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Author Topic: Busy Christmas Day? Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 12-26-2004 03:24 PM                     For any of you guys that were open on Christmas day, how was business? My theater was kinda busy, we did about 10,000 people gross which wouldnt have been too bad, but our projected attendence was only 6000. We were a tad understaffed.  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 12-26-2004 04:17 PM                     We were slammed at the drive-in. We had 1 call-out and 1 no call/no show so the other manager was in the box office and I was all by myself with 2 people in concession. We had 84 cars for one screen, 25 for another and 92 for our main screen. We average 30-40 a night for the 2 big screens. I ran a WHOLE lot across the fields last night.  |  IP: Logged Jason Gazaille Film Handler Posts: 46 From: San Diego, CA, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 12-26-2004 04:33 PM                     We had 7,000. Projected 6,500.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 12-26-2004 08:02 PM                        10000 people? Sweet Jesus. No wonder those managers make $60+ annually. Our business was somewhat higher than I had expected, given the we have onscreen. The staff all showed up, as scheduled, and we all had a generally good time. Several opf us brought food to work so that everyone could have a festive meal at work among their 'theatre family'. Given the weather today (rain/sleet) we have been surprisingly busy.  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 12-26-2004 11:06 PM                        Deadly slow, which was a shock. Between Thanksgiving and the day before Thanksgiving we did about 200 people with one show, but this weekend we barely broke 200 people and with 2 shows on Friday and 3 shows on Saturday and Sunday, with Sunday being the busiest with 108 people. Hopefully this vacation week will be good for our little twin.  |  IP: Logged David Yauch Expert Film Handler Posts: 206 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 12-27-2004 02:59 AM                     We projected around 11 I believe, but we did over 12 gross. Of course when you get that busy there's not much christmas spirit floating around. Not too many customer complaints, but the ones we did have were awfully cranky. I even had one customer remark that he though he was going to be the only one with the idea of seeing a movie on christmas!  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-27-2004 08:06 PM                     Let me just say it was busy [ 01-28-2005, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: Paul Konen ]  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 12-30-2004 02:16 PM                     We were a little slower then what I thought we would be  |  IP: Logged Brandon Willis Expert Film Handler Posts: 216 From: Richmond, VA, USA Registered: Apr 2004 posted 01-01-2005 01:15 PM                     Slammed, all day.  |  IP: Logged Brent Neal Jones Expert Film Handler Posts: 211 From: Ennis, T.X., USA Registered: Nov 2001 posted 01-01-2005 01:27 PM                     Yes we were busy too, didn't really surprise me though. What did surprise me was the business Tuesday night. We were slammed, guess there was nothing else for people to do. Also got slammed again Thursday, not something I've really had experience with in a while. The more the merrier though, its no fun if it's not running you ragged. Barry- What you running there?  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 01-01-2005 09:14 PM                        We were running 2-3 shows of Ocean's Twelve in it's first week and Lemony Snicket's in it's second week. The rest of the week did do very well, so we must have a population that either a) didn't think we'd be open on Christmas Eve/Day (possible if they don't know we're under new ownership) or b) don't go out on those days of the year. This weekend has been great so far with Ocean's Twelve and Finding Neverland, in fact Neverland is doing better than Ocean's on some shows and of course we have great percentages on both so that helps. I still wish we got Meet the Fockers on opening, Universal was willing, but one of the owners thought it would be a really lousy movie. Hopefully we will be opening it this Friday.  |  IP: Logged Brent Neal Jones Expert Film Handler Posts: 211 From: Ennis, T.X., USA Registered: Nov 2001 posted 01-02-2005 02:40 AM                     Barry: I hear ya on "Fockers". I'm hearing it everyday and can't wait myself. NO you didnt have a bad line-up, though Im with your boss, I wouldnt expect Oceans to do anything, or at least anymore than you've done. I was just expecting with all the star line up in it that it would hold on longer. We had to drop it at the Galaxy. Got down to like fifteen cars out of fifty staying for it on just the first five days we had it. I think what helped our Christmas most was the interstate and being this close to Dallas. They say the car count out there is like 10,000 peak a day. Heres to better movies for the new year....take care  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 01-02-2005 09:36 PM                        Brent, we got more than a fair amount of business off of Ocean's, we didn't open it on the 10th because they would have forced us to keep it 3 weeks to include this past vacation week. So we took it in on the 22nd and got a great percentage on it. Because of the percentage and the good traffic before and after christmas, we ended up making a little less than we usually would make with a film on it's opening and a little more than something we picked up 4-6 weeks late. I think Ocean's might have been hurt by a lot of word of mouth too, nobody came out of it saying how they loved it. I myself much prefer the first one. So this one might have got a lot of people saying "no, don't go watch that, I hated it." The big surprise has been Finding Neverland. Between all the screwups Miramax pulled with it's release and the fact that we're getting it so late I thought it would do fair at best. We're making about as much if not more on some days with Neverland over Ocean's. Fockers I'm just hoping that Hoffman and Streisand make it funnier than Meet the Parents...which I only marginally enjoyed. The previews make it seem everyone else is doing the exact same jokes/routines in Fockers, but any scene with Hoffman and Streisand makes me chuckle.  |  IP: Logged Brent Neal Jones Expert Film Handler Posts: 211 From: Ennis, T.X., USA Registered: Nov 2001 posted 01-05-2005 12:32 AM                     It sounds that you really pay attention to your movies. Hell, I have to admit I didn't watch anything but snip-bits of "oceans" and didn't finish watching it at that. Just wasn't my kind of movie. Your problably right about the bad word of mouth, though. By the way, you've got a heck of a booking situation there. didn't you say you were in a twin and running first run? That's almost unheard of now in most places...I'm soooo jealous ! Ive really had a ball with the last two indoor twins I helped run, but only one of them ever had the chance to run first run. By the time it was made available to it, it was put under by bad management. Glad to hear y'all did well, though. Good booking stratagy by the way, sounds like the work of someone else I know. Take care now...  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 01-05-2005 05:57 PM                        It is tough running a twin first run with the minimum 2 week run requirement on most occasions. Fortunately our nearest competition (other than a crappy non-profit that runs mostly months-old product) is about 30-45 minutes away and they have a habit of turning people off with their policies/prices. We don't only run FIRST-RUN, sometimes we get it at the break (Incredibles, National Treasure, Spiderman 2, etc), sometimes a couple weeks late (Ladder 49, Ocean's 12, Fahrenheit 9/11) and then when we have no new product worth getting or there aren't enough prints to include us in the first week or month we'll fill in with "thoughtfully chosen movies" such as Sideways, Stander, I'm Not Scared, Strayed, etc. and play a couple month old sub-run (I Robot, Alien vs. Predator, Cinderella Story, etc.) under the "thoughtfully chosen movie" on the same screen, just adding a second showtime for the other film. We've had increasing attendance with this method, and the owners love not relying on mainstream Hollywood and just running whatever new movie comes out that the studios felt like giving us a copy of. Thanks for all the discussion and well-wishes, and best of luck to you too!  |  IP: Logged

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