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Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 04-17-2003, 01:39 PM:
 
Today's Huntsville Times had an article about why movie theatre attendance is down. I'm sure many other newspapers carried it, since it was written by Barry Koltnow of the Orange COunty Register.

He traces the problem to three factors:

1. The movies stink. All of the better movies tend to be released during two different "hot" time periods during the year, so the rest of the year, movies aren't that great. I admit that I haven't seen as many movies this year as I normally have.

2. The prices stink. The author mentions the ArcLight theatre complex in Hollywood that charges $14 at night and $11 at matinees. I often feel that the $7 to $7.50 range is a little high. Fortunately, I can get student discounts at the Huntsville theatres, but not the Decatur ones. As we've discussed before, this is studios' fault for demanding too high a percentage of the ticket sales.

3. The commercials stink. The author mentions 15 minutes of pre-movie material. I've seen 20 minutes worth before! I don't mind previews of coming movies (since that's hwo I typically choose what I'm going to see in the future), but commercials should not be played in theatres. Every trailer that doesn't run due to the time being needed for a commercial is one less opportunity to persuade me to return in the future to see a later release!

I'm surprised that the author did not mention the improvements and increased affordability of home theatre equipment (DVD and large 16:9 TVs with good line doublers and/or upscalers).

Personally, I enjoy going to theatres, and will always do so unless the quality of projection degrades to the point of being ridiculous. There is only one theatre that consistently does a poor job in my area. The other four do an acceptable job. If I didn't see movies in the theatre, I probably would buy almost any DVDs, since I tend to buy what I liked in the theatre. I see the biggest problem with theatres being the quality of the movies, rather than the price or the showing of commercials. If the prices went up and more commercials were shown before the movies, I'd probably still go, provided there were movies I wanted to see during their theatrical run.
 
Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-17-2003, 02:01 PM:
 
I agree with this article.........
 
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 04-17-2003, 02:10 PM:
 
1. I run an art cinema and the movies are at a consistently higher quality than the commercial movie houses.

2. The Arclight is just one theatre that charges $14 & $11. You can attend the same movies in the same chain, in the same city for less money. Most theatres in NYC charge $10 & $6.50. We charge $8.50 & $5.50. The average movie ticket in the United States runs $6.00. Movies are still an incredible value.

3. We don't run commercials. We usually run 3 to 4 trailers for 6 to 8 minutes total.

And our business isn't down this year. February was a new record and April is looking to be a record breaker as well. [Smile]
 
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 04-17-2003, 02:24 PM:
 
Evans said:
quote:
Personally, I enjoy going to theatres, and will always do so unless the quality of projection degrades to the point of being ridiculous.
I think this should be considered equally or more important than the other three points. If you look close enough, you will see people walk out of the theatre if the equipment constantly malfunctions or the operator is doing a lousey job in the booth. I am addressing out-of-frame splices that run unattended for several minutes, upside down reels, out-of-place reels, out-of-focus problems, etc.

I walked out of 2001 - A Space Oddesy because the shutter was out of time and the travel ghost was obnoxious.

The crappy presentation problems are what drives repeat customers away, and they may not come back to your movie house.

Excessive screen ads suck. Very true. But the customer knows they are there, and just arrive late so they don't have to watch them. But they will come back.

Movies that suck - they will not come to watch that movie. If your movie house has a good track record on presentation quality, the customers will come back and watch a movie that does not suck.

Let's not forget to put emphasis on good presentations.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-17-2003, 04:17 PM:
 
This is just a writer with space to fill, and tired of writing about the war or whatever.

The same thing happens every spring. EVERY YEAR there is a downturn at this time, at least it's happened every year since 1976, when I first started working at my theatre.

Also, it mystifies me why people continue to bitch about the prices. My wife and I have gone to 3 concerts in the past 6 months...the tickets have ranged from $59.50 to $79.50, and that's to sit in cramped, crappy seats with (on one occasion) ridiculously bad sound.

Movies are the lowest priced form of out-of-home entertainment, but they are presented in the BEST out-of-home environment. (In most cases, anyway.)

People should quit harping about the commercials, too. Hell, commercials are absolutely EVERYWHERE else, so why should the movies be the exception? That would be nice, but I can see why it isn't that way in these economic times.

As for the movies stinking, well, OK, he has a point there. [Wink]
 
Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 04-17-2003, 04:47 PM:
 
So why is it the corporate big boys don't pay attention to these all too common complaints?
 
Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 04-17-2003, 05:41 PM:
 
Because they are too busy counting their money to give a crap.
 
Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 04-17-2003, 08:05 PM:
 
Bob- Good Question. I think it's all about the numbers. Distribs are interested in the number of screens showing their product, not necessarily that their product isn't any good. How many times do you hear them beg to hold their picture just one more week so they can report to the higher ups that their picture is still on x number of screens?

And how many times do you see pictures brought back for a second time, weeks later, only to crash and burn?

And speaking of numbers, remember the old saying: "Figures don't lie, liars fugure." [Wink]
 
Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 04-17-2003, 08:48 PM:
 
Recently in a Patrick Goldstein "The Big Picture" column (every Tuesday) he reported on the onrush of these new movies, and reported that several top exectutives have said thay dont make movie aimed at adults anymore because they would have to be GOOD to be successful.
 
Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 04-18-2003, 03:16 AM:
 
In addition to projection quality, don't forget about the friendliness of your staff. I frequently go to the UA 8-screen near my house, which is just "OK" as far as projection and sound, simply becuase the staff there is a lot friendlier than at other theaters. At another theater near my house, the staff is rather indifferent. While they're not exactly rude, you get the feeling that they don't really give a toss if you ever come back to their their theater.
 
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 04-18-2003, 07:51 AM:
 
Since this writer is so close to L.A. he doesn't realize there are some real problems affecting turnout:


[ 04-20-2003, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Charles Everett ]
 
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-18-2003, 08:35 AM:
 
Cinema attendance is down? Since when?

Last I heard, Jack Valenti was crowing about how theatre attendance is the highest in 45 years:

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030304/leisure_movies_2.html doesn't seem to be available, but it's in Google's cache



(meanwhile, Uncle Jack has been complaining about how movie piracy is "killling the industry" just like the VCR was supposed to have done in the '80s)

I do agree with the comments about in-theatre advertising (slides, film ads, etc.)...unless it has something to do with movies (e.g. popcorn, candy, Coke/Pepsi, etc.), then it doesn't belong in the theatre. Actually, I can tolerate slides, but film ads are completely unacceptable.

Movies aren't cheap, but, as others have noted, neither are other forms of out-of-home entertainment. I think that $8 or so is entirely reasonable for a quality film that is presented properly. It is way too much to pay if either is substandard.
 
Posted by Ray Brown (Member # 1449) on 04-18-2003, 10:12 AM:
 
quote:
If you look close enough, you will see people walk out of the theatre if the equipment constantly malfunctions or the operator is doing a lousey job in the booth. I am addressing out-of-frame splices that run unattended for several minutes, upside down reels, out-of-place reels, out-of-focus problems, etc.
That's why previewing should be mandatory not optional before the doors are opened to the paying public, especially in sub-run land. Pissed off customers equal less repeat business.
 
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-18-2003, 10:23 AM:
 
Theater attendance is down in the first run markets but it is up in the second run markets. This is an example of people looking for a little cheaper entertainment in an unstable ecconomy.

You also have the war that has essentially peaked out and is now in a down phasing. You have a lot of young people in the most popular age group that go to the movies that are either on call or overseas in active duty.

you have crappy first run movies in theaters right now. Anger management broke april records but on a massive amount of screens. Look for it to drop possably mor than 50% this week.
 
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 04-18-2003, 12:33 PM:
 
DVD sales are also going up- you can buy a lot of titles for LESS than the price of a movie ticket, and video done right still beats film done wrong!
 
Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 04-18-2003, 02:15 PM:
 
I think all of the above comments are accurate about what affects movie attendance.

My biggest gripe is poor presentations. I have the largest theater in Wisconsin less than 5 miles from my home, but I've gone to many other theaters that have done better presentations.

Home theater has become an even larger and more mainstream hobby than ever, and I know a lot of people that are more willing to wait to see a film on DVD than to go to the theater to see it.

Maybe it's better in other markets, but sometimes it's better just to stay home and watch something on DVD. If the presentations and overall experience were excellent every time (or even most of the time), I think more people would see the value that can be had by "going to the movies."

The potential is there for movie theaters to completely blow away the presentation that people get compared to what they can do at home. (How many people have 30+ foot screens in their homes?) I think people want the movie-going experience to be "special" and it's up to the theaters to treat them better than the average experience a going to a Wal-Mart.

A question for everyone: What steps does your theater take to go the extra mile and give an excellent movie-going experience?
 
Posted by Randy Loy (Member # 112) on 04-18-2003, 03:11 PM:
 
quote:
I think people want the movie-going experience to be "special" and it's up to the theaters to treat them better than the average experience a going to a Wal-Mart.
I agree with you on this Scott. I don't care how much money someone sinks into building a theatre, I believe that if other factors detract from making attending it a less than great experience, it loses that specialness that keeps people from simply waiting for the movies to come out on video.

That's what I fear running commercials in theatres will help accomplish. They will start making going to the movies more like staying home and watching TV. When you start combining that with other factors, like inconsiderate customers not being dealt with for talking during the show, etc., going out to the movies no longer has the appeal it used to have.

Of course by "commercials" I'm not talking about coming attractions trailers, I mean commercials for ordinary products and services, like you see on television. I understand that they are revenue generators, and of course extra revenue is always important to this industry since a significant part of the box office take goes for film rental, but still I think they detract from the ambiance of going to a theatre. I don't have a problem with watching them on monitors in the lobby while I'm waiting to buy my tickets or while in line at the concession stand, but I don't want to have to be subjected to them once I've settled in for the show. To me they make the moviegoing experience too "ordinary."
 
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 04-18-2003, 04:16 PM:
 
Scott asked:

quote:
A question for everyone: What steps does your theater take to go the extra mile and give an excellent movie-going experience?
There are many answers to this question and here are just a few answers:

"Treat your customers exactly the same way you would like to treated under the exact identical existing circumstances." (within reason, of course.)

The entertainment of the customer starts when they come in the door.

Community involvement, such as special showings for high school sponsored projects, church groups, special kiddy shows, hosting of birthday partys, contests, (as an axample bring a Santa Claus in for Christmas) and general film promotions for special types of shows.

We once had a live radio broadcast from one of our theatres a long time ago when the "Rambo" movies came through. The DJ even dressed up like a Rambo (Jeeze, he was ugly) and we had contests of the best dressed Rambo, yada, yada, yada. It was extremely successful. We did very well on that one.

Another was when "Lion King" came through. Our staff really went out of their way to dress the lobby up, and we had contests similar to the THX movie Brad took at Sho-West and put in his archives for us to download. We had a big cardboard Lion's head in the lobby, and it was part of the gag. We installed a sound system in the lobby so the person who ran the promotion could interview customers, kids, and alike. The results were just superb! We did very well on that film, too. Better than many other theatres.

I had an old Brenkert and a Peerless Magnarc, and we ran 6,000 foot reels filled with "Coming Attractions". (naturally, I modified the lamphouse with a 12 volt driving light bulb) and projected the picture on a mock-up screen made out of a 1-sheet complete with masking. People went nuts over that thing!

Of course, take pride in your theatre, yourself, your customers, and make them feel at home. Make sure your theatres and restrooms are spotless, and the performance you put on the big screen is top-notched in all respects, right down to the elimination of fuzzy aperature plate cuts.

Then Engulf & Devour bought us, and it all came to a sad end. The last thing I heard is the theatre now looks like dump. [Frown]

Anyway, be creative in what is done, and practice common sense. Some things will work, and some will not. It is up to you to figure that out if the corporate monkeys empower you with the authority to do so.

As Kenny Rogers sang in a song:

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."

He also said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

He also sang in that same song:

"Now Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin' Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep. 'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser, And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

How true..... [beer]
 
Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-18-2003, 05:50 PM:
 
One thing is certain, film distributors don't give a popcorn fart about the presentation quality (more often lack of) in showing their prints. They only care about the numbers. Anymore it seems like the theatrical release is just the advance teaser for the "real" release on home video. I think that is exactly how the distributors see it.

I have a certain amount of contempt for members of the general public who visit dump-quality theaters out of habit, usually for shortest driving distance. I'm really annoyed at those who gripe openly about a theater's poor quality, but yet still continue to visit the place. Idiots!

All of us are familiar with those big film seasons and the typical slow times (such as January-February, the April clearance dregs before the summer movie season, the August-early September slowdown before fall kicks into regular gear leading up to the holiday season).

Still, It seems like attendance should be down overall. Look at the lousy product. Over the last year or two the quality of films has really been tanking to new lows. Sure, there's a few gems here and there. There's not much to look forward to this summer. There's sequels to "The Matrix" and "X-Men." Pixar's "Finding Nemo" might be cool. But outside of that there's not much I'm really excited about seeing at all. Usually in a summer movie season there is at least ten or so movies worth talking about.
 
Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 04-18-2003, 07:15 PM:
 
I don't know I think that there are some pretty decent summer movies coming out. I mean dollar wise not necessarly quality wise.

1. The Matrix Reloded
2. Finding Nemo
3. X-Men 2
4. The Hulk
5. 2 Fast 2 Furious
6. Dumb and Dummest
7. Charlies Angels 2
8. Legally Blond 2
9. American Wedding (American Pie 3)
10. Spy Kids 3

Also we cannot forget about Terminator 3 and Bad Boys 2 even though I really dont think that those two will necessarly do very well.
 
Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 04-19-2003, 03:59 AM:
 
The Summer of Sequels.
 
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-19-2003, 07:12 AM:
 
quote:
The Summer of Sequels.
What else is new? It seems that way every summer.
 
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-19-2003, 01:08 PM:
 
just remember the films that are not sequals coming out this summer will most likely have sequals over the next couple of years.
 
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 04-19-2003, 02:22 PM:
 
Don't you just love sequels? [Big Grin]

Nothing like "Jaws 22" [puke]
 
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 04-19-2003, 03:52 PM:
 
"A question for everyone: What steps does your theater take to go the extra mile and give an excellent movie-going experience?"

Well here's a novel concept- I actually spent a lot of my free time WATCHING MOVIES at the theater. While we got to preview stuff Thursday nights, that still didn't give me enough time to see everything so when working day shifts I'd usually stay and see the first evening show after work. I'd listen to customers' comments about the theater (not knowing that someone who worked there was sitting in front of them) and of course had the chance to make sure presentation was perfect and everything was in working order. At some theaters it's obvious that nobody there actually sits down and watches the movies and make sure everything's good. I've known some managers who don't even set foot in the auditoriums for months at a time!
 
Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 04-19-2003, 05:09 PM:
 
I one of those managers who rarely step foot in the theaters after hours to watch movies (I am there enough as it is). However, I am constently checking theaters while they are playing so I can see exactly what the customers are seeing and correct any potential problems (noisy kids, booth light left on, etc.). When you are watching a movie by yourself at 2:00 in the morning, it is kind of hard to expect the customers to have the exact same experance when they are are at the movies at 7:30 on a Friday night.
 
Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 04-19-2003, 05:46 PM:
 
quote:
I have a certain amount of contempt for members of the general public who visit dump-quality theaters out of habit, usually for shortest driving distance. I'm really annoyed at those who gripe openly about a theater's poor quality, but yet still continue to visit the place. Idiots!
My mom is exactly like that. [Smile] Majority of the movies I saw as a child were at the extremely dumpy UA second-run house that was here in town. I don't know what they did to their films, but EVERYTHING projected there was horribly scratched. It looked as if someone was holding a piece of sandpaper over the film as it was going through the projector. (Not just the movies themselves, but trailers, policy trailers, etc.) After a while, I just told my mom I'd rather see the movies on video than go to that pit. Since it was a second-run place, there usually wasn't much of a wait before the movies were on video anyway.

Even today, I still hear "Why do you drive all the way across town [to the Edwards] just to see a movie?" I explained that the sound at the theater closer to the house is crap, and I don't like the middle-aisle theater design. She just says "Oh, that stuff doesn't bother me." [Roll Eyes] I don't waste my breath pointing out she's not the one seeing the movie... (I shouldn't paint the closer theater as a *complete* dump -- the two larger auditorums do at least have digital sound and no middle aisle, but you're SOL if the film you want to see is showing on screens 1-6...)

[ 04-20-2003, 03:54 AM: Message edited by: Daniel Fuentz ]
 
Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 04-19-2003, 09:50 PM:
 
I agree with some that the biggest reason is the mainstream films from Hollywood are CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!

Week after week.

Crap!

I have become an arthouse junkie who unfortunately has to wait till I can go out of town (on union business, lately) to San Jose or Sacramento to hit the arthouses (occasionally Pasadena).
(Ian: PLEASE consider expanding your operation to Bakersfield. An old UA 6 still stands empty).

The major studios dont even PRETEND to make good films anymore. Films used to be a balanced mix or art and produce. The art has been stripped.

Oh, and did I mention the films are CRAP?

Crap, I say, crap!
 
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 04-20-2003, 12:50 PM:
 
Yesterday the AMC Hamilton didn't appear busy. The late matinee of Bend It Like Beckham looked as though it was the busiest show that afternoon (turnout ~60). At least I didn't get lost getting back to my car afterward.

Reading Cinemas in Manville was doing worse -- I drove past around 7:15 PM and the parking lot was less than half full.

Maybe it isn't just the economy after all.
 




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