Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: how is business on New Year's?

This is topic how is business on New Year's? in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Melanie Loggins (Member # 6454) on 12-09-2011, 05:33 PM:

I tried posting this earlier and it... failed. I'll try again.

I know that business is brisk at Christmas, but what about New Year's? I take movies 2-3 weeks off the break AND I'm about to go booker-less, so I'd like to work out the rest of my month if I can. I will have had two kids movies in a row, so I'd like to have something more adult if possible. And I have a couple of dark horses in mind if business is going to be lousy anyway. So... what has been your experience?

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 12-09-2011, 05:54 PM:

Christmas Day is typically one of out top 5 days of the year. New Years Day normally does about 75-80% of the Christmas Day business. However, that could be different this year with New Year's Day falling on a Sunday. Some people will be doing church activities and more people will have to work the next day than last years when it fell on a Saturday.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-09-2011, 08:11 PM:

We usually do better on New Year's Eve than on the actual Day. With NYE being on a Saturday this year (plus we're planning to be playing "New Year's Eve" on that day) I think it will be that way again.

We used to close on New Year's Eve (back in my party days!) but we started being open the year the original Toy Story was out.

Posted by Melanie Loggins (Member # 6454) on 12-09-2011, 08:18 PM:

quote: Mike
plus we're planning to be playing "New Year's Eve" on that day

That's what I was thinking of running, too. I know it will be awful, but how often will I be able to time something like that? Plus, perfect date movie. (But... but... I want to try to get The Artist! But not if we're actually going to, you know, do business.)

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 12-10-2011, 01:52 AM:

The question I have about New Year's Eve is how you normally do with bad movies 3-4 weeks off the break. I would also add that based on Friday's business, it was more of a girls night movie than a date night movie.

Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 12-10-2011, 10:21 AM:

The problem with a movie like New Year's Eve is that it will be slow during the daytime. If I had a single screen, I would be running two movies at a time and running them for two weeks staggering them to where I was getting a new movie every week. Maybe Muppets & NYE at the same time.

If I was move-over, I would also skip the bad performers. Seldom do they do well on move-over. The best move-over movies are the best movies on the break.

Make sure you know how to use Rentrak's website.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 12-11-2011, 03:59 PM:

We tend to be very busy. Lot of the older crowd like to go out and catch a movie. For some of them, it's the only time of the year that they visit the theatre.

We tend to do better on the earlier shows. I think many people want to be off the road and home before the crazies come out.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 12-11-2011, 05:31 PM:

The theatre where I worked had a small reel of count down to the new year. There was a clock and then at midnight it would greet the new year and play the usual new year song.

We were instructed to stop the projection of the feature and use the clock reel to time out at exactly midnight. After that reel we went back to the feature where it was stopped.

The audience loved it and even sang along with the music.

This was in a reel to reel booth.

KEN

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 12-13-2011, 11:04 AM:

New Years Eve business generally sucks. We run the early show (7:15) and close. There is a street celebration starting around 10. By midnight most of the crowd is drunk, we have a 40 ft, tower on the roof with a lighted ball that rises to the top at the stroke of midnight and boom it's over.

Photos of the NYE event are on our website byrdtheatre.com under events