High Cost of Movie Snacks Prompts Suit

A movie fan in Michigan is mad as hell and isn’t going to eat it anymore. Joshua Thompson, from Livonia, Mich., has translated the usually silent outrage and frustration of most moviegoers who can’t believe they’re paying $5 for what must be no more than a few cents worth of corn and transferred it to a formal legal action. Last week, Thompson filed a class action suit against his local AMC theater in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking a refund of what he charges is price gouging at the multiplex. “He got tired of being taken advantage of,” Thompson’s lawyer, Kerry Morgan, said. “It’s hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else.” Although legal experts expect the suit to be dismissed, Thompson’s outrage clearly touched a nerve. Blogs, online news and TV reports across the country have picked up the story. Nor is this the first lawsuit designed to address audiences unhappy with the moviegoing experience. As far back as 2003, a man in Illinois filed a class action suit against the Loews Cinema chain, objecting to the pre-show commercial blocks. There’s no word on whether he was successful, but evidence in just about any big chain movie theater — where a good 5 minutes of ads precedes the coming attractions — provides the likely answer.