Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Showtimes at :05, :25, :55

This is topic Showtimes at :05, :25, :55 in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 03-14-2004, 11:04 AM:

Why?

Ok, now I can understand the mega 20-plex needing to stagger showtimes throughout the 7 o'clock hour between 20 theatres.

But why would a SINGLE SCREEN or even a TWIN have rediculous showtimes of 12:35, 3:05, 5:25, 7:55, 10:25?

Why? Why? Why?

Are these showtimes supposed to be subconciously easier to remember? What's the reasoning behind this? I don't get it.

Most of the Regal/UA and other independent single screens here in the Bay Area do showtimes on the hour or :15 or :30. (i.e. 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:15 or 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45.) This makes SO MUCH more sense to me.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-14-2004, 11:30 AM:

I have a 5-screen and my times this week are 7:00, 7:10, 7:15, 7:20 & 7:30. My perfect showtimes would be every 10-minutes. My late evening showtimes are 9:20, 9:30, 9:30, 9:40 & 9:40. So I would usually start two films at the same time to avoid those :05 showtimes.

In those megaplexes just try to not start two films at opposit ends of the complex.

Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 03-14-2004, 11:57 AM:

Whether it's the time a train leaves or a film starts, management is always looking for a better way to alert or tell their customers what time things happen. Perhaps it's the same logic that has subdivisions putting up 16 or 21 MPH speed limits, to catch attention of unaware folks. Since many people work to arrive where they're going at the hour or half-hour, the five minute start after the hour or half-hour gives a small grace period.

But when you deal with people, you gotta be human, and humans often have no clue. The truth is that almost nothing matters when it comes to showtimes, so to me, the best policy is to add the film run time to the trailer run time, figure in cleanup, house loadin and out, and set the times based on those factors (as long as it doesn't conflict with the same in another auditorium.)

Trying to second guess your audience just doesn't make sense unless it's July 4, the Super Bowl, or some local special event that competes with your shows. And even then it often won't make much of a difference.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 03-14-2004, 05:40 PM:

i've noticed that our showtimes are almost always :00, :10, :15:, :20, :30, :40, :45, or :50, hardly ever :05, :25, :35, or :55. as far as i know it's not a policy. maybe they just seem awkward, being too close to a full or half hour. it makes 0 diff to me, as long as there aren't 2 starting at the same time. with 3 screens, that's easy.

carl

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 03-14-2004, 06:00 PM:

Ellis Merkley, manager of the Temple Theatre in SAGINAW, MI. was always miffed at the phone calls he fielded. "What time does your one o'clock show start?"

He was equally baffled by the calls wanting to know when the 7 o'clock show started. All 1 o'clock and 7 o'clock shows started at the designated times by the big blue clock in front of the auditorium. (Which clock was always 5 minutes slow)

By the way, the calls only started coming after the local multiplex opened.

Cheers

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-14-2004, 08:32 PM:

When someone asks "what time does the 7:00 show start," what they want to know is what time the FEATURE starts. I learned this on a tour at Disney World once....the guide said one of the most common questions they get is, "What time is the 3:00 parade?" Which translates, "what time does it pass by THIS SPOT?"

Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 03-14-2004, 08:44 PM:

There is a single screen cinema in these parts where the evening showtime is typically listed as 7:14.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 03-14-2004, 09:52 PM:

quote:
In those megaplexes just try to not start two films at opposit ends of the complex.

Yeah, they don't. It sucks big time when your complex is easily two football fields between the two farthest projectors. One day I am going to use a pedometer and see how many miles I actually walk a day.

Posted by Dennis Udovich (Member # 1066) on 03-15-2004, 06:01 PM:

I've got a 14-screen complex with SIX separate projection rooms. This is because we expanded four times and the booths could not be connected. I had a projectionist wear a pedometer for one shift. He put on FIVE MILES! I have no overweight operators. [Big Grin]

Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 03-16-2004, 02:36 AM:

Generally I stat everything on the tens (:00, :10, :20 etc) becasue thats what my booth manager wants. I don't have a preference either way...

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-16-2004, 11:23 AM:

The few times I was asked to set showtimes, I arranged them so that we would have staggered starts as well as staggered exit times.

Once during a Christmas holiday from college, I worked a 6-plex that had busted automations. Those showtimes also took LENS CHANGES into account!

I've had people ask what time the 7 o' clock show starts too and it took a while before I figured out that they specifically wanted to know the start time of the actual movie. I used to just think it was one of those "dumb questions."

A good friend of mine tells a funny story about the time he was given a tour of a NASA telescope facility that recorded and studied solar activity -- flares, sunspots and such. Anyway, before he could stop himself, he blurted out: "Do you have to wait till night to do that?"