to be exploited. I hated working on candy bar because of the dishonest nature of it - then again many people weren't discerning or interested in the individual prices of items anyway.

    I'd say just bring your own food - policies may differ but it was only hot food that's not allowed at that site. Though, cinemas need candy bar sales to make a profit so there's that too.

  • gimme on 23/02/2017 - 05:23
    +3

    Elephant in the room. Why do people have to drink and eat all the time. Can't we just spend 90mins watching a movie without having to shove junk food down our gobs. No wonder we're a nation of fat kids and obese adults and a massively stretched health system.

    • Cluster on 23/02/2017 - 13:24

      It is part of the obesity epidemic in Australia. All food sold in cinemas is absolute rubbish and it's ridiculously expensive to boot. Ice cream? New release movies have up to 30 minutes of ads and trailers before the main feature. That ice cream is a puddle of cream if you want to consume it during the opening credits. Consuming a 'jumbo' soft drink just makes you want to miss part of the movie half way through. Popcorn? 10 cents of ingredients sold for $5.

  • mavis30551 on 23/02/2017 - 09:54

    Yeh but where else are you gonna buy fresh warm delicous popcorn?

    I normally go without but sometimes you just crave that rediculously overpriced pop cor, ya feel?

    • gimme on 23/02/2017 - 10:04
      +1

      at home :) where I can control the SALT and FAT content and not get gouged 298781% markup. It may sound boring but in my 25+ years going to the movies I have never once had anything to eat/drink. For the cost you can have a reasonably nice meal before/after.

  • crazyj on 23/02/2017 - 11:25

    On a semi-related issue -

    I'd normally never buy drinks or popcorn from the cinema - BYO.

    But I received an email as a Cinebuzz member from Event Cinemas, saying that they'd loaded my card with a special $8 combo - small popcorn and coke, valid for use in month of Feb 2017.

    Imagine my surprise (and the staff members) when they scanned the items, I mention the deal, they scan the card, and it says NIL $ due.

    Free popcorn and coke! Bargain!

    I'm going to try again this weekend. Worst that can happen is they charge me the $8. LOL!

  • TailsK on 23/02/2017 - 11:53

    I don't find going to the cinema that expensive. Practically every cinema has deal with a telco. $12.50 for a standard movie with Telstra (not including public holidays or Saturdays after 5:00 PM). If you want to do a movie, and then dinner on a Saturday, you can usually catch a 4:50 PM session, which will get you a discount ticket. Again, you buy a combo, and you get a few dollars off with Telstra. Generally we only buy 1 large popcorn/drink combo, and everything else (like a pack of Twisties or water) we buy elsewhere.

  • Cluster on 23/02/2017 - 13:19

    Take a photo and submit it to the ABC's The Checkout program for their 'sign of the times' segment.

  • Green Man on 23/02/2017 - 14:06

    What a rip. Someone should alert A Current Affair!!

  • Mx2 on 23/02/2017 - 15:00

    Hoyts have tried this scam on me a few times too. One example - I asked if they have any combo's for popcorn and drink and what are the prices. From memory it was also about $17 - but I was mega pissed when I was told all three sizes are the same price.

    This makes me wonder if each complex manager is incentivised for sales not based on total revenue, but by the average sale per customer. Might explain the gouging - head office probably set a (VERY HIGH) price for each item. An unethical complex manager creates a "combo price" and is loved by his superiors for being such a high performer. Or, if its not this and endorsed by Hoyts, another reason to avoid Hoyts considering:

    • Now they are 100% owned by Wanda Cinemas (Chinese). Nothing wrong with being Chinese (or forgeign in general). The head of Wanda is China's richest man http://fortune.com/2016/07/20/dalian-wanda-global-500-transi… Next time you pay $8.50 for a Hoyts Frozone, the $7.50 price difference is likely pure profit over a $1 frozen coke from anywhere else.
    • There are no updates from the ATO, but consider that a few years back they paid no tax on earnings https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240032 -
    • Hoyts American based Wanda owned cousin AMC makes 85% profit on candy bar sales. Supports what earlier posters here said happens here locally too http://www.businessinsider.com.au/movie-theater-concession-p…
    • Everyone at any Hoyts I go to always seems to be 15 years old and SLOW/Inexperienced. This = L O N G queues. Nothing wrong with 15 year old staff (we all had first jobs), but seems like they don't train them properly or they have massive staff turn over so everyone is new.
    • Hoyts new reclining seats are nice. But with the same shitty small screens and half as many seats per cinema after installation, it sucks to try and get decent seats for a new release (non blockbuster) film in a cinema with as few as 40 seats in peak times.
    • Extreme screen is a rort. Same seats as other cinemas at my local Hoyts. Its just the same 20 year old cinema with a new name that for 15 years was just a large cinema without a fancy name. The screen is the same size as it always was. Now they have a fancy name for it and charge you $3.50 extra - maybe with some fancy sound system that sounds no different from other decent cinemas to me.

    Event/ Village are not much better. US owned Reading are great value compared to other chains. Shame here in Sydney independents offering better prices have mostly disappeared. Richmond / Hornsby and Campbelltown residents are lucky with decent independents. I would hate to think how much Hoyts / Event / Village would charge without Reading or some Independents applying SOME pressure on the big guys not to gouge us even more.

  • JimmyF on 23/02/2017 - 16:36

    and this is why I say screw them and take my own drinks!!

    If I get refused entry (never have), you are within your rights to seek a refund on the ticket!

    • tomsco on 23/02/2017 - 19:40
      +1

      And that's the thing…

      Would they rather have a sale (albeit at a small margin) or no sale.

      • JimmyF on 23/02/2017 - 20:17
        +1

        There was another thread on here about village/hoyts staff. The ticket checker people said they're not paid enough to care about you bringing your own food/drinks in. So do it!

  • Schezwon on 23/02/2017 - 16:45

    All I have to say is that Hoyts combos are a joke, prices are not shown so you get a shocker at the end. I know they have to make money, but i think greed is more to do with it. A bottle of pump water for 7 dollars! Really?. http://www.dumaresqstreetcinema.com.au
    Charge only 7.50 for all tickets everyday and small pop corn are only 2 dollars.. We should support this movie company, I know it's not in the best location in Sydney.

  • Elision on 23/02/2017 - 17:34

    I used to work at one,

    The managers told us we HAD to sell combos, not seperate items. This often made it embarrassing when we were also made to upsell and suggestive sell for every transaction.

    Sometimes the small combo would be themed and be like $18, then the medium would be 14 and the large 16 or something. We couldnt Tell them the other sizes were cheaper if they asked for a small, but also couldn't UP sell them when they were cheaper so would have to ask if they wanted a 2 drink combo instead and then ask if they wanted choc tops or whatever.. it was stupid.

    The girl may have been in the same predicament but you definitely should have gotten the themed cup. I still think it's ridiculous but it's the mananhement I blame, not the staff as they would probably lose shifts or some stupid crap if they are caught not doing it right.

  • sagitox on 23/02/2017 - 21:29

    I've never bought anything from the candy bar. It's such a rip off! The only exception was one of my birthdays at the movies. As a treat I got a popcorn and drink bought for me. I always bring my own snacks. Even when the cinema says no outside snacks to be brought in, they can't stop you if you have been shopping before going to the movies and bringing in your shopping.

    Paying candy bar prices to see a free movie just cancels out the free movie in my opinion. The candy bar is a money grabbing scam and this post just proves it. They know they can exploit people by getting them to buy something with the smell of the popcorn, etc. Then they do stuff like this (although the OP should have got a "special" cup), it's still exploiting people.

  • payless69 on 24/02/2017 - 13:53
    -1

    Yank domination! I lived in the States for a while and loved it! There you can take the whole world for just fools. When I told my friends there that I was moving to Australia they all laughed at me. They told me that it was just a weak island they rob by remote. Still I do not miss the high crime over there. Now they have printed so much money with nothing behind it that they virtually control all banks in the world. Tension in China is building up and sometimes when I see terrorism against America and talk to some of the resulting refugees I start to wonder who deserves what?

  • neostarsx on 24/02/2017 - 14:09

    OK you complain that you may of been ripped off that fine.
    But for people who complain about the popcorn and drinks being expensive STFU already.
    Eat your bloody dinner before you go to the movies.

    • lolmao on 24/02/2017 - 14:24

      bring microwave popcorn in your bag

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join