Classic Films Belong on the Biggest Screens

[Geoff Jones]

Are any of the first run films being bumped still in the first two weeks of the run?

First run films get bumped all the time during their first week of the run.

Here is the line-up for the biggest screens at DC Area Alamo theaters for the next four days:

		Woodbridge "Big Show" screen				Largest screen @ Loudoun
DATE	TIME	TITLE	SEATS SOLD		TIME	TITLE	SEATS SOLD
8/29	4:00	Candyman (rel. 8/27)	41		3:10	Candyman	15
	7:00	Candyman	19		6:00	Harry Potter &tSS	90
8/30	1:35	Candyman	2		1:15	Candyman	0
	4:20	Candyman	0		4:05	Candyman	0
	7:20	Total Recall	24		7:00	Harry Potter &tSS	127
8/31	1:20	Candyman	1		1:15	Candyman	0
	4:20	Candyman	0		4:05	Candyman	0
	7:00	Harry Potter &tSS	68		7:20	Flash Gordon	85
9/1	1:40	Candyman	0		1:15	Candyman	0
	4:30	Candyman	2		4:15	Candyman	0
	7:20	Flash Gordon	39		7:00	Total Recall	10

Obviously, the "seats sold" numbers are likely to increase, especially for the showtimes that are farthest away, but I would not be surprised if the total numbers for the 7 classics showings beat the total numbers for the 15 showings of Candyman.

That makes a big difference.

Are you sure about this? I get the feeling the concept of "two weeks exclusivity" might be out of date. It's been my observation over the years that each "big" new release played for one week in the premium auditoriums at each chain, and then was replaced by another "big" new release one week later. (Huge titles like Star Wars and MCU were exceptions, of course.) Things have been different during Covid because there haven't been many big releases.

And yes, it is very likely the big chains negotiate exceptions for regularly scheduled classics.

Ok, well, what would it take for those exceptions to be negotiated for more locations? Because the data clearly shows that in many markets, movie theaters would sell more tickets if they showed classics on their largest screens.

[Gordon McLeod]

They might sell more tickets but the amount studios collect would be less. The big circuits do negotiate special deals but that is the power of size. But even they are limited.

[Geoff Jones]

Gordon McLeod
If theaters play classics on their largest screens, "they might sell more tickets" [and even better,]"the amount the studios collect would be less[!]"

Alamo Drafthouse in D.C.
Yes! We do this every week. Our customers love it and we make $-bank-$. Everyone should listen to Gordon. He's like the wizard of cinema profiteering.

Alamo Drafthouse in Colorado
Nah, we're good.

[Geoff Jones]

Here's a small piece of good news.

The extended editions of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy are showing in theaters across 30+ states over the next three weeks through Flashback Cinema. Most of these showings will be in small auditoriums and most of them will probably outperform whatever is showing at the same time on the largest screen at each location. However...

I wrote to the nearest participating theater, WyoMovies, to ask if they would show them in their premium auditoriums. Initially, they wrote back to say "no," but then a few hours later they wrote again and said they'd moved the Wednesday night showings to the premium screens.

So for the next three Wednesdays, LotR fans in Wyoming (and dedicated fans in the Denver area) will have the opportunity to see the trilogy on a 64-foot-wide curved screen presented in 4k and Dolby Atmos.

The auditoriums at their Cheyenne and Casper locations are modeled after the Cooper Cinerama theater in Denver.

[James Biggins]

Now that is a proper movie auditorium!

[Geoff Jones]

At a couple of locations*, Harkins is currently running a few showings of Cry Macho (WB) on their premium screens (e.g. 2:00, 7:45) and a few showings of Shang-Chi (DIS) on their premium screens (e.g. 10:55a, 4:40, 10:25p)

(At other locations, Cry Macho is showing exclusively on the premium screens, while at others, Shang-Chi is exclusively on the premium screens.)

To everyone who claims that studio contracts prevent theaters from showing classics on the largest screens, please explain how this arrangement was made?

1. Did Warner Brothers say "Oh, sure, we're happy to share the biggest screen with our good friends at Disney."
2. Did lawyers from Disney, WB, and Harkins negotiate some sort of special contract for these titles at a some (but not all) of Harkins' locations?
3. Did Harkins just do it?
4. Something else?

Next question: If they can do this for Cry Macho, why can't they do it for classics?

This screen-sharing was presumably done cause Shang-Chi is still drawing decent crowds.

Nevertheless, The Silence of the Lambs outperformed Shang-Chi last Tuesday night, even though TSotL was on small screens. If The Silence of the Lambs had been on the premium screens, they would have brought more customers into the building, who in turn would have purchased more popcorn, soda, fava beans, and Chianti.

Here are two comparisons from Tuesday to illustrate:
Silence Shang AZ Mills.png

Silence Shang Flagstaff.png



* Tonight, at both locations, all showings for both films in the premium auditorium are currently showing smaller crowds than the showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in a small auditorium. Sigh.

[Gordon McLeod]

At a couple of locations*, Harkins is currently running a few showings of Cry Macho (WB) on their premium screens (e.g. 2:00, 7:45) and a few showings of Shang-Chi (DIS) on their premium screens (e.g. 10:55a, 4:40, 10:25p)

(At other locations, Cry Macho is showing exclusively on the premium screens, while at others, Shang-Chi is exclusively on the premium screens.)

To everyone who claims that studio contracts prevent theaters from showing classics on the largest screens, please explain how this arrangement was made?

1. Did Warner Brothers say "Oh, sure, we're happy to share the biggest screen with our good friends at Disney."
2. Did lawyers from Disney, WB, and Harkins negotiate some sort of special contract for these titles at a some (but not all) of Harkins' locations?
3. Did Harkins just do it?
4. Something else?

Next question: If they can do this for Cry Macho, why can't they do it for classics?

This screen-sharing was presumably done cause Shang-Chi is still drawing decent crowds.

Nevertheless, The Silence of the Lambs outperformed Shang-Chi last Tuesday night, even though TSotL was on small screens. If The Silence of the Lambs had been on the premium screens, they would have brought more customers into the building, who in turn would have purchased more popcorn, soda, fava beans, and Chianti.

Here are two comparisons from Tuesday to illustrate:
Silence Shang AZ Mills.png

Silence Shang Flagstaff.png



* Tonight, at both locations, all showings for both films in the premium auditorium are currently showing smaller crowds than the showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in a small auditorium. Sigh.

The agreements between distributors and circuits is bound by a NDA in almost all cases

[Bobby Henderson]

In the case of a movie like Cry Macho, I'll bet the exhibitors have a possible legal excuse for not showing that movie on the biggest available screens and using their discretion where to place it. Cry Macho can be seen at home on TV screens via HBO Max. I think that might void some of those screen placement requirements.

And then there is Harkins and its own practices. I've seen them bump movies that were advertised as playing on a Cine Capri screen only to be moved to a smaller house in favor of another movie. I was really pissed when I visited the Harkins Bricktown OKC theater, expecting to see the first Kingsmen movie on the Cine Capri screen. They put the 50 Shades of Gray movie on the Cine Capri screen and moved Kingsmen to another smaller house, even though Kingsmen was a much bigger movie in scale and had an Atmos mix.

[Geoff Jones]

In the case of a movie like Cry Macho, I'll bet the exhibitors have a possible legal excuse for not showing that movie on the biggest available screens and using their discretion where to place it. Cry Macho can be seen at home on TV screens via HBO Max. I think that might void some of those screen placement requirements.

I hear you and while you may be correct in this case, it doesn't explain the Old (UNI) / Snake Eyes (PAR) split earlier this summer. Unless I'm mistaken, both titles were released exclusively in theaters.

I also think this is entirely ass-backwards. Any title that can be watched at home on HBO Max (or Amazon, or Netflix, or on blu-ray for that matter), should absolutely be played on the biggest screens. Those titles are in direct competition with home theater.

Hey, you wanna see the new Clint Eastwood movie?

Oh, I love Clint Eastwood. Where is it playing?

It's at the local theater, but we could just watch it at home.

No! Movies are better on the big screen. Let's go out.

Ok. Lemme check the showtimes... Uh, it's just in the crappy small auditoriums.

F that. Those screens are barely bigger than what we have in the basement. Let's just watch it downstairs.

...later...

[Gurgle-gurgle Plooooosh Blaaahhh - flump]

What was that sound?

Oh, that? That was the sound of the local theater shitting itself and falling over dead.

RIP

And then there is Harkins and its own practices. I've seen them bump movies that were advertised as playing on a Cine Capri screen only to be moved to a smaller house in favor of another movie.

Have you seen this happen a lot? I haven't seen it occur in Colorado. It wouldn't surprise me if other chains were guilty of similar things, but I mostly pay attention to Harkins because they are the only exhibitor in the front range that seems capable of presenting movies properly.

[Bobby Henderson]

I haven't seen Harkins do the Cine Capri switcheroo with movies very often at all. But it happened enough to make me really gun shy about going there unless I was 100% confident there was no way the movie I wanted to see would get bumped by something else. Now that Harkins changed the seating policy to reserved seating it's much more difficult for them to be able to bump a movie booked on the Cine Capri to another auditorium.

[Geoff Jones]

According to their website, Harkins has added a showings for three upcoming Tuesday Night Classics to their largest screens. (RoboCop at the end of this month, and The Polar Express and Elf in December)

I feel like Andy Dufresne!

[Marcel Birgelen]

Sometimes, when things feel truly dire and dark, knowing that Marcel is cheering you on is enough to keep you going.

\o\ |o| /o/ <= me, cheering!

I guess if you keep calling them out here long enough, something has to break somehow, sometime.
<insert some smart quote about persistence here...>

The agreements between distributors and circuits is bound by a NDA in almost all cases

Yeah, but what I know is that they all count screen size by seat counts and not how big the actual screen or the room is.

So, multiplexes should buy loads of folding chairs and stock them in a corner inside their "smaller" theaters.

[Geoff Jones]

I haven't posted about this in a while, but that doesn't mean it isn't still happening. Nothing has changed.

At the Alamo Drafthous near me in Colorado, showings of holiday titles like Elf, The Polar Express, Gremlins, Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, Batman Returns, White Christmas, etc. are filling up small auditoriums while the "Big Show" auditorium sits relatively empty. (And Drafthouse locations in Northern Virginia continue to show classics on their largest screens and draw huge crowds.)

Many of the big chains are running Encanto on their premium screens in the mornings and afternoons, and then Ghostbusters: Afterlife on the same screens in the evening, once again debunking the myth that: "Studio arrangements state they need to keep it on one of their biggest screens for the first two weeks or so."

Harkins did move their upcoming Tuesday Night Classics showings of The Polar Express and Elf to their premium screens and advance sales look strong.

Too bad they didn't do it for A Christmas Story tonight. At several of their locations, they added a second auditorium for A Christmas Story, while their largest screen is hosting A Ghost Town. Here's one example:

image_2021-11-30_195558.png

[Gordon McLeod]

" once again debunking the myth that: "Studio arrangements state they need to keep it on one of their biggest screens for the first two weeks or so."
It is no myth every circuit negotiates their own terms if you are large enough otherwise it is the standard contract which their is a NDA on

[Mark Lane]

We have not done well with the classics but are giving it another try in an upcoming weekend.
Warner Brothers is offering a great deal on licensing (DVD or Bluray).. On one of the movies I had to talk them down but I can get four classic movies for less than one new movie. This has allowed local businesses to sponsor a movie, which cuts down our cost or covers the studio fees, plus the local business will help promote the movie. A local business can cover the licensing fees for a classic WB movie for less than running an ad in the local newspaper. Other studios I found are more expensive but some of them have shown a willing to work with us on their older movies.
In an upcoming weekend, our one screen theater is showing three different classic movies, all free to the public, because local businesses cover the studio costs. We still have the cost of heat and other expenses but hope the free holiday classic will bring in enough concession sales to at least cover the cost of opening the theater. We are giving it another try because and hoping for the best.

I found that the rules we followed in 2019 are not the same rules today.. you can ask the studio for a better deal and possible get one... not in all cases but the studio reps seem to be more willing to work with us now than they where before.