quote: Celine Negrete

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But, they also have another area with more screens that tends to be limited to 21 and over, often includes a bar/restaurant, and more plush/comfy theaters. Some of these screens might show arthouse films, but also commercial films that adults might prefer to see in an theater without teenagers/kids

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quote: Celine Negrete

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'wave of the future'.

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quote: Celine Negrete

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But...what if you are NOT in an over-saturated market at all? What if you are in a smaller town with only one independent theatre (with say maybe 9 screens, over 3 locations)? And they do not offer reserved seating, beer/wine, food, etc. Just the traditional theater experience.

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quote: Celine Negrete

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Within city limits, a little over 15,000.

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quote: Celine Negrete

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The nine screens, but at three separate locations, I mentioned above. All owned by the same family and traditional 'multiplex' feel.

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If all 9 screens are all owned by the same family and if they play all the films currently in wide release, then you have no chance.

If you have a small cinema and think you will get a blockbuster over the owner with 9 screens, then you are mistaken. Also, if those cinemas have 3D (which I am pretty sure will) then you WILL NOT get a 2D print of the movie or a 3D digital theatre. The owner of the 9 screens will have an advantage of being able to support all the bad films released by the distributors that have the good ones too.

So, yes a small independent art house type theatre will work as a small niche. Not really sure a "hybrid" has much of a chance. There is cleary demand for movies in your area based on population and the fact there are 9 screens in three different locations.

But you will have to run very similar to the Princess Twin in Waterloo.

I would love to hear what others have to say.
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 12-12-2010, 06:07 PM:
 
As TOm said, a Hybrib prob will not work. However, a local theater The Terrace Theater that shows primarily art house independent movies with the occasional large budget film does quite well with the older 21+ crowd largely due to the films that they show and getting an exclusive in the city. Another big strong suit is that they have a large selection of beer and wine as well as TONS of different candies and just little niche items that other places don't offer.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 12-12-2010, 06:17 PM:
 
It is all a matter of booking
often in a first run situation the studios will require the ability to move prints to different size screens to accomodate there upcoming product
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-12-2010, 06:39 PM:
 
I don't know anything about hybrid theaters, but there is a place near me that is a Dent Repair/Steak House, so I suppose anything is possible. I'd like to see a Redbox installed inside a movie theater lobby.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-12-2010, 08:27 PM:
 
Seen it! Back in the late 80s the Wilshire Village Twin cinema in Burleson, TX converted half of their lobby to a video rental store.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-12-2010, 08:56 PM:
 
OK OK OK... how about this one: Hybrid movie theater/parking lot.
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 12-12-2010, 09:13 PM:
 
Cinebarre did that too. Showed a movie once a month in the parking lot on an inflatable screen.
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 12-12-2010, 09:14 PM:
 
Does a drive-in count?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-12-2010, 09:27 PM:
 
OK OK OK... I'll come up with something nobody has ever thought of... a hybrid movie theater/restaurant.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 12-12-2010, 09:48 PM:
 
Check out Arclight cinemas -- the flagship one annexed the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd -- it's nice but I found it overpriced -- there are at least 2 others now but I'm not sure if the one in Pasadena has the restaurant because it's really a refurbished AMC.

Arclight offers reserved seating and 21+ screenings.

And then there's another theatre called "The Bridge" (name might've changed recently) which IIRC had a bar in it.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-13-2010, 12:29 AM:
 
Great Falls, MT used to have a drive-in/indoor theatre. They would often play the same print at the drive-in and the indoor via an interlock. The screens were facing each other. The snackbar/lobby was in the middle and had a walk-up counter outside for the drive-in, with the booth on top of the snackbar building. I have no idea if this place is still around today (probably not since GF is now a Carmike town) but our old booker used to book for them and told me it did quite well.

About that over-21 restriction -- I think that could catch on like wildfire but not as a fulltime thing -- maybe as a certain showtime -- say, every Thursday night is "no kids" night. I think you'd have a hard time playing anything from, say, Disney if you tried to do that every night. Arthouse fare might be another story.
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 12-13-2010, 02:07 AM:
 
The danger IMHO is that there is a great possibilty of trying so hard to cater for both sides of the movie-going experience that the resultant is nothing but an incoherant amalgam of styles and atmospheres that neither patron is happy with.

As an example, in a multi-screen setup that has, say 5 screens for mainstream and 5 screens for arthouse, that the arthouse crowd feel 'out-of-place' amongst the main-streamers and vice versa.

By this I mean that Arthouse moviegoers have a vastly differing raison d'etre for going to a particular movie- usually terminating with an intimate chat/discussion over a coffee/wine with fellow arthousers. They wish to have a focussed experience whereas the main-streamers prefer a more care-free time.

Arthousers like to feel they 'own' a location and if they get that feeling in your theatre then you will have a very loyal patronage - but if they feel they get the sensation/atmosphere of 'Arthouse-in-a-Multiplex' then they won't find any connection with your theatre and just won't bother.

Now, the 'Over 21' and 'Premium' services may help to bridge that gap between the art crowd and the Mainstreamers as long as the 'Premium' screens are treated as a separate entity from the normal screens. There is still a danger of overly complicating the location eventually making it uneconomic to run.

Personally, if it was MY $$$ I would think hard about which demographic I would want to target and concentrate on that, and for me that would be Arthouse because of the loyalty mentioned previously. If you nurture that market they will follow you to the ends of the earth and back whereas the mainstreamers are an incredibly fickle bunch looking out for the next big thing.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-13-2010, 03:18 AM:
 

quote:

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in a multi-screen setup that has, say 5 screens for mainstream and 5 screens for arthouse, that the arthouse crowd feel 'out-of-place' amongst the main-streamers and vice versa.

I would want to target and concentrate on that, and for me that would be Arthouse because of the loyalty mentioned previously. If you nurture that market they will follow you to the ends of the earth and back whereas the mainstreamers are an incredibly fickle bunch looking out for the next big thing.

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quote: Manny Knowles

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And then there's another theatre called "The Bridge" (name might've changed recently) which IIRC had a bar in it.

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Manny you are correct, it changed names it is now "Rave" Cinemas. I have never been there (yet) so I don't know if it still has a bar.

It is off the 405 fwy. and Howard Hughes Parkway by Culver City.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 12-13-2010, 01:57 PM:
 
The Arclight has 14 screens + the dome for 15.
 

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 12-13-2010, 06:57 PM:
 
Hi Folks:

Ian speaks of me in his post above.

I try as best as I can to see arthouse films in theatres that SPECIALIZE in this type of product. I do not want to go to a forwign film with kids running everywhere and the video arcade blaring. The few times I have gone to the local cattleplex to see these types of films I have had a difficult time getting "in the mood".

What about a building that is divided into to separate theatres with a hallway between them so employees can secretely move from one theatre to the other depending on where they are needed?

Mike
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 12-13-2010, 11:07 PM:
 
Thanks Mike -- it's been a while since I went there --still an impressive screen count considering they're doing restaurant and all that. And they were always doing brisk business whenever I went.

Frankly, I didn't think the Arclight service was worth the high price of admission. I usually went because a friend insisted. They claim to have the best sound but I heard LOUD first order reflections in every theatre. It's almost like they designed them for that.

But, never mind me -- everyone else seems to LOVE the Arclight. I guess they fall into believing that if they charge that much, then it MUST be worth it. Shrug.

Tony, I went to the Bridge (aka Cinema de Luxe and now "Rave") a couple of times -- seemed too subdued for me. The lobby was kinda cave-like -- dim dim dim -- and neon designs on the walls. Not to my taste. There wasn't any sense of excitement in the air. Kind-of like being in a mall after all the stores have closed and the Muzak now seems to be playing just a little too loud...

I don't drink so I never patronized the bar.

Funny story: my friend who still lives there said they changed the name to "Rage"

(That's a gay bar in West Hollywood, for those who don't know.)
 

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Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 12-14-2010, 09:07 PM:
 
Over the years "arthouse" has lost its meaning compared to its past of repetory and foreign subtitled past, I tend to think of it as a grown ups cinema now, where as multiplexs tend to be for teens and familys. Teens simply don't want to be where the adults are, and lets face it the opposite is also true.

Celene you know what your doing and I think you have come to terms with how qurky your audience is. Depending on your budget I would tend to think of only one major decision, that would be to stadium or not to stadium.

With stadium design you will have much more foyer and resturant/bar space left of you total floor space compared with your current flat floor style of cinema, but the flat floor and a high screen would work exceptionally well with recliner seats, like found in many peoples home theatres nowdays. (Which are pretty cheap when imported by the container from China).

Bars work well with events, Coffee machines and resturants need staff, grown up audiences like all of the above.

Best wishes.

Oh in reference to the other thread, Digital is the future.
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 12-14-2010, 11:35 PM:
 
As far as stadium or not. The older crowd around here really hates stadium stating but love the sloped floor.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-15-2010, 01:09 AM:
 
to Celine.

Here is a hybrid theatre for you.

A look at AMC Dine In Cinema
 

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Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 12-15-2010, 02:09 AM:
 
Tom's interesting artical regarding AMC points out the obvious to me, eat a meal before or after the film, its distracting during the movie, especially with your style of serious programming (I am a friend of the Magic on facebook ).

I do however like the idea of this style of luxury cinema but only with the same mindless first release family films that I currently watch and enjoy at the drive in! I also think its great for dates.
 

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Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 12-15-2010, 03:32 AM:
 
I'm late to the party here but here are a couple of thoughts/observations:

Arclight Pasadena was not a former AMC. It was the Pacific Paseo 14 owned/operated by Pacific Theatres which owns Arclight. The former AMC in Pasadena is now the Gold Class Cinemas in Pasadena.

Mike - I don't remember the Twilite Cinema Centre ever interlocking the drive-in and the main house. There was a projectionist apartment between the two booths. Through the mid-80's both the drive-in and the main house were 2 projector 6,000 ft reel change-over houses. Century projectors if I recall correctly. The Twilite was the first theatre in Great Falls to get Dolby Stereo - for the Bee Gees version of Srgt Peppers (yikes!)

In San Francisco, Sundance Cinemas Kabuki is probably a hybrid as it combines food, bars, art house and mainstream adult appeal commercial fare. Ditto for the Sundance Cinemas in Madison, WI and the Landmark in LA.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 12-15-2010, 11:43 AM:
 
Why would you do a dinner theater that charges the same price for tickets as everyone else plus a surcharge just for ordering inside? That's just stupid.

The dinner theaters around here charge a little bit less than others for tickets because they're hoping that the guys would buy more food. If they added a $10-15 surcharge just for getting in, they'd end up getting nobody at all.
 

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Posted by Celine Negrete (Member # 5531) on 12-15-2010, 01:36 PM:
 
Thanks for all the interesting responses (and some good links to check out).

To clarify as to my original post, the idea of hybrid theatre as I was referring to (and the examples I gave), was not so much about the combining of movies with food (or more specifically meals in the auditorium). I personally don't care for that idea. It seems like there are some places that have learned to do it well (Alamo Drafthouse?), but by and large there are a lot of complaints out there (on Yelp, etc), about it not being done well, messy, too expensive, frustrating...

Anyhow, the 'hybrid' I was asking about had more to do with the idea of combining commercial Hollywood films (mostly family, teen-oriented titles) with traditional concessions fare, under the same roof as more adult and arthouse-oriented titles in a 21-over area with beer/wine/finger food "concessions" area.

So, one is covering all bases, so to speak. I understand the idea of wanting a particular environment for art product (I run an arthouse), but I also think that ultimately what our audience wants is to see particular films in an auditorium that is quiet, respectful, clean and with great presentation. They wouldn't care if they had to simply walk past a certain 'wing' of a building where it was more of a traditional multiplex environment to enter "their" environment.

So, it is really not about serving meals in a theatre that I am asking about (beer, wine, yes). I don't think that would appeal to the market I am speaking of. But, there could be onsite bar with bar-food (non-traditional) so that a bite to eat before or after the film would be easy and convenient.

Anyhow, thanks again for interesting thoughts and info!
 

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Posted by Preston Drum (Member # 5903) on 12-15-2010, 02:03 PM:
 
check out: http://www.epicentretheaters.com/

We are located in uptown Charlotte, NC. Which has been hit by the 2008 crash pretty hard (currently 9.5% unemployment). We do well with the hybrid concept with an emphasis on luxury. We are a movie theatre, restaurant and night club under one roof- occasionally we show symptoms of an identity crisis. We have popcorn, candy, booze and gourmet food. After 7pm we are 21 and up , this restriction doesn’t affect us too much because we steer away from children’s films- plus most families with children just rent.
I think a lot of these concepts are useful for the survival of the cinema. Flexibility is very important; you have to put yourself in a position where you can adapt. Customers mostly just want to get out of the house and have fun or relax. Just provide a space that keeps this in mind. As it stands I don’t think the Megaplex model is sustainable.
 

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Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 12-15-2010, 08:06 PM:
 
There are a couple of theaters in my state that run a hyrbid of sorts that I believe makes some sense. They run the traditional type art-house movies and mix-in the more widely released movies that adults would be more inclined to like. Movies like Inception, The Town, & Burlesque. But they pretty much always have at least 50% of what they show art-house. The two theaters first mentioned in this thread do not seem to be much art-house to me as I saw 90%+ widely released movies.
 

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Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 142) on 12-16-2010, 05:23 AM:
 
Food and movies have always gone together. The upscale (Arthouse) locations have always done better with full service restaurants/cafes (either in-house or nearby) whereas the mainstream films have always catered more to the popcorn brigade.

The right mix of food/movies will always depend on the location.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-17-2010, 12:40 AM:
 

quote: David Kilderry

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The right mix of food/movies will always depend on the location.

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quote: Celine Negrete

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Anyhow, the 'hybrid' I was asking about had more to do with the idea of combining commercial Hollywood films (mostly family, teen-oriented titles) with traditional concessions fare, under the same roof as more adult and arthouse-oriented titles in a 21-over area with beer/wine/finger food "concessions" area.

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quote: Ron Funderburg

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I don't know if a theater serving food would work.

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quote: Ron Funderburg

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Not trying to be argumentative

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