Not really. If I go to a movie, they've done all the work for me. I can sit back, relax, and enjoy. I can even choose to go to the older-run movies at the cheap theater for $3 or check out first run movies on Sunday morning for $5 or even the double-feature at the drive-in - a 2-for-1 deal - to save money. But for an RPG, I'm one of the people making the fun, hauling my stuff, etc. Plus there are plenty of places available to me for free (including the gaming groups at the student union - for which I got a lifetime membership when I graduated). The game store has to compete with that to get me to play there. So while I don't object to there being a fee, I will be picky about how much that fee is.
Its a rental on a space.
You rent a hall for a wedding reception, you still have to pay to have the cake, the band, the booze, etc.,- many don't provide much more than the space in which you put all that stuff, plus possibly some tables & chairs.
You rent a hall for giving a talk, they provide some tables & chairs, a PA, and possibly some food service- but that's an extra.
You play a stadium, they get a cut of the ticket sales.
How much the store should charge for space at a game table- assuming a smart owner- would be calculated by figuring out his base costs of rent, common area maintenance (if any), climate control, utilities and wages, etc. to be paid monthly per square foot. That number tells him the absolute minimum he needs to make in his overall space on average to cover his expenses. If he then decides to devote 100 square feet to gaming space, he'll know how much money that space needs to generate monthly to at least break even.
If it doesn't break even, then he either needs to charge more for the space, replace the gaming space with more productive services or merchandise, or raise prices elsewhere in the store to subsidize the space. (Again, all assuming he can't write it off as a cost under advertising/promotions.)
Or they may have to move their store to cheaper space. There used to be a Luby's near where I live that targeted a higher-end clientele than most of the rest of the chain. While most of what they served was the same as their other locales, they had set aside a certain part to serve prime rib roast, lobsters, and other more expensive fare. That location had higher monthly revenues than any other Luby's in the chain. They also had the highest rent and other expenses. Their monthly profit was $2000/month- that's $66.67/day- easily the lowest in the entire chain. That location closed after about 18 months.
As for the movies...
Well, if all you and your buddies ever buy at the theater is a ticket- as in, you don't buy any concessions- that theater will fold. That's because the studios take home between 85-95% of the ticket profits for the first month of a run, with declining percentages over time.* A long run means the theater will start taking home a bit more, but concessions are where the house makes money or breaks down.
The dollar flicks and other discount theaters do better, but even then, the bulk of their profit is from concessions.
* This is also why you've seen some movies get more than one theatrical release- each release gets the same treatment. So the studios release a film and it does well for a month and a half, then they take it off the market. Then they re-release it and it does well for another month. In both of those runs, the theater only takes home a piddling amount of ticket sales profits.
