The Movies Aren't Family-Friendly Anymore

We decided to have a special "Abby Day" on Sunday in honor of our girl starting kindergarten. We left Jacob with his Gammy and Grandaddy and took Abby to see the new 3-D guinea pig movie "G-Force".
Boy were we in for a shock! The movies are not family-friendly entertainment anymore - but not in the way you might expect. When we went to buy our tickets we amazed (in a bad way). For two adults and one child, admission to a matinee was just shy of $30.00!!! Whoa!
Then we headed to the snack bar. We got Abby a kid's pack (small drink, small popcorn and fruit snacks). Josh and I each got a drink and split a large popcorn. I got a hot dog because I was starving and needed to eat. Anyways, the tally for snacks was $30.00 + !
So for the three of us to see a matinee and have snacks it cost approximately $60.00. Josh and I roughly figured that for a family of four to see a movie on a Friday or Saturday night it could easily cost $100.00.
I was really blown away by this. It seems like I am consistently reading reports of the failing movie industry. Usually, the blame is laid on the lame selection of movies that are made. But in reality, how can any family afford to go to the movies more than once or twice a year with the prices they are expected to pay? I think that many movies are highly criticized because it is such an investment to go see them that anything less than perfection is unacceptable.
Anyways, back to our movie. We saw "G-Force" in 3-D. I should mention that the new 3-D is wonderful! It really enhanced the movie. The movie was okay. Abby really liked it, especially seeing her favorite scene ("Get your butt out of my face." "Get you face out of my butt") . Honestly, all I could think of during the movie was what else we could have gotten for $60...