I don't get out much - sticker shock of movie theater tickets

A good friend of mine got my children Disney shirts from Children's Place for Christmas. The store was running a promotion for a $5.00 voucher for the movie, "Frozen," for each Disney shirt purchased. She asked if taking the older two to see "Frozen" would be okay. She wanted me to come along, too. With four vouchers in hand, we went online to redeem those vouchers and print out certificates. Whilst online, I checked the price of tickets. Tickets are $8.50 for children and $9.50 for adults, for matinee. What?! Since when?! How come new releases in the theater are so expensive?! I had told the girls I would try to get some popcorn, too. But, that was before I knew just how much tickets were going to be. Even with the $5.00 vouchers, that's still $16.00. Add on the popcorn, and around $20-something will have been spent. For someone who is trying to live on a tight budget, that puts a huge hole in my pocket!