UNITED STATES—I’ve always been a fan of going to the movies. As long as I can remember it was a ritual for me to head to the multiplex at least once a week. As I’ve gotten older it has decreased somewhat, because of a busy schedule and the price it costs to go to the movies. For starters, the ticket price isn’t that bad in my opinion. It can be anywhere from $6-$15 depending on the time that you see the movie.

The big problem is the concession stand. As a film studies graduate, I am aware of the fact that most movie theaters make most of their income from the concession stand, hence the jump in prices for certain items. I can’t wrap my head around purchasing a box of candy for $4, when I can purchase the same box at the Dollar Tree for a buck. When it comes to soft drinks they do give you a hefty amount for a large drink, but you find yourself, not drinking most of it during the movie.

The big kicker has to be the price of popcorn. Its so mind boggling! I was just at the movies this weekend and easily spent $50 bucks, $20 for tickets and more than $30 on food and have no idea what I purchased. A large popcorn was close to $9 and it didn’t even look like it; that is what baffles me the most. It tasted stale and had very little butter.

It was so alarming to me that when I went to get a refill on my popcorn the second batch tasted way better than the first batch. Why the difference? Perhaps the second batch wasn’t sitting on the counter for hours end, being killed by that temperature light aimed to keep things fresh.

My nephew being the spoiled little kid that he is, just had to have some candy, so I fork over $8 for two boxes of candy I’ve never even heard of. Yes, you can call me crazy for doing that as I regret it also. I didn’t purchase any drinks cause I didn’t want to have to leave the theater every five minutes to take someone to the bathroom.

We were running a little late to the movie, so I was stunned that upon entering the theater it was almost impossible to find our seats. Yeah, I frequent to a theater where you have to pick your seats upon purchasing your tickets, so it makes it quite hard to find your seat when the movie has started and it’s literally pitch black. Yes, trust me, it was seriously that dark, we had to wait for a bright moment to appear in the movie to locate our seats.

The one thing that gets me the most about the multiplex nowadays is the fact that the theater charges so much for the 3D glasses if you see a 3D movie. Like an extra $5 bucks on top of the movie ticket itself. That is just ludicrous, but you want to know what’s worse? The theater wants you to recycle the glasses at the end of the movie. Like are you kidding me.

I’m recycling glasses that I just paid for and you’re not giving me anything for it. I don’t think so. I think if the theater gave some sort of perk, recycle your glasses and receive a small popcorn, soft drink or box of candy that would be fine. No way am I recycling my glasses for you to just place them back into another sealed bag to sell them at the same price.

The movie going experience is unlike anything else in my opinion because you can seriously escape all the chaos in your life for 2-3 hours. You’re taken to another world, but why does it seem year after year the price of a movie ticket continues to skyrocket to epic proportions so much to the point that it seems to be less affordable for one to take the entire family out without breaking the bank at the same time.

I’m starting to see why some people sneak snacks into the multiplex; it’s much cheaper to do that then to spend $50-$100 on snacks that won’t even subdue that appetite.