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Topic: Star Wars Episode 2 booking terms.

Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)

Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 05-07-2002 01:19 PM

Quoting Ian:
"First Print, Minimum 12 weeks,

4 weeks @ 70% vs. 90/10
4 weeks @ 60% vs. 90/10
4 weeks @ 50% vs. 90/10

Second Print, Minimum 8 weeks,"

Question? Are those 90/10 over a house nut figure?

Say 90/10 / $8000.00 etc.

What kind of settlement will there be if the picture fails to meet a certain figure.

It's been over 20 years since I was involved in booking but I sure as hell would not recommend that the above terms be signed without some give on the part of the distributor.

Why not comeback and offer 95/5/$10,000. Watch how fast they will want to re-negotiate if it fails to perform in the 5th or 6th Week.

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Jonathan M. Crist
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 531
From: Hershey, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 05-07-2002 03:27 PM

Bob 90/10 is always over a house expense figure designated in the either in the indivual contract or the master lease for that particular venue. For new multiplex builds an individual house expense is usually based on so much per seat and sometimes actually approaches actual operating costs.

However, the film distributors however really stick it to older venues where house expense for a 90/10 deal is usually just some arbitrary (often historic) assigned figure which is often much lower than and bears no relation to actual operating costs. When an operator with an old house expense attempts to request that his or her floor be raised, the distributors (at least those in my neck of the woods) often completely ignore those requests, or limit the amount of raise at given time to no more than 10%(will only cosider an increase request no more than once every couple of years or so).

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Steve Anderson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 168
From: Nashville, TN
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 05-09-2002 05:28 PM

Is this "12 week minimum" pretty much locked in for all who books this movie? Reason I asked is the owners of our theater said that the booker told them that it would be a 4 to 5 week minimum.

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Tom Fermanian
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Sainte Adele, Quebec, Canada
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 05-09-2002 06:40 PM

There are 12 or 10 & 8 week deals, in Canada , They must all be played in the multi-screen cinemas for the slated amount of weeks in the big screen being able to move it to smaller screens solely on Lucasfilms permission,wether it deseves to remain there or not, all this accompanied with what most theatre owners feel are abusive terms.It was said on the last SW EP 1 that theatres where charged pro-rata for the weeks not played if the theatres in question did not play their full engagements.Also, the distributor took permission to yank the print out of the theatre if all their conditions where not met to a tee! Charging the additional weeks originaly contracted for.

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Michael Gonzalez
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 790
From: Grand Island , NE USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 05-09-2002 07:04 PM

"It's been over 20 years since I was involved in booking but I sure as hell would not recommend that the above terms be signed without some give on the part of the distributor."

Was that Distributor or Dictator?

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 05-10-2002 02:07 AM

I do sincerely hope that ALL of the exhibitors get together when Episode III is about to be released and say "no way, PASS" to these sort of ridiculous terms. Without the theaters, Lucas has no way to make money on his film and he will be forced to rethink his demands. These kind of booking contracts are just not needed. Hopefully with all of the majors combining together this sort of power can be thrown back at these kind of terms.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but if the film is GOOD, the theaters WILL keep it in their biggest houses WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO and continue to play it week after week for however long it continues to bring in the customers. Right? No contracts or threats are needed for that to happen...just a good movie!

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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 05-10-2002 02:22 AM

I'm with Greg on this pile of poop. I won't be seeing at all. I caught glimpses of EP1 out of various ports, and decided not to bother, and everything I've read and seen of EP2 does nothing for me either. It opens here on Thursday, with cinemas flapping and scheduling ridiculously early first screenings. Who they think will attend at these times is beyond me. The schools are not on holiday, and AFAIK Thursday is not any kind of public holiday.

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Tom Fermanian
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Sainte Adele, Quebec, Canada
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 05-10-2002 08:32 AM

I agree totaly with Brad, In a Multiplex today How many pictures at One Time are sooooo successful that we are refusing people at the door?? Max 3 or 4 at one given time, Most popular picture gets the seats deserved and thats it, we are not there to turn away business, if we have to, we'll cancel shows of an unpopular picture and play a picture in tandem (yo-yo) on more screens, Let it be remided that we are in the CINEMA business,our main sphere is SHOWING MOVIES, restaurant is an added revenu and should not become our main money maker!

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Lance C. McFetridge
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 135
From: Penn Yan, New York
Registered: Jul 99

posted 05-12-2002 09:13 AM

I guess my 4 week deal isn't too bad then. They reserve the right to additional weeks depending on grosses.

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Dennis Benjamin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1445
From: Denton, MD
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-12-2002 02:55 PM

You know, this is going to get me started on a subject that hits me where it hurts.

STAR WARS was the reason I got into the business.

STAR WARS will be the reason I leave someday (I'm sure).

You see it took me a while to learn the industry and how it works. Of course the majority of my career there were no STAR WARS movies out there until the re-relases back in '97. At that time I was still a big fan. It wasn't until Episode I opened that I realized how much of a greedy b*stard Mister George actually is. As a General Manager I was forced to sign paperwork stating that I would follow certain rules concerning the release of the film (a few of my friends were let go due to a breach of that contract). But you see - I had seen the film a month before it came out and knew that the bottom line was the almighty dollar. Maybe your saying right now - jeeze you're slow - it took you that long to realize that it was all about the money??? All I have to say is - yeah - I was such a big fan for so long - yeah -it took me that long to realize. The day I threw my THX personalized Tenneessee license plate in the garbage was the day that I stopped being a STAR WARS fan.

It is sad to see an artist with such an awesome imagination trade it in for dollar signs.

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"Running through life at 24 frames per second"

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David Stambaugh
Film God

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

posted 05-12-2002 06:12 PM

From their published showtimes, it looks like Cinemark 17 here has booked the space movie onto "only" 3 screens. (Spidey is on 4 screens). BUT they've scheduled a 9AM round of shows. First time I've seen them do that. They must figure they can make more money with 3 prints doing more shows each day, rather than more prints and normal scheduling. ?? After the first couple weeks they will probably dump the 9AM round and return to a normal 11AM or noon open and still be running all 3 prints. Seems like an interesting strategy.

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Tom Fermanian
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 101
From: Sainte Adele, Quebec, Canada
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 05-12-2002 06:44 PM

Well in our area, 1/3 of all the available screens in this province (208 Screens) have refused the picture alltogether, the few others that have made deals are taking 1 or 2 prints in theatres that had up to 5 for Spiderman. Like I said before only the 4 or 5 major markets have signed on plus a very little few smaller ones. This made the Newspapers (national) and French Network T.V.,(dimming (excuse the pun) : Georgie's Star) Exhibs actualy came out and blasted Georgie in print and voice!One reviewer (where he saw the picture I don't know) says: When this 'flavor of the week' humdrum saga passes, there will be plenty of other films a few weeks down to push SWep2 out of the way!May the force not be with Georgie anymore!

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Charles Everett
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: New Jersey
Registered: May 2001

posted 05-13-2002 05:31 PM

From what I can gather, National Amusements wants to send a message to Lucasfilm over the extortion-like terms. Here's what the NA-owned Multiplex Cinemas in New Jersey are doing:

All-Jersey (Newark) -- 3 Star Wars vs. 4 Spider-Man
Amboy (Sayreville) -- 3 Star Wars vs. 4 Spider-Man
Edgewater -- 4 Star Wars (3 in 35mm, 1 in DLP) vs. 4 Spider-Man
Hazlet -- 3 Star Wars vs. 3 Spider-Man

Locally for me Reading Cinemas (Manville NJ) has 3 Star Wars vs. 3 Spider-Man.

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Jacob Huber
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 172
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-14-2002 12:08 AM

At our head theatre (18 screens), we have 4 prints of Ep II v. 3 of Spidey (Star Wars showing in significantly smaller houses). All our other first-run theatres have 2 prints of each and in theatres of similar size.

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Steve Anderson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 168
From: Nashville, TN
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 05-14-2002 10:42 AM

Our little two screen independent theater, got it for 4 weeks. And we got a great deal on the ??/?? I talked with others in this area and 4 weeks seems to be the going terms. So who is being held to the 12 week terms?

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