Price Elasticity of Cinema and Theater: Addiction or Attendance in Turkish Cities?

This paper investigates to understand the difference between addiction and attendance, cinema and theater attendance and calculates the demand elasticities of cinema and theater. It is found that cinema and theater attendance are both normal goods. Price elasticity of cinema attendance is higher that that of theater attendance in addition to the fact that theater attendance does not have a significant relationship with price variable. In terms of addiction to cinema, both past and lead consumptions have positive effects on current consumption. This confirms to a rational addiction model. Cinema consumption in the longer run is more responsive to income changes.