About ten years ago some friends of mine and myself were looking into reopening a theater that was damaged by a fire next door. We looked into everything that Ian listed above and came to the realization that making our money back in five years was going to be very difficult do to all the renovations that the theater was going to need.

Since then some investers and the city have reopened the theater and it a fine opperation. Much better than I would have dreamed.

I think by knowing how this industry works helped us make the decision not to invest in this opperation.

Andrew their is no guarentee that your investment will work at all. The most important thing to know is the demographics of your area. What kind of movies do the people like to watch. What is the average age of the people and how often do they go to the movies.

unfortuatly there is no cheap way to go about concession items. I know you can say the local stores can sell that same size reese cup for a dollar. The problem is is that it costs the store .95 cents for each of thos candy bars. So their profit is .05 cents a bar. Stores can get away with this because they sell large quanities of everything.

Movie theaters on the other hand have to charge two and a half times the cost of the candy bar to make a profit. Since the turn over of concession items is no where near that of a grocery store.

It is a strange fact that second run theaters have a harder time selling concession Items than do first run. The two main factors that could cause this are the people looking for the cheaper theater ticket can't afford to spend the extra money on concessions. So they slip in food they by somewhere else. Two, some people just don't think that they should have to pay more for their food than it cost to get in.

It will be a long road Andrew. But if you are serious about this and not just blowing wind around. Take and follow everyone's advice in these forums. Especialy Ian's because he has been thru this and obviously knows what he is talking about.

Making Money every one is selling advertising and it is an added revenue but not sufficient to cover your day to day costs. Also certain film distribs will not permit any advertising with there product

Saving Money
Every one uses the Public service adds that is nothing new
When the big guys finish with a picture it is basically finished
CineQ? why it is lucky to work when it does and requires even a higher level of skill on the part of an operator when it doesn't work
2 Union projectionist in canada don't make 33.50 per hour to run silver city complexes
The highest in Toronto is 16.00 per hour (9.00 us) for union people
Renovations you get what you pay for
GST is still charged on all admissions
Theatre designs
Carpet doesn't sell seats and in a business plan the supplier doesn't really count
LED signs are about as unimportant
Also the seat model isn't all that important and for a budget operation that you are claiming this is abit extravegant

Theatre Descriptions
Do you have a agreement with the landlords ?

Theatre Operations seems taken right out of a large Canadian circuits handbook
Future Great Thespian chain
As I explained to your father in an email The industry is under federal investigation in this country right now So your expansiion plans seem a little to optimistic I have seen too many small circuits fold up here in the last couple of years
Your inventory
Well it is an inverntory after it is purchased and niether theatre has this list right now

Rateings
Neither theatre is THX approved and I doubt if they have been tapped since Starwars
The screens are not wall to wall nor floor to ceiling (but they are large)
They don't currently have EX

I too am reaching the end of the proverbial rope here. Brad: I think it is time to pull the plug on our little wanna-be 'entepreneur'

Final advice to Andrew: COME BACK IN ABOUT 10 YEARS AFTER YOU HAVE WORKED IN A *REAL* (as opposed to this 'sick dream' that you are perpetuating here) MOVIE THEATRE!!!!

a duotang is a folder (i believe its made of plastic, but i could be wrong.

<<I too am reaching the end of the proverbial rope here.>>

you keep talking about being sick of Andrew and all his posts, but YOU KEEP READING THEM!!!

Everyone said Walt Disney was crazy when he:

- Tried to make it as a cartoonist
- Made "Snow White"
- Built Disneyland
- Built Walt Disney World

Also:

"Star Wars" was rejected by every studio in Hollywood before Fox finally agreed to make it after Lucas hit with "American Graffiti".

Don't be so quick to criticize the kid... he could be another Bill Gates someday.

Andrew,

In addition to knowing something about your theatre, you need to know how to structure and present a business plan along with some basic small business stuff. I strongly recommend that you (and any other's interested in owning their own theatre) go to your local library and check out the following books and read them:

1. Growing a Business by Paul Hawken. Paul Hawken is one of the founders of Smith and Hawken and he has written the best book on small business. Movie theatre's aren't even mentioned but all the information about starting a business from idea to plan to raising money to operations are covered in this marvelous little book. A must read for any small business person.

2. The Movie Business Book by Jason E. Squire(Editor) This book covers all aspects of the movie business - the chapters on distribution and exhibition are very helpful, even though they are somewhat dated.

3. The Successful Business Plan : Secrets & Strategies by Rhonda M. Abrams, Eugene Kleiner. Includes a sample plan to help you as you write your own. Also Rhonda has a flow-through financials system for those who are scared of the numbers part of business planning.

4. Movie Money: Understanding Hollywood's (Creative) Accounting Practices by Bill Daniels, David Leedy (Contributor), Steven D. Sills. Again, a book aimed at the whole spectrum of the movie industry - but the early chapter on this thing called gross is one of the best explainations of where the gross goes that i've ever seen.

Finally, a piece of advice for anyone writing a business plan for a movie theatre. Write it, then put it away for a week. Then get it out, re-read it, and re-write. I spent two+ years writing the business plan for Ian's and my theatre and there are still things that I didn't get right - but that's the nature of a business plan - if done right - it forces you to think it through and examine all the options. Also writing your business plan will reveal a great deal about your character to potential investors. This is especially true in the section where you analyze your competition.

Good luck!

Many of them are unavoidable as they come up in topics he hasn't originated. And, as annoying and bothersome as he is, its interesting to see what hairbrainer he has come up with next.

>>although andrew may not have a good plan for running a theatre, he seems to know more about theatres that most other 13 year olds would care to.<<

Unfortunately, as cool as it sounds, this is feeding his obsession with the whole thing, its a vicious circle of sorts.

>>it would be intereting(sic) to see him actually get a job at a theatre one day, get a job in the booth, mature in his knowledge of theatre operations and one day be able to actually run a successful business.<<

When that day comes, i will welcome Mr. McCrea back to Film-Tech with open arms. Until then, he has some constructive thinking and a little maturing to do.

Remember its MANY users not just one or two that are no longer happy with him. Some of us are just more vocal about the issue, thats all.

Aaron

The costs for the SCORE classes are very inexpensive.

Check them out at www.score.org

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Aaron Sisemore
Chief Technician
Cinema West Theatres http://www.cinema-west.com

Flix@film-tech.com

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