Sunday I negotiated someone into going to a movie - no horror movies, comedies OK - so it was "Chicken Run". It was still running at a primary first-run mall multiplex that had been closed for massive remodeling & reopened this summer. Every other auditorium supposedly THX, all rooms EX.

I stalled at the concession stand so that we got into the auditorium after the listed start time, so the opening titles were just coming up. The film was eaten up with horizontal scratches. It was like watching a movie through a screen door. But, the first comment I heard was "That air conditioner sure is loud!" The depressing thing about that is that it seems like folks are sort of conditioned now to be unfazed by damaged prints.

It was *work* to watch that movie.

There were about 15 others in the auditorium (OK, it's an older title, & it was Saturday afternoon), but for once I was grateful for some loud & running but responsive children. Otherwise, it would have been like watching a comedy in a church. And stadium seating still is further diminishing emotional involvement with movies, dadgummit!

The reply to "How was it?" was "It was OK." And I'm sure most of that was just being polite. We here can tell separate a good movie from bad presentation, but an *audience* cannot. The movie to them is the whole experience, & what we saw was no reason to go back & give money to people to do that again.

The sad part about that is the print of Chicken Run you saw was quite possibly a used print that had been thouroughly "integrity inspected" and deemed to be a good print. It is quite possible that theater never laid a mark on it, or did tons of work cleaning it up before you saw it. Still, the customers never know and say just what you did and decide to never patronize the theater again. This is exactly why I get so angry at Technicolor when they demand prints back after "sneaks" and trade screenings only to jumble the prints around instead of sending them back to their originating theaters.

It is my personal opinion TES should hire an outside inspection company (I would even form one if there was an interest) to go through all prints that are returned from theaters. I'm absolutely positive that the service would completely pay for itself AND turn a nifty profit by CHARGING theaters who lay a mark on prints. Charge them for the reel or entire print, but charge them! This is the only way the exhibition industry as a whole will get off of their butts, from being forced to care about their presentation.

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The sad part about that is the print of Chicken Run you saw was quite possibly a used print that had been thouroughly "integrity inspected" and deemed to be a good print. It is quite possible that theater never laid a mark on it, or did tons of work cleaning it up before you saw it. Still, the customers never know and say just what you did and decide to never patronize the theater again. This is exactly why I get so angry at Technicolor when they demand prints back after "sneaks" and trade screenings only to jumble the prints around instead of sending them back to their originating theaters.

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I've done my hard time on making something presentable of a TES print delivered just in time for a one-night showing, & couldn't agree more about them being a major presentation problem.

But the above scenario then makes *two* theaters responsible for the rotten show
1. The theater that banged up the print in the first place, & putting junk on the screen at *their* theater
2. The theater that didn't scream & get another print after getting the nasty one from the first theater. With no more concern for their own audience, they just let it run.

And really, it's a sort of corporate mentality that seems to come from a little above the DM level. Folks at the local level are either trying very hard, or have developed a defeatist attitude. I've begun to create to classifications of "depressed projectionist" & "mentally dissociated for his own mental health manager" to slot some of the folks I meet into.

Now we're coming up on Labor Day and we'll be lucky to do better this summer than last. For six straight weeks the national box office total has been lower than the same period in 2001.

Could it be the economy? It hasn't hurt business in New Jersey (yet) but it may be hurting business elsewhere.

Could it be the product? The last few weeks we've seen 2 or 3 hits plus a bunch of programmers.

Could it be a backlash against the hype? Star Wars Episode 2 got to $200 million easily and struggled to get to $300 million. MIIB, Goldmember, and xXx will need overseas box office to turn a profit.

The Cinemagic Drive-In is going to end its season by getting the movies "Master of Disguise" and "Crocodile Hunter" starting this Friday, then will close for the season on September 5.

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Would seem to be a good time to cater to the "empty nest" crowd with more mature or art fare, or "chick flicks" for those abandoned by their sports-nut significant others.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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You also have staff that are less than courteous to customers, exorbitant concessions prices, poor screen performances, a lack of ambience, screen advertising (just like TV) and poor quality product. Is it any wonder business is down?

There is a solution to this but, based on their past performances, I doubt that the corporate brass will listen to it as they seem to be programmed into believing that the movie-going public will accept anything they do. Duh!

Bob
The Old Showman

In terms of teen to twenty-something dating audience, it's not hip to go to the mall. And that's where most of the theatres are.

Theatres (even the chains) actually used to do something called programming. They would buy films appropriate to a market or even a neighborhood. Now, every multiplex (or megaplex) is playing exactly the same films.

No studio wants a film that does under $150 million. This limits the kinds of films made into the big star-driven, special effects driven blockbusters and garbage teen movies. Thirty years ago, there were far more choices. When I was dating, in addition to the hits of the day, we also went to see Truffaut, Bertolucci, French new wave, etc.

I think films are over-marketed. You see TV and other advertising for so long before the movie is released, by the time it comes out you think it's an old film.

Trailers are so loud and hyperactive in order to attract teens, that they scare away everyone 35 and above.

Concession prices are too high. In NYC, the minimum price for a small soda is $2.50 and a small popcorn is $3 to $3.50. Moviegoers don't understand the economics of the business and that in most cases, the theatre isn't making much from the film itself. They just think they're getting ripped-off.

And, in spite of stadium seating and digital sound, much presentation isn't that great. Most mega theatres are not warm and inviting places and you don't feel the sense of magic that one should feel when entering a theatre. This isn't helped by the use of ads instead of thematic walk-in music, etc.

Because of all those factors, more and more people are electing to watch the DVD instead. A New York Times article earlier this week maintained that there is now a 33% DVD penetration rate in the US and that DVD sales/rentals will reach $8.1 billion in 2002 (vs. $4.3 billion for VHS).

They also claim:
DVD sales now exceed VHS sales.
The average DVD owner purchases 15 films per year vs. 5 for VHS owners.
Home market sales/rentals now accounts for 50% of total take.
Typically, domestic theatrical release is only 20% of total take.
As of 6/30, Training Day grossed $76.3 million at the boxoffice and $86.10 in DVD Sales/rentals (not including VHS.)

As of 6/30, Fast and the Furious did $144 million at the boxoffice and another $144 million in DVD sales/rentals.

They make the case that increasingly, the theatrical release is a marketing exercise to promote home sales.

Now, IMO, just as most people still shop in physical stores even though they can more conveniently shop online, I think many people will tire of watching movies at home. People enjoy the group experience. One proof of that is that earlier this summer, 10,000 people showed up in Bryant Park to watch Young Frankenstein and almost that many showed up for The Postman Always Rings Twice. IMO, they came because it was quite exciting as a group event, although everyone also got really into the films: they cheered when each main character appeared and a laughed at every joke, even the bad ones. If those films had played at the Film Forum or one of the other few revival houses, they probably wouldn't have been seen by more than a few hundred people at most.

Theatres have left all marketing to the studios. When was the last time you saw a theatre market itself? In NYC, the few THX screens don't even indicate themselves as such in newspaper ads. One of the problems with the chains owning everything is that IMO, they think of themselves as McDonald's. They want every theatre to be perfectly consistent with each other. The only problem is that, like McDonald's, it's consistently mediocre.

I read this week that "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which was made for something like $6 million, has done about $60 million at the boxoffice, certainly way beyond anyone's expectations. Hopefully that will start a trend of producing more intelligent, independent films that attract a wider audience, just as Easy Rider started a trend away from the last generation of big-studio boring musicals (think "Paint Your Wagon").

While advertisers and marketers still live with the fantasy that only 18-35 year old males are worthy advertising and marketing targets, one day it's going to hit them that people over 50, the baby boomers, will soon be the majority of the population.

And I hope they never stop producing VHS tapes, otherwise I won't be able to buy movies anymore.

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Cinemark didn't and they are one of the top five.

Mike Spaeth hit the nail on the head. Discount business is up compared to last year. Everyone is seeing those movies that came out in the spring and early summer leaving the crap in the first runs alone. Wonder what will happen when the crap hits second run. First runs get more business.

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