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Topic: Booking question for Two Towers

Brent Mahaney
Film Handler

Posts: 43
From: Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 09-06-2002 04:11 PM

Generally speaking, is there a rule which states that if you got LOTR, you probably won't get the sequel? I know booking is not an exact science but I want to verify what I've heard through the grapevine.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-06-2002 04:21 PM

That depends -

Did you play Austin Powers In Goldmember? If you played FOTR AND AP3, chances are slim that you have TT, but it you didn't play AP3, you may get TT. Depends - are you in a 50-50 product split situation, or a 75-25, 60-40?? Details would help. Ultimately, it will go to whomever NL allocates it to.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 09-06-2002 04:57 PM

I am praying the booking situation in my town puts "The Two Towers" in the Carmike 8 theater. It is stuck in an allocation deal with the absolutely horrible Cache 8 theater down the street. The Carmike theater didn't get "Goldmember", but that may mean nothing in terms of where "The Two Towers" gets booked. Normally, the allocation arrangement in Lawton just goes back and forth. The good theater gets one release and the shit theater gets the next one, so on and so forth.

Does anyone know New Line Cinema's planned release schedule from mid summer through fall and into the holiday season? If I know the order of releases, then I can tell whether the Carmike would get booked for the "Two Towers" or not.

Sometimes exceptions can be made in the allocation process. Hopefully that would come into play since the Carmike theater is the only one in my area with digital sound on all screens and a couple theaters built to THX specs. The opposing theater is crappy on show quality. I heard a couple branch office guys from Paramount visited Lawton to investigate why "K-19: The Widdowmaker" did so poorly when they booked it in the old, crappy Wallace Theaters Cache 8. They were appalled by what they saw and will likely book no more product in that theater. I'm just hoping Wallace closes the place before the holiday season, that way the Carmike theater would get the next LOTR film as well as the next Harry Potter installment.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-06-2002 06:49 PM

New Line schedule:

8/23 Simone
10/11 Knockaround Guys
11/22 The Friday After Next
12/18 The Two Towers

They also are releasing "Invincible" on their Fine Line label on 9/20 if that makes a difference.

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Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 09-06-2002 08:29 PM

Here in Bakersfield, we have three complexes. All three complexes get all major releases. I remember these product splitting (which I thought was illegal) and allocation days, though. From the latter 60's through the mid 70's, Fox, UA and Disney went to one theatre (and all (non Cinema Center) National General films), WB and MGM went to another, and a third got Par, Columbia, and Cinema Center. One drive-in got American International, and a set of three locally-owned drive-ins got Universal, Crown, and New World. Yes, even films like AIRPORT and SWEET CHARITY debuted at the drive-in.

As far as The Two Towers is concerned, Ill probably see it at the Chinese in Hollywood

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-06-2002 09:02 PM

Bobby ... chances are 75% or better that the Carmike will play Two Towers if they didn't get Goldmember. Usually, in a 50-50 split, you won't lose both the Summer "A" picture, and the holiday "A" picture.

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 09-07-2002 01:07 PM

All first run theatres in Honolulu would get all major films as long as they agree to the studio's rental terms.

As far as product spliting, that also used to happen here in Hawaii. There were only two major theatre chains and both were locally owned.
The larger one, Consolidated Amusement Company would later be bought out by Los Angeles based, Pacific Theatres. The other chain, Royal Theatres is no longer in business. Up until the mid fifties, Consolidated had first run rights to all of the major studios pictures except Republic. For some reason, Royal picked up first run rights to all Paramount Pitures in 1954 with "ELEPHANT WALK" and all of Walt Disney's pictures in 1957 with "OLD YELLER". They also picked up first run rights to all Universal-International Pictures around 1958 (Universal Pictures was known by that name at the time). Royal also used to split United Artist first run rights with Consolidated. With the exception of Universal Pictures, Royal Theatres retained their first run rights with Republic until the studio folded and with Paramount, Disney and in part with United Artist up until they went out of business around 1982.

-Claude

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 09-07-2002 03:31 PM

Mike,

I hope you are right about the 50/50 split thing. Because if the normal back and forth thing holds, then the Carmike in my town would lose out on the "Two Towers". They didn't get "Goldmember" but got the next release, "Simone." The flip flop on the next three releases would put the LOTR film in a really terrible dump of a theater. I won't pay money, much less even watch a film for free, in that Wallace Theater's location. Many others in Lawton will not either. The place needs to be shut down. Hopefully, more branch office managers like the guys from Paramount will investigate and then not book anymore product there due to the place being so run down. Then that would force the old eight plex to close. I'm just sick and tired of it being nothing more than a thorn-in-the-side spoiler to the Carmike 8, a theater that should be getting twice the business or more than it is getting thanks to this allocation nonsense.

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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-08-2002 12:34 PM

Maybe every time anyone sees a horrble performance at the Wallace theater, they should write a letter to the distributor, saying how they were "unable to enjoy this wonderful film" because of poor presentation. Explain the product-split situation and say you will "not patronize the theater regardless of what film is playing" or how badly you want to see it. Also mention that it is "not only the filmmakers and distributors that suffer, but also the patrons of these films" in this kind of situation. That should ruffle some feathers.

=TMP=

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 09-08-2002 01:29 PM

I may have to write a letter just like that to New Line. Years ago, I wrote a similar letter to Fox when the allocation deal wasn't even holding up. The Carmike theater was then only two years old and fixing to miss out on "Independence Day" (more Fox films than not were being redirected over to the Cache 8, which was being run by UA at the time). Apparently Fox didn't realize a much better eight-plex was available in the market and they did move the film over to the Carmike.

Still, I don't know the full terms of New Line's allocation contract in Lawton and whether a 50/50 split even applies. If that contract has "The Two Towers" bound for the old cruddy theater then there may be little I can do.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-08-2002 02:10 PM

Don't forget to alert New Line to the problem with space motion sickness there too.

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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 09-09-2002 12:35 PM

I thought that only happened at AMC.

=TMP=

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Charles Everett
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: New Jersey
Registered: May 2001

posted 12-04-2002 04:23 PM

New Line is looking to open The Two Towers in approx. 5500 theaters. Why 5500? There's a big product jam ahead -- 4 wide releases on 12/13, The Two Towers on 12/18, 4 wide releases on 12/20 and 2 wide releases on 12/25, not to mention "Oscar Bait". With all that product out there many theaters may only be able to open 1 or 2 prints of The Two Towers.

AFAIK most theaters that opened The Fellowship of the Ring will also open The Two Towers.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 12-04-2002 06:31 PM

Why 5,500? because they have the control of the marketplace. They could care less what other movies the other distributors have to offer the theatres. They have the "golden" product that everyone wants ... so they'll be able to get it everywhere they want.

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David Favel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 764
From: Ashburton, New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-04-2002 07:30 PM

Yea, as happened last year even a small town down the road from me (pop >2000) got it.

Subject to the same terms as a 3 screen, but the potential was/is there.

They made a small fortune & set themselves up for the year. A win win situation as far as the distributer was concerned.

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