Price war? Another Springfield movie theater is lowering its ticket prices

For the second time in a week, a Springfield movie theater is lowering its ticket prices.

Starplex Cinemas announced Thursday that, effective Friday, adult evening tickets at Springfield 11 will decrease to $7.50 from $9.50. Tickets for matinees (shows before 6 p.m.) will be $4.50, down from $6.50. Children, seniors and students will be available to catch a film for $4.50 all the time, also down from $6.50. Tickets will also be $4.50 all day on Tuesdays.

The additional charge for 3D movies will be $2, down from $3. The ticket price for 2D and 3D Imax tickets will be $8.50 for kids and $11.50 for adults. Springfield 11 is located at 3200 E. Montclair St.

The new prices come one week after decreased prices went into effect at Wehrenberg Theatres’ Campbell 16 Cine. Prices at that theater — located at 4005 South Ave. — dropped to $7.50 from $9.75, while matinee shows decreased to $4.50 from $7.75. Child tickets (ages 2-11), which had been $6.50, are now $4.50 all day. (There’s a $3 surcharge for digital 3D films).

Asked by the News-Leader if the Campbell 16 price drop prompted Springfield 11 to do the same, Starplex Director of Marketing Traci Hoey responded: “Yes, I think partly.”

She said the company had been considering lowering prices when the Campbell 16 announcement was made, so “it just seemed like a good time to do it with that.” Starplex Cinemas currently operates 33 locations with 346 screens across the United States. Hoey said the Springfield location is the only one lowering prices at the moment, but that the move is being considered for other theaters.

Hoey also noted that Springfield 11 has upgraded auditoriums to “luxury, extra-wide electric reclining seats” over the last year-and-a-half.

“The lower ticket prices will be a great added value to our Springfield location,” Starplex Chief Operating Officer Tod Hanna said in the release. “The upgraded seating also enhances our guests’ movie-going experience, as well as makes them think of us first when planning their next trip to the movies with their friends and family.”

Want to catch a movie this weekend? Adam Sandler comedy “Pixels” opens Friday, along with “Southpaw,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The highest-grossing film last weekend was the superhero flick “Ant-Man.”