Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Rated R, by Parental Permission
So, I realize that I’m on this movie theme, but I couldn’t help it. My colleague Russ sent out an email about a card that’s being offered by GKC Theatres that’s causing all sorts of controversy. Essentially, it allows parents to pre-allow their children into R-rated movies by the purchase and signature of a “permission card.”
CBS News has a pretty comprehensive story about it.
The implications?
Well, for one, ticket sales. Not that they’d go up. I think, frankly, they may drop. If major chains were to follow suit, parents who don’t want to be dragged to comic-book movies or Adam Sandler flicks may end up just getting the card so that they could get a massage at the spa, or spend more time shopping at the mall. Another reason sales might drop is because kids, who perpetrate most of the “show-sliding” (slipping into another theatre for a double-feature without going out and buying a new ticket) today, won’t have an adult to stop them.
It’ll be an interesting trend to watch.