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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: What would sell "the experience" of a theatre?
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
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Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 04-08-2006 03:02 PM
First off...you're in a small town, which doesn't really cater to big businesses and at that time when the 4plex was opened, yes, it was nice at the time, but times have changed now..for good
Secondly, how old is that 4 screener? Probably a good 20 yrs old with conventional sloped flooring (ancient and obsolute in this day and age settings...), small dimensional flat screen to auditorium size and with an atmosphere that is tired in itself. Does the place in itself look tired - worn, or bland carpeting, bland layout, concession stand that looks like it's ready to be town down and remodeled..seats that people squirm and twitch into while viewing the movie.
Does the place SMELL like a popcorn, or even candy factory..including the auditoriums?
Bathrooms - disastorious, or tidy?
Thirdly, what are your prices like.. are you about the same as the googooplex? You're in trouble for sure then...GET those prices down at least 2 bucks below that googleplex..and offer special matinee prices of sorts.
Fourth: Offer combo/refill deals. And make sure that the concession prices are lower than that googleplex.
Is the popper clean and bright, or does it look like you wouldn't even eat popcorn that comes out of that machine since it's been cooking black tar -with harden oil, grease, glass so grease covered you can make sunglasses out of that darkened glass, let alone the entire unit.
Is the marquee all lit up with bright signage and letters not all tape up, or even using different colors of letters due to a shortage of a few letters?
These are always a good start to look into, but you DO have a huge enemy in front of you and that is: "People love things that are NEW." - that you'll never win over from. All you can do is do your best within the means that you have.
good luck on your 'venture' - Monte
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Geoff Jones
Jedi Master Film Handler
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Posts: 579
From: Broomfield, CO, USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 04-08-2006 06:27 PM
I'm not in the biz, so this is only worth $0.02, but these are the things I wish theatres would do:
-Make sure your image is bright, focused, & steady with no stray light on the screen. Obvious, but anyone doing this is a step ahead of most.
-Make sure your sound is "good and loud" but not overbearing. Make sure your surrounds are working. Again, obvious.
-Install curtains. Protect your screens from thrown candy and vandalism. Keep them closed until the lights dim. Make a spectacle of opening them.
-Don't show commercials or slides. Advertise the fact that you don't show commercials or slides.
-Play movie soundtracks before the show, espcially ones that are relevant somehow. (Same composer, director, actor, etc)
-Make a pre-show announcement welcoming everyone, and instructing them to turn off their cell phones.
-Walk through every show a few times and throw out anyone talking disruptively (cell phone or otherwise).
-If one screen in noticably bigger than the others, advertise which movie is on it in your ads, recordings, marquee. If you've got the same movie on that screen and another, spell out which showtimes are the good ones.
-Build bigger screens. Don't have center aisles. Have quality sound with high highs, deep lows, spacious separation and no outside noise.
If you really think (& I agree) that "most of the movies coming out now suck wind," -Show classic movies on your best screen from time to time.
-By "classic," I don't mean Citizen Kane or Wizard of Oz, I mean the sorts of movies people are paying thousands of dollars to build fancy home theatres to see. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones.
-Show them at good times, not just 10am or midnight.
-Get the word out that you are showing them as far ahead of time as possible. Put up cheap reprint posters in your lobby. Make some ads about how much better movies are in a theatre.
-Show them at clever or relevant times. Show Titanic the week of 4/15. Groundhog Day on 2/2. Jaws on the 4th of July. Die Hard over Xmas break. Any great horror film at Halloween. XMen 1&2 & Superman 1 right before the new sequels come out.
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Geoff Jones
Jedi Master Film Handler
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Posts: 579
From: Broomfield, CO, USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 04-08-2006 08:17 PM
Mike, you may well be right. And like I said, I'm not in the biz, so feel free to tune me out. But for the sake of argument (what the hell, it's the internet ), here's my argument:
Just because it hasn't worked in the past doesn't mean it can't work now. Moviegoers are way more educated about movie quality than they used to be, thanks to the rise of the internet and DVD. How hard was it to find a letterboxed video 10 years ago?
And I'm not sure that "Classics on the Big Screen" has ever been "done right." When I moved to the bay area 12 years ago, I went around and saw lots of revival screenings.
I saw Jaws at the Red Vic in SF on a screen barely bigger than my home theatre (LCD projector), and at the Paramount in Oakland where the sound was so bad, the only way I could understand the dialog was the fact I had memorized the movie.
I saw Apocalypse Now in 70MM (and lots of other movies) at the Castro, which I found to be terribly echo-ey.
I saw The Terminator at a theatre in Mountain View (at Midnite) with green Exit light on the screen throughout the movie.
I've seen it posted here that 99% of moviegoers don't care about presentation quality. I think that's only a half truth. I think the moviegoers who do care about quality are staying home more often because that's the only way they can get quality. So yeah, it's true that 99% of the people who are still buying tickets don't care about quality, but not 99% of people who love movies.
And now for some real idealism: If enough theatres demand and pay for quality prints of older movies, the supply could go up.
Geoff PS: No offense intended to anyone at the theatres I mentioned... but those were my experiences.
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Matt Kerekes
Film Handler
Posts: 73
From: Rio Rancho, NM
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 04-09-2006 05:40 AM
Dennis,
I have always been big on special events at the theatres, like video game tournaments, cross-promoting and trade-outs, classic movie series, etc. A lot of which I have never been able to get off the ground. I too am having somewhat of a similar issue. You know where I am and know who I'm competing with, so I'm sure you understand. My general thinking right now is to try to give my customers something they can't get at the google-plex down the street. Whether it be something small like door prizes and raffles, or something personal like welcome speeches and handing out mints after the show. Once in a while if I cancel a show to do something fun for customers or something special for the community, I could potentially make more doing so than showing the movie and getting 5 people to attend. One thing recently was I took a portable popcorn popper (we have one that's 110 volts) to a girl scout father/daughter dance and gave out free courtesy bags of popcorn. Everybody there was so greatful and it got us some exposure to a crowd we do not normally get at the theatre. I do have many more ideas, most that you have probably heard before. Hope it helps. - Matt.
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Scott Norwood
Film God
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Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 04-09-2006 06:38 AM
Give people something that they can't get elsewhere. This is why I keep trying to convince theatre owners to show shorts with every feature--it makes the theatre experience "special" and differentiates your theatre from AMC/Loews/Regal/etc. Shorts are generally not expensive, but most theatres don't run them, which would make your theatre seem different and special.
Make sure that your concessions are top quality. For example, your popcorn should be the best popcorn that anyone has ever tasted, not just generic popcorn. Serve it in buckets rather than bags. Keep prices at a reasonable level. Install cupholders on the seats (yes, it's silly, but people like to go to theatres with cupholders for some reason).
Keep up on maintenance issues. The theatre should be spotless and projection and sound quality should be top notch.
I like the idea mentioned in another thread about having someone personally introduce the films, assuming that you can get someone who enjoys doing it and doesn't sound like a mechanical drone when doing the introductions. It's probably not worthwhile for Tuesday matinee shows, but it would be great for Friday and Saturday evenings.
If you cater to kids, try to get into the "birthday party" market (for one price, people get X number of child admissions and child popcorns, plus two adult admissions, plus a cake or something). If you cater to adults, consider selling beer/wine/etc. (not sure on the legal issues here). If you have really good quality video projection, consider showing the Super Bowl, etc. (I'm not sure how one would go about licensing this, but it is possible to do it legally). Also, look into hosting "sports highlight video" night for a local school, or maybe "student film night" (most of which will probably be on video, unfortunately).
Agreed about not showing advertisements and saying something about this in your newspaper ads.
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Jonathan M. Crist
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 531
From: Hershey, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 04-09-2006 11:29 PM
I operated a single screen historic theatre for over 19 years. I was forced to close last fall due to declining business.
I had: Discount admissions, reasonable concession prices with good food, friendly staff (we gave a talk before each show), working curtains,a full balcony, policed the auditorum during the show (walk softly and carry a big flashlight),ran cartoons and short subjects, had good projection and sound (film done right),no pre-show advertising, ran occasional revivals and special midnight shows ........
AND YOU KNOW WHAT..... it didn't mean A DAMN THING when the big boys got done overscreening my area to the point there was a multiplex every couple of miles!
People will only travel so far to see a movie and regardless of the presentation or the price or whatever else it is that they complain about ..... when it comes to choosing a theatre they will still usually pick the theatre closest to them.
Good luck Dennis if you are in a competive area! [ 04-10-2006, 01:18 AM: Message edited by: Jonathan M. Crist ]
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