posted 12-26-2005 01:20 PM                       

Indeed, you are correct. What's really amazing is that the majority of, if not all of, the high level Exec's have never managed the day to day operations of anything larger than 6 screens...

quote: Louis Bornwasser

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Admittedly a long time ago, but "the cast of characters" and their ways have not changed.

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posted 04-16-2006 10:49 AM                       

quote:

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Carmike Cinemas rolling out its digital experience, including bingo, video games, concerts, sporting events, religious programs
BY TONY ADAMS
Staff Writer
(4/10/06)

Saturday morning video games for the kids and late-night gaming for adults. Church services on Sunday morning, followed by bingo in the afternoon. Live concerts and sports events, some with in-your-face 3-dimensional pizzazz. Those are the flashy ingredients that Carmike Cinemas is banking on to lure more people into theaters as the company rolls out its digital viewing experience over the next two to three years. The Columbus-based motion picture exhibitor signed a contract with Access Integrated Technologies in December to outfit 2,300 of its screens with digital technology. Access subsidiary Christie/AIX began installing computers and servers in North Carolina theaters in February. The Carmike 15 and Hollywood Connection Ritz 10 in Columbus could go digital as soon as mid-summer, said Tony Rhead, Carmike senior vice president of entertainment and digital cinema. The plan is to be totally digital by October 2007. "The clarity of the picture and the sound is much superior to 35mm," Rhead said of the traditional film used to show movies. "After a movie has been playing three or four or five weeks, you might see scratches and jumping in the film. That's just wear and tear of the film going through the projectors. There'll be none of that with digital."

A beautiful picture and crisp stereo sound are important. But one of the prime advantages of digital will be the flexibility it offers, Rhead said.

For instance, the company is exploring a contract with a company called TimePlay that offers "alternative content" to cinemas. Possibilities from TimePlay, which has offices in Universal City, Calif., and Toronto, Ontario, include:

• Video games in which players use wireless controllers to battle each other in bigger-than-life action on the big screen. Players could be in the same cinema, or different theaters could take on each other.

• Bingo games in which players pick up preloaded electronic cards in the lobby, then square off against each other in the comfort of a theater seat. Up to 150 people could play at one time, according to the TimePlay Web site.

• Kids' games might include SpongeBob's Summer Camp, according to TimePlay, with birthday parties and other events a draw for the 5- to 12-year-old crowd.

• Live concerts, comedy shows, sporting events and novelty attractions such as monster truck shows could be shown in larger communities. Programs could include a NASCAR race with cars careening around the track in 3-D.

Professional wrestling also would be a major draw, considering "WWE Raw" on USA was No. 2 in the Nielsen Media Research cable television rankings last week, attracting nearly 5.5 million viewers.

Religious offerings

Carmike management appears to be most excited about the possibility of showing religious-oriented programming. That might include gospel music and sermons from popular ministers and evangelists such as Houston-based Joel Osteen, who now spreads the Lord's word through sold-out shows in 15,000-seat arenas around the country.

"Before, if we wanted to show Joel Osteen, he'd have to film it and put it on 35mm," Rhead said. "Now all he has to do is send the signal to us and we can show it live or delayed or whatever."

Religion paid off handsomely for Carmike in 2004. The chain raked in more than $20 million from Mel Gibson's controversial film, "The Passion of the Christ." It was a record take for a movie shown by Carmike.

The sporting events are at least two to three years away, Rhead said. But the company already is in talks with promoters about concerts, which could start in digitally-enhanced theaters as soon as May. The games will begin when a contract is signed with a technology and programming supplier.

More and more movies, meanwhile, are to be shown in 3-D. "Monster House," scheduled for a July release, will take on a tri-level dimension, while you'll be able to "Meet the Robinsons" in 3-D this Christmas.

"It's nothing like the old 3-D where you have a little flimsy pair of glasses and... you had to hold your head still because if you moved your head it went out of focus," Rhead said of the improved technology and equipment.

Carmike is counting on the new and eclectic digital offerings to generate a buzz for an industry that has fizzled somewhat because of a dearth in quality movies. Home theater systems and quicker releases of DVDs to the retail market have impacted theater attendance as well.

Lower box-office sales

The chain has yet to release its annual report for 2005, saying audit firms are still examining the financial data to make certain it is accurate. No date has been set for the report's release, said Judy Russell, Carmike's director of investor relations.

The late filing prompted the Nasdaq stock exchange to notify the company March 28 that it would be delisted because of the late filing. Carmike plans to appeal the decision, and its stock will continue to trade until the company meets with Nasdaq officials.

"We feel very confident that Nasdaq will understand what's going on," Russell said.

Carmike also warned in March that it expects the 2005 earnings report to show significantly lower revenues, operating income and net income than in 2004. The decline is based on a drop in box-office sales, the company said.

The movie industry as a whole expects the transformation to digital to provide a major-league boost. The pace of digital film releases is beginning to pick up, with more than two dozen available this summer alone. They include "The Da Vinci Code," "Mission Impossible 3," "Cars," and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2."

Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, MGM and Disney all are ramping up production of digital product.

"The important thing is to embrace the future, respect the economics of DVD (sales), but move forward into digital delivery," said Ben Feingold, president of Worldwide Home Entertainment at Sony Pictures.

Rhead expects the theater industry to enter the digital realm at a steady clip, but doesn't anticipate lightning-fast growth.

"You're not going to see 36,000 screens go digital in the next five years," he said. "You'll be lucky if there's 10,000 in the next three to four years."

CARMIKE CINEMAS

Ticker: CKEC

Exchange: NASDAQ

Closing price: $24.36 Friday (up 16 cents)

Market value: $299.85 million

PE ratio: 34.95

52-week high: $36.40

52-week low: $21.11

Business: Carmike is a leading motion picture exhibitor in the United States with 301 theaters and 2,475 screens in 37 states, as of March 31, 2006. Carmike's focus for its theater locations is small- to mid-sized communities with populations of fewer than 100,000.

President, CEO and chairman of the board: Mike Patrick

Employees: Carmike Cinemas employed 7,821 people in 2004 at its 282 theaters nationwide and its approximately 48,500-square-foot headquarters at 13th Street and First Avenue in Columbus. Of those employees, 7,277 were part-time.

DIGITAL ROLLOUT

Carmike started installing digital equipment in its theaters in late February. The chain has digital capability in Tyler, Texas, and the North Carolina cities of Durham, Morrisville, Wilmington, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and Greensboro. Chattanooga, Tenn., should be ready by next weekend.

Columbus is expected to receive digital screens perhaps by the middle of this summer, with the Carmike 15 at Columbus Park Crossing and the Ritz 10 at Hollywood Connection receiving the technology. Theaters in Auburn and Dothan, Ala., and Albany, Ga., should be outfitted around the same time. The new theater in LaGrange, Ga., will receive digital equipment from the outset.

The company anticipates having digital technology on 2,300 of its screens by October 2007.

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posted 04-16-2006 02:58 PM                       

quote:

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"The clarity of the picture and the sound is much superior to 35mm," Rhead said of the traditional film used to show movies. "After a movie has been playing three or four or five weeks, you might see scratches and jumping in the film. That's just wear and tear of the film going through the projectors. There'll be none of that with digital."

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