Paramount Introduces $50 "Mega Ticket" Concept With 'World War Z'

With the home theater market quickly gaining on the theatrical experience, movie studios are doing whatever they can to draw people to the theater. 3D has been the biggest change in recent years but, these days, 3D in the home can be even better than the theater. So what's next?

Paramount has an idea that's pretty interesting. Starting with the upcoming release of Marc Forster's Brad Pitt zombie movie World War Z, fans will have an opportunity to buy a "Mega Ticket" to see the film. So, instead of $12 or whatever the film costs, you pay $50 and get to see the movie in 3D two days early with a small popcorn, an HD download of the film (when it hits Blu-ray), a pair of limited World War Z 3D glasses and a full-size, limited edition poster.

Five theaters are participating in this experiment on June 19, and tickets are on sale now. Get the links and analyze the move below.

The World War Z Mega Ticket promotion is taking place at the following five locations:

You can buy tickets for all of those theaters at this link and read more about the specifics here.

Removing the fact this is starting with World War Z, I like the idea of this move. Theaters need to fight back against better quality home presentation, diminishing windows between theatrical and home video, and piracy. Charging more has never been the right approach but getting more for your money is. I think buying a movie ticket that gets me a few collectibles related to the film, concessions and a digital download is a very strong idea. If given the choice between seeing a movie on Friday when it opens or, paying a few extra dollars, getting all that and seeing the movie early? I might choose the latter.

It's certainly not a concept that's air-tight. $50 is a lot of money and probably not equivalent to everything you're getting. Plus from the images on the sites above, those glasses don't look limited and those posters are just the teaser poster. Also, no drink? So the whole thing could use some tweaking. [More exciting/crazy glasses, Mondo-type posters, etc.] Still, when the studios and theaters attempt something to fight in service of the theatrical experience, I'm all for it.

What are your thoughts on this "Mega Ticket" promotion?