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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: D Cinema in trouble?
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 03-23-2007 03:46 PM
quote: Monte L Fullmer
The owner gave me a small business lesson when I mentioned to him on a sight upgrade to the equipment in the booth that I thought we could use, but more of a desired item than a needed item.
He mentioned that whatever we do to improve needs to increase his gate sales, but being such a tivial thing,then it's not worth wasting the capital money. It has to be something big to make the exspenditures worth while.
I would agree with the concept behind this statement.
However, how one quantifies the benefit to be had from a particular improvement greatly affects the cost vs. benefit determination.
For example, it's easy to quantify something like adding a person to the concession stand during busy times. If, by adding a third person to the stand, and you make 50% more sales than without that person, now you can subtract that person's cost for that time period and come up with the net effect in sales. The icing on the cake is that you probably have happier customers because they didn't have to wait as long to get their popcorn and drink.
But now, apply that same logic to the carpeting in the lobby. It's getting a little worn out and it's not looking the best, and probably should be replaced. Will replacing it have a direct impact on sales? No. It will have an indirect impact on sales due to the overall experience by the customer. But how do you quantify that indirect impact? It's very difficult, even though most reasonable people would probably agree that the carpeting should be replaced.
Applying that logic to something like D-Cinema, how many customers are going to come to Theater A because they have D-Cinema, vs. Theater B that does not?
One would hope that just having D-Cinema equipment isn't the only thing that Theater A can hang their hat on, there are probably some benefits that they can use to their advantage:
- It's a marketing buzzword that can help to build interest
- If the theater had any issues with jump and weave, those should be gone. Don't underestimate the impact this has on the customer. Home theaters have gotten people used to the idea that the image doesn't have to bounce around on the screen, and a lot of detail can be lost by that little dance that film likes to do.
- There are titles/events/programs that are now available to Theater A that are not to Theater B. An entrepreneurial theater can do a lot to draw audiences and create revenue streams that weren't previously possible/practical
- etc.
D-Cinema won't make or break a theater, but any theater that flat out dismisses the technology is deluding themselves of what the future looks like. Unless their presentations are spot-on perfect at all times, there are benefits to be had for the customer and that should reflect in a residual increase in box office sales. It can't be alone, though. The rest of the experience has to be up to par, and some marketing needs to be done (D-Cinema or not) to attract customers on a regular basis.
If D-Cinema allows a theater to provide a better presentation, to work more effectively, and/or to bring additional revenue in the form of new features, services, ad opportunities, et al. it should be given more than a passing consideration and dismissal.
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 03-24-2007 08:44 AM
quote: Steve Guttag
There are things that need to be done to maintain the existing customer base, to run a business efficiently that just won't map over to increased ticket sales but are just as vital to the long-term health of the business (any business, not just theatres).
It is one of the big problems movie theatres have with the current business sense...there is no perceived income for money spent on the actual showing of the movie. The theatre retains only a small portion of the ticket sale and it VERY hard to translate money spent on showing the movie (so long as it runs) to increased ticket (and hopefully per-capita concession sales).
About a year ago, I was talking with one of the theaters that I work with about digital sound systems and the like, and the conversation travelled to the use of curtains. I said that I thought it would be very cool to see curtains across the screen before the show, and have them open when the movie began. His immediate question was "How many more sales would I get if I did that?" Unless he could see a direct correllation between ticket sales and the purchase, he couldn't justify it.
Perhaps that's why I don't run a theater, as I wouldn't be profitable at doing so. To me, things like the curtain spread, digital sound trailers, the talks before the show, those are all what makes the presentation fun and enjoyable for the audience. Maybe not every customer would appreciate them to the degree that I would, but like a fine restaurant that creates an atmosphere that reflects the owner's tastes and ambitions for the place, I think a theater should be more than a customer assembly line.
I see D-Cinema as a way to simplify the operations of a theater (I don't know for sure if it actually does), create additional opportunities for content (the Opera showings, for example, not that I get into that sort of thing), and maybe even additional revenue opportunities through advertising, meeting simulcasts (Microsoft just held one of these at some Regal Cinemas in Illinois), etc.
If there's a business case out there that makes sense, and it sounds like there is, it's foolish for theaters to dismiss it out of hand. It's gotta be all about the showmanship, and anything that adds to that goal has to be worth something.
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Chris Parry
Film Handler
Posts: 8
From: Richmond BC Canada
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 03-26-2007 02:20 PM
My grandfather was a self-made, started-out-with-twenty-bucks, richer-than-rich kinda guy, and he used to say, any time someone complained about an expense not bringing in an immediate sales increase, "Did you see a Coca-Cola billboard today?"
The person complaining would usually reply yes, to which my grandfather would reply, "Did you stop and buy a Coke when you saw it?"
The answer would inevitably be no, and my grandfather would reply, "So are they wasting their money on that billboard, or do you think they see it as a longer term investment?"
Replacing carpet, or upgrading equipment, or streamlining an operation is a cost with no immediate benefit, but a substantial long term benefit. And any company that doesn't view those as being important will fail - or at the very least, struggle.
Wal-Mart was built on long term thinking - they'll lose money on products when they first open a store, effectively driving competitors out of the market, and allowing them to ramp up prices when they're the only gig in town.
Putting new chairs and carpet in a theater won't bring many people to your theater in and of itself, but when the competition DOESN'T replace their old chairs and carpet...
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