CINEMA PRICES Govt. Not Aware Of Any Increase

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30531, 28 August 1964, Page 12

CINEMA PRICES Govt. Not Aware Of Any Increase

(From Our' Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 27. Competition from television would restrain film exhibitors from making any substantial increases in the seat prices, said the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Marshall) in Parliament today.

Mr P. Blanchfield (Opp.. Westland) has asked whether the Government was aware, when the- 1963 Budget removed amusement tax from cinema seats, that most theatres would abolish centrestall prices and patrons would have to pay much more. Mr Marshall said the Budget recorded that the abolition of tax Would enable exhibitors to increase revenue without undue increases in prices. There had been an undertaking by exhibitors not to increase prices for at least a year by more than the amount of the tax. That undertaking had ex-

pired on July 15 and it had been honoured by the industry. Mr Blanchfield quoted an instance of the charge for centre-stall scats rising from 8s for a man, his wife and three children, to 13s. . Mr Marshall: My evidence is nothing like that. If the member has such evidence, I shall have it examined. The Government had closely examined the difficult position into which the cinema industry found itself. That was way the tax was abolished. Exhibitors now made such increases as they thought the traffic would bear. Mr Blanchfield asked how Mr Marshall could reconcile his reply with the fact that a lot of cinemas had no competition from television, but had increased their prices, and with the fact that KerridgeOdeon revenue had been a record in 1963, and in 1964 was even greater. Mr Marshall did not reply to this question, but he told Mr A. J. Faulkner (Opp., Roskill) that any increases did not have Government approval.