Overly naïve and simplistic rhetoric about "the market" invariably fails to mention that while ideal markets are effectively forced to price commodities as close to the minimal margin of efficient production, it doesn't take much of a barrier to entry for suppliers to silently shift to pricing at the point of pain because they know it makes them all more money.
The recent collapse of movie theatres clearly illustrates that there is no reason they could be getting away with making $10 margins on popcorn, of all things, other than customers were being charged exactly as much as they would tolerate without telling the proprietors where to stick it.
The recent collapse of movie theatres clearly illustrates that there is no reason they could be getting away with making $10 margins on popcorn, of all things, other than customers were being charged exactly as much as they would tolerate without telling the proprietors where to stick it.