Do you think theatres will ever die out completely?

Hello? Brain Fart! if theatre chains are losing and losing money, and putting more and more money into theatres that will just eat more money, why don't they just go back to six-plex theatres in malls?
 

Famous Players is "the big" but yet they're still losing a lot of money. I've been told that in an e-mail from the guest services!

Andrew
I'll Be Back, Forums!
 

I'd like to see them go back to single screens with balconies, curtains, and projectionists
 

I'd say that 10 screens is just about the maximum. Maybe you can go as high as 15 but after that it's all down hill. In MY mind, a six-plex is a "comfortable" size.
 

Passenger trains were killed by cars that could run on individual timetables, and had more comfort. Theatres can be somewhat compared to those trains, and films to destinations. The primary difference in the comparison is that when movies are first marketed to the public, the only way to see them (visit that destination) is in a theatre. With the exception of the old Key West railroad, no railroad ever had the advantage of no competing road for automobiles.

If and when that exclusive release to theatres is lost, then theatres will, with a few exceptions, die off. Hopefully, that won't happen for many years. However, if cable or satellite systems ever succeed in a "restraint of trade" suit against the distribution timetables, or the number of theatres falls to a point where more money can be made through immediate direct distribution to the consumer, then all bets are off.

In another comparison, neither trains nor theatres make efficient use of land, and the cost of land is always increasing, decreasing profit margins. Both trains and theatres use a location intensely for a very short period of time, and most of the time the tracks lie empty and the seats unfilled. Compare that to a road that carries cars and trucks all the time, and television or storefronts that make product available to customers all the time. Inefficient methods of distribution usually are abandoned over time. The long range outlook for theatres isn't good unless some new technology, such as a real 3-D or William Castle effect, makes them unique in the way they show product.

As for the current "crisis," the second tier of exhibitors are now making their moves. I've read of three new companies reportedly breaking into the Miami market within the past month. If anything, this crisis has broken the stranglehold of the majors, who can no longer afford to force out small competition by building across the street from them. Now is a _great_ time for anyone starting up a small circuit. Conditions may never be this good again.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?

Andrew McCrea
I'll Be Back, Forums!

 

First, it doesn't take five screens to do an hour on the hour schedule for a film.

Second, it doesn't take into account the pressures from the distributor to run multiple screens in order to obtain the product. Most of the time, there is no alternative.

Third, it doesn't address the idea that when some people try to attend a movie and get turned away, that they may never return.

Fourth, on the other side, it doesn't examine the possibility of building and keeping a mixed audience at a location. I've seen theatres that had a devoted art and foreign product clientelle lose those customers because summer blockbusters took all the screens for a period of weeks, breaking the habit of weekly attendence by these customers. Dumb.

Personally, I'd think long and hard before devoting more than two screens to a film if I had other product worth showing. OTOH, we had a single print of Batman at one location where NOBODY was seeing any other film, and EVERYBODY wanted to see Batman. In a seven screen theatre, we ran the single print on the Friday and Saturday night shows through five projectors before it hit the take-up platter. It was a joy to behold.

The real financial damage to theatres is often caused by distribs not wanting a print pulled early, even though it might only make a few hundred dollars in a week. This limits concession income, and presents an appearance of the theatre being deserted to any customer that does come.

 

I was intrigued with your railroad analogy. I submitted your comments to my father (the railroad king) to get his comments.

"I want to think about this for a while--like on Cape Cod--but if this theory were true why haven't home video and TV destroyed the movie theatre? It seems to me that people go out to the movies precisely because they want to go out, they want to get out of the house, make it a social event (dinner plus movies, movies and drinks afterwards etc), The whole idea that people want to do their shopping "on line” at home, watch movies at home etc is basically flawed. Human beings are primates and social animals---why do you think malls are so popular?

Railroads have not gone out of business because there are some things they do better than any other mode of transportation--moving bulk commodities like coal and grain. They are also more fuel-efficient than trucks and can move goods over longer distances at lower cost

There must be something that the traditional box movies theatre does (or can do) better than TV or video that has kept them alive until now. I am not sure what it is."
My father the railroad king.

(We all know what we do better than TV or video.)

While he totally ignored the distribution question, I think he hit the nail on the head. Going to the movies is a social activity. If a teenager no longer has a movie theatre to go to on a date and the next best thing is watching television in one or the other's home, they will find a new activity to engage in away from home. Half the time I go to the movies to get out of the house.

Video rentals and the short window for second run HAVE effectively killed the "dollar" theatres that were popular a few years back. If that window were expanded again, you would see a resurgence of those theatres. Exhibition depends on that window of exclusivity more than you might think.

As for movies being a social activity, I'm not sure I buy that any more. If it were true, how do you explain the demise of the "social" experience than seeing a film at a drive-in, where customers go from car to car, and chat during the film? People are becoming increasingly wary of large groups, with the exception of sports events and concerts, where there are plenty of police visible.

Some more theatre/railroad comparisons:

Film developed during late 1800s
Railroads developed during late 1800s
Early movie companies made their own cameras and projectors.
Early railroads made their own locomotives and cars.
Theatres highest popularity was between 1900 and 1950 (While there are more people attending now, the percentage of people attending has steadily dropped.)
Rail travel highest popularity was between 1900 and 1950. (While there is more freight now, the number of shippers using railroads has steadily dropped.)
Early exhibitor corporations were dominated by legendary ruthless barons
Early rail corporations were dominated by legendary ruthless barons
Projectionists unionized, yet the union has weakened over the past 30 years.
Railway workers unionized, yet the union has weakened over the past 30 years.
Exhibitors do not produce a product, but depend on other sources.
Railways do not produce a product, but depend on other sources.
Early projectors were fueled by carbon rods.
Early locomotives were fueled by carbon in the form of coal.
Early projectors were hand cranked.
Early locomotives were hand fired.
Early theatres were fire traps with dangerous nitrate film.
Early trains were firetraps with coal stoves and kerosene lanterns.
Modern projectors are driven by electric motors.
Modern locomotives are driven by electric motors.
The government controlled film with censorship during the time around WW II
The government controlled the railroads during the time around WW II
Exhibition came to be dominated by a few companies that gobbled up the smaller companies.
Railroads came to be dominated with a few companies that gobbled up the smaller companies.
Theatres are operated with fewer personnel than during the glory years, to save payroll expense.
Railroads are operated with fewer personnel than during the glory years, to save payroll expense.
Theatres companies build big, but skimp on upkeep and repairs.
Railroads build big, but skimp on upkeep and repairs.
There is a great nostalgia for the glory days of film, with vintage memorabilia fetching high prices.
There is a great nostalgia for the glory days of railroads, with vintage memorabilia fetching high prices.
Tickets are needed to see a film.
Tickets are needed to ride a train.
Food is a secondary service of theatres.
Food is a secondary service of passenger trains.
Theatres must operate on a timetable to maximize operations and avoid problems.
Railroads must operate on a timetable to maximize operations and avoid problems.

The list goes on and on. The parallels are uncanny.
 

Anyone done more?
 

Andrew
 

Needless to say, the print was gone over with a fine tooth comb before threading, and we used a lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng leader.

If the other two films hadn't been doing business, I might have considered adding them in as well, although we did have a few empty seats in one of the auditoriums.

I did get a real chuckle from one audience member. This theatre was known for a problem with customers crossing over, so, practical joker that I am, I told the manager and staff not to be too concerned that night. One kid in particular was memorable. He came out of Batman on the end auditorium, gave a furtive look around and snuck down the hall into ... Batman ... confused, he went to the next auditorium and snuck into ... Batman ... Now really confused, he walked down the hall and peeked into the next door and saw ... Batman. He then walked across the hall to where one of the other films was scheduled, but found the auditorium empty because it was between shows. He then bounced back across the hall to another auditorium showing ... Batman. At that point, he walked out the back exit, swearing to himself.

And people have to ask why we like this business...
 

If you have common HEIGHT masking, an auto-lens change can be a beautiful thing. The picture goes black and the curtains open and this huge picture hits the screen. I have actually been in an auditorium and heard the audience gasp when the feature comes on screen.

Pretty much the only reason I did it was because people were telling me that a interlocking lens change couldn't be done... It's an ego thing I guess. If you want me to do almost anything, basically all you have to do is tell me that it can't be done. I'll MAKE a way if I have to!
 

One thing that I think that is wrong with the cinema industry is that it contains too few entrepreneurs and too many accountants.

Michael.
 

In that theatre, the projectionist had to walk down the center aisle of one auditorium and go behind the screen, then up either a laddre or stairs to get to a booth for another auditorium. Yours does seem pretty nasty, though. Is it one of the old SBC houses? One SBC booth I ran was so small that the reel to reel operation couldn't be converted to platter, because there wasn't room. I don't know how it ever passed fire code inspection for the C.O..

I also disagree with the comment that movies aren't as much of a social experience any more. That's the BIGGEST reason for theatres' continued existence.

People will always want to get out of the house. Our job is to have places they want to go to. "If we build it they will come."
 

I'll agree that there wasn't the amount of entertainment available back then, but people didn't have much time for entertainment either. Dances, church activities, local sports, and school functions all vied for the entertainment dollar and limited time available.

I agree about video sales being predicated on success at the boxoffice, and am thankful. Without that, the pressure to cut theatres out of the loop would be mounting. At various times, distribution direct to cable, ppv, or tape have been tried. Each attempt was a rousing dud.

As I said, I used to think the social experience part was important. With stadium seating placing each viewer into a virtual cocoon, and people loving it, I just can't continue to hold that position.

However, If by social experience, you mean getting the wife out of the house, or girlfriend away from parents, then I'll go along with that definition.