posted 07-10-2007 12:50 PM                    

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Morris movie houses compete to fill seats
AMC's return to Rockaway mall spurs competition with Clearview

BY MATT MANOCHIO
DAILY RECORD
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The reopening of AMC Theatres in Rockaway Township after a five-year absence has created competition for movie fans in Morris County, with theater chains offering various rewards programs to keep customers coming.

With AMC's re-emergence at Townsquare mall with its 16-screen multiplex, its biggest competitor, Clearview Cinemas, now has the task of keeping a fan base from shrinking while still trying to entice customers to visit its many venues.

Clearview Cinemas, owned by Cablevision, has theaters in Chester, Kinnelon, Madison, Morristown, Parsippany and Succasunna.

AMC Theatres, a worldwide chain, owns movie houses in East Hanover and AMC Rockaway 16, which opened late last year.

Neither company discusses specific theater attendance figures but anecdotal evidence suggests that AMC has drawn away some of Clearview's regular customers who visit the Succasunna and Parsippany theaters.

Some customers are loyal to AMC, while others remain with Clearview. Sometimes it's just a matter of location and convenience for customers. Other times moviegoers prefer specific programs offered by the chains.

In any case, each chain will do what it can to draw from its opponent's fans base and keep its own by offering a variety of customer-friendly programs.

"I grew up in Dover," Sammy Santana, 27, of Dover, recently said. "And (AMC) was always at the mall. You have the inner theater at the mall and the outer theaters. When they closed I stopped watching movies for a long time."

Clearview and AMC have been business competitors even before the Rockaway theater opened. The East Hanover theater opened in 1993, and is one of 379 theaters worldwide. By contrast, Clearview, which formed in 1994 and became a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp in 1998, operates 52 theaters in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Each chain isn't only just wooing Morris County customers. Residents of Sussex County routinely take the trip down Routes 10 or 15, usually to nearby Succasunna. Now with AMC in Rockaway, they have their choice of venue.

"Clearview showcases the very best in first-run films in state-of-the-art theaters designed to provide our customers with the perfect movie-going experience," Clearview spokeswoman Beth Simpson Crimmins said in a statement. "And unlike other larger theater chains, Clearview's customers appreciate the added value we bring as a regional exhibitor, offering movie-based programs uniquely created for the communities we serve in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania."

Both chains are in the midst of one of some of the most-anticipated movie releases this summer, including "Live Free or Die Hard," "Ratatouille," and "Transformers." Many of those chains' customers are relying on rewards programs offered by both to make their visit less expensive than it normally would be.

"The Movie Watcher program ... is the industry's first membership program with rewards," AMC's corporate communications manager Andy DiOrio said in a phone interview. DiOrio compared it to an airline frequent-flyers program.

"Guests earn points toward free movies and concessions every time they buy a ticket," he said, adding that customers get two points for each ticket they buy, up to four points per guest, that can eventually be applied toward small popcorns, sodas and movie tickets.

"Seniors get in at 60 and they give you bonuses every time you come in, and they give discounts with the AMC card," Parsippany resident Phil Blaustein, 60, said of the AMC theater in Rockaway. "Sometimes even a free movie. "They do things that are extremely customer-oriented."

Blaustein said he wasn't a fan of Clearview because of smaller seats and screens, and added that the AMC senior discount kicks in at 60, but at Clearview not until age 62, he said.

"It's newer, it's bigger, it's (got) better parking and seniors get in at 60," he said.

Clearview offers its Clear Advantage program. Customers can gain points at Clearview theaters for every dollar they spend at the box office, and unlike at AMC, for every dollar spent at the concession stands, spokeswoman Simpson-Crimmins said.

Randolph resident Maria Martorana said Clearview's Optimum Rewards program keeps her loyal to the Succasunna Clearview Cinema 10. Customers who sign up for three Cablevision Optimum Services, iO digital cable, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice, get free tickets every Tuesday as well as ticket discounts.

"The Optimum Rewards just makes it a no-brainer for us," she said of her family, later adding, "Every Tuesday you can go for free, for two people. And any other day you can buy them at $6 each up to four. ... I have to tell you with the ticket price, Clearview's great for me."

One of AMC's biggest benefits, according to customers, is its unobstructed stadium seating, huge floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall screens with surround sound.

Mike Gatzke, 33, of Rockaway, said he used to attend Clearview in Parsippany prior to the opening of AMC at the mall.

"I like what I see more at AMC with stadium seating and the bigger screen," he said, later adding , he started noticing more advertisements for Clearview since AMC reopened.

"It's nothing against Clearview," Gatzke said. "I did like Clearview. But I live closer (to AMC). The stadium seating is pretty much the selling point."

Simpson-Crimmins said that while the Succasunna and Parsippany theaters don't have stadium seating, other theaters under Clearview's umbrella do have them.

"We just installed state-of-the-art digital projectors in Parsippany and Succasunna," she said. Both Parsippany and Succasunna theaters recently underwent both interior and exterior renovations giving them a modernized look, while also adding and expanding theaters. Simpson-Crimmins said those renovations were planned long before AMC moved to Rockaway.

Boonton resident Alexandra Owens, 45, also attends Clearview Cinemas because of the ticket discounts.

"We save enormous amounts of money with the Optimum Rewards benefit, which gives ... huge discounts on Clearview tickets," she said in an email. "It's the best movie-pass benefit I've ever seen. Until and unless they change this benefit, we'll be going to Clearview Cinemas."

Owens said she has been to AMC in Rockaway but was unimpressed.

"It was dead quiet and I'm sure we didn't get the correct impression of the place," she said. "It's nice, but compared to the prices we've been paying (it's) way too expensive."

Each chain also offers their own selection of art-house or classic films.

AMC, for instance, offers what it calls "specialty films" -- or art house movies -- which sometimes aren't readily available to mainstream moviegoers, AMC's DiOrio said, citing Angelina Jolie's "A Mighty Heart" as an example.

Clearview is in its second successful rotation of its Classics films, such as "The Godfather," "Animal House," "Goodfellas," "Rocky," and "The Shining." This program runs at the Succasunna theater with select films running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

"It's been so successful (that) we're on our second eight-week series," Simpson-Crimmins said.

AMC also has discounts for morning movies, DiOrio said.

"AMC offers guests the best ticket price of the day before noon on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, depending on the theater itself," DiOrio said. "At Rockaway that price is $6." He sad that the price is $5 before noon at East Hanover.

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posted 07-11-2007 07:27 AM                    

quote: Bobby Henderson

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If you have some turd who is only there to collect a paycheck, you'll have a dump of a theater.

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