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Topic: Carmike files Chapter 11

Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 01-09-2002 03:43 AM

Lines???

At a Carmike????

What planet do you live on, Darryl ... I've never seen any large quantity of people at the Carmikes I've run across.

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-09-2002 09:55 AM

The Carmike 10 here in Huntsville is usually always very busy, since it's the best theatre in town. Usually, their showtimes are staggered enough to keep line lengths down. If I notice a bunch of shows starting at the same time in the future, causing much longer lines, I'll definitely take note of it. It will be interesting to see Friday's showtimes to see if they go to that sort of schedule.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-09-2002 01:21 PM

Its called 'mandatory showtimes' and just about every movie has a set from the home office. For example, this Christmas I got to pick the showtimes for one movie-How High. Everything else had mandatory times. Due to the varying lengths these were actually staggered pretty well, I think their improving here.

As far as that ten screen with all those showtimes the same, bad management at the theatre or district level, or both. No excuse for that, if I have more than two big movie starting at once our DM calls us and says "Change it." If the above situation results from mandatory showtimes, I call him and ask, "Can I change it?" To which the answer is usually yes.

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Heyward Garner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 01-19-2002 02:53 AM

Mike, if you've never seen a long line at a Carmike... You haven't been to ours, buddy... And damn Dustin, I wish we had your DM. It isn't near that easy for us, Sir.

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Heyward Garner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 01-19-2002 02:56 AM

Evans, like Dustin said... (sort of...) You could see them go to that sort of schedule, you might not. I would like to note that we have tried to stagger our shows as best as possible, however it was a bit of a journey to get to this point. We (being local management) try to stagger showtimes, etc only to be denied by our DM. Once the DM recieves enough complaints, he gets this "great idea" to stagger our showtimes... That's how it works.

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Ryan Powers
Film Handler

Posts: 27
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 01-21-2002 11:46 PM

Heyward Garner is not kidding about the lines outside Carmike theaters in Winston Salem. The Wynnsong 12 is ridiculous on the weekends! It's not unusual to see 300 people standing in line to buy tickets here on any given Friday or Saturday. In most cases if you didn't buy your tickets hours in advance the movie will be sold out. I once went to the Wynnsong theater and saw massive line that wraped around the theater, and this was when it was raining. I didn't even bother getting out of the car.

Why is it so crowded? Maybe it has something to do with a population of 200,000+ people and only 27 screens from three theaters, and only 12 of those screens are stadium seating! It's terrible, Winston Salem needs a nice new theater like no tomorrow.

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Brian Potts
Film Handler

Posts: 59
From: Lexington, North Carolina, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 01-22-2002 12:01 AM

Ryan, we just closed 3 theatres in Winston-Salem that weren't doing any business. And besides, the Wynnsong 12 is only 4 years old. I personally think that we have enough screens to meet the demand. Why do we need another theatre?

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Ryan Powers
Film Handler

Posts: 27
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 01-22-2002 12:52 AM

The theaters that closed were horrible, and two of them were very close to the crowded Wynnsong 12 cinema I talked about earlier. There was no chance for them to compete once the Wynnsong converted to stadium seating. There is a obvious void in available screens now that they are gone. To give you a perspective of what I am talking about, I have lived in Winston Salem, Raleigh, and now Charlotte. Granted Raleigh and Charlotte are much bigger then Winston Salem, but in Raleigh There was 82 screens with in a 20 minute drive from my house. In Charlotte there is 109 screens with in a 20 minute drive. Winston Salem has 27, Concord, NC has more screens available with 35 and it's only a percentage of the population. I just think the Carmike 10 needs to be renovated and expanded, or perhaps a new theater for Clemmons/Lewisville area to relieve some of the traffic over at Wynnsong.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 01-22-2002 01:50 AM

Ryan - busy theatres are what we WANT! Just because one area is over-screened doesn't mean that we should over-screen every area! Empty seats are bad for business. The building spree is why everyone is BANKRUPT. Hopefully, no one else decides to build in Winston-Salem so that the remaining theatres stay profitable.

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Brian Potts
Film Handler

Posts: 59
From: Lexington, North Carolina, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 01-22-2002 09:12 AM

I have thought for years now that Charlotte was way over screened. The Wynnsong does very good business. The Carmike 10 does very good business for the most part. If they converted it to stadium seating, I believe it would take quite a bit of pressure off the Wynnsong.

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Ryan Powers
Film Handler

Posts: 27
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 01-22-2002 11:55 AM

I am glad the Winston Salem theaters are doing well, but as a customer it becoming a mission just to see a new release at the Wynnsong especially. People shouldn't have to arrive an hour before show times to wait in line for seats. You often can't distinguish between the line for tearing tickets and the lines for concessions. It's just a mob of people standing. If you want concession products the best way to do it is if one person stands in the line for the tickets to be torn and the other person stands in the line for concessions. In most cases it's better just to avoid the concessions all together so your not left on the front row or separated from your group. Carmike 10 is less of a journey, and if I am in Winston for a weekend visiting my parents, we usually try to go here if the film is offered because it is less of a hassle.

Crowds aren't the only reason, I think Winston Salem needs a new theater. It could be another reason, but I think it's because a lack of screens. In some cases, new releases come late, or don't come at all. For example, I saw "The Royal Tenenbaums" three weeks ago in Charlotte, although it was just released in Winston Salem this past Friday.

I could be wrong, maybe Winston Salem doesn't need another theater, but when Blockbuster video sounds like a better idea coming from a movie buff, something isn't right.

P.S. Charlotte does indeed have a lot of screens. I tend to mix the locations I go to around, and I do have to say they are typically pretty full every time I go, even on late showings on week days. The only negative thing I can find is that out of all the theaters in Charlotte, which is about 150 screens if you count the outskirts of the city, not one of them offers a THX certified auditorium. That was disappointing when I moved here and figured that out.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 01-22-2002 01:40 PM

When Cinemark 17 opened here, it triggered the closure of 3 aging Regal locations: West 11th Movieland 6, Springfield Quad, and the 1-screen McDonald. Regal tried running Springfield Quad as a dollar theater for a while, but Cinemark's Movies 12 has a lock on that too. The one remaining serious competitor to Cinemark 17, Regal Cinema World 8, seemed to be "decimated" for the first 18 months or so after the 17 opened -- not sure how they hung on. But their business seems to be improving some lately (might just be holiday blockbuster spillover though).

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- dave
Crab juice, or Mountain Dew?

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 01-22-2002 04:33 PM

Carmike is basically out of bankruptcy and are planning to build some new screens....their stock is up to $3.50 from 30 cents in the last two months.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmiami.com

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-22-2002 04:45 PM

Winston-Salem showtimes:
Wynnsong 12:
Seven movies at 1:00, five at 7:00, and four at 9:45. Boy, I'd like to see their per caps :rollseyes:.

Carmike 10
Five movies at 1:00, three movies at 7:00, and four at 9:45. Not as bad but still a tad congested.

The worst thing about the above two examples is that they are only using the mandatory showtimes for Black Hawk Down, the others have been changed from the original showtimes.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 01-23-2002 11:59 AM

Thank you Dustin!

Ryan - this show schedule here proves my point. If you have half your movies starting at one time ... of course you're going to have HUGE crowds and lines ... ALL THE CUSTOMERS ARE SHOWING UP AT THE SAME TIME! Hence, the problem is not too busy of a theatre, but rather ... a really pooor show schedule. I'm only going to critique the 7:00 round here.

7:00 Count of Monte Cristo/A Beautiful Mind/Black Hawk Down/Vanilla Sky/I Am Sam
7:15 Kate & Leopold/Mothman Prophecies
7:20 Orange County
7:30 Kung Pow/Snow Dogs
7:45 A Walk To Remember
8:00 Lord Of The Rings

At 7:00 you have 2 new releases (Count of Monte Cristo/I Am Sam) plus 2 of the busiest movies in release (Beautiful Mind/Black Hawk Down).

Why is there nothing starting at 7:05/7:10/7:25/7:35/7:40/7:50/7:55? It's amazing how much of a difference 5 minutes can make in a show schedule. Personally, I don't think there's any reason for 2 shows to start at the same time in a 12 ... I've never had to do it in my 10.

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