Note to Theater Owners

[K1052]

Originally posted by: Metron

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Guys there's something that you guys are missing and might shock you:

Theater's are here to make $$$$, not to entertain people at an affordable price, (heck WTF would they want to do that?).


If I was in there same situation I would gauge every single cent I can to make a profit.

Let me be clear... I'm not trying to deprive the theater owners / film distributors of their profits. They are in rather dire financial straits, given that theater revenues sharply declined in 2005 for the first time in 10 years, and theater attendance has declined for 3 years in a row. As MarketResearch.com points out in the sources previously cited, continuing to raise prices will not sustain revenues and profits in the face of declining attendance.

Eventually you reach a point on the demand curve where you drive customers away with price increases, and my contention is that they have arrived at that point. If they continue to raise prices (or do nothing), they will be losing money (in terms of revenue and profits).

I'll grant that my suggestion to lower prices in order to stimulate demand is a somewhat unusual, but it is possible to lower prices and increase revenue and profits (think of *gasp* Walmart or Costco)... given the proper location on the demand curve (and as dullard points out that's a big assumption on my part).

Things aren't quite dire yet, another six months of sh!t film from the studios and they will be though.
Sony is one of the key offenders last year since basically everything they released went straight into the crapper.

Theatre owners aren't stupid. Many were hoping the trend would reverse somewhat in the last couple months of the year (and it did come around somewhat). I'm certain the companies are reviewing their price stuctures and formulating incentive programs to encourage more people into the theatres with the lackluster product they have been supplied with. Many are also turning to premium services like IMAX and digital 3D projection to offer more to their patrons.

The studios had become too drunk off the profits from DVD sales which many retailers use as loss leaders to get traffic in the stores. Reality has finally started to set in when their too high projections on some of the recent large DVD release sales proved to be off by a good sized margin.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I still go because some movies demand the big screen experience.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: vegetation
The commercials are what kept me off theater properties for good. That'll be the day when I pay money to be spammed.

Meh, some theaters now publish the actual start time of the movie so you don't have to sit through all of that if you don't want to. I don't mind the commercials at the beginning, they're usually pretty entertaining commercials (except that stupid Coca-Cola one with the kids on the road trip). Commercials are just another source of revenue for theaters that does not cost me any money, so it allows them to offer a lower ticket price.

Do you not have cable or satellite TV? If you do, you're already paying money to be spammed. Even video games have ads in them now. The movies you watch have ads in them (product placement).

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: Vic
For first-run movies, the theater owners don't set the ticket prices, the movie distributors do. The distributors also get up to 100% of the box office for the first few weeks, depending on the popularity of the particular movie. The theaters make almost all their revenue at the concessions.

This is incorrect.

The exhibitors do set their own prices but there are some restrictions on that made by the film companies.

Film rental can run 50-90% of ticket sales depending on the title, film company, and negotiating skill of the exhibitor.

 

[mackle]

I work part-time at a movie theater. I don't really work the ticket booth though but I work mostly in Concession. There are many reasons contribute to how much a movie tickets cost like: location/standard living of people in the surrounding, renting the movie (we actually have to rent these copies from a movie distribute). A movie theater doesn't make too much profit on selling tickets (we get a very little % out of selling tickets to cover the renting of the space) rather mostly depend on concession stand. The amout of money generate from concession stand would use to cover everything (to pay for people work there, renting the space, maintaining security). There is one more thing would contribute to this is your Hollywood stars and their high living standard. I'm not defending my theather or anything but only share with you guys how my theater being run/work.

 

[Anubis]

i agree with the OP i haven?t been to the movie theater in over 2 years, $7+ for a movie is moronic when you have to fight with parking, seating and annoying ass spelunkers that don?t shut up for the length of the movie, i can enjoy the movie just as well on my 27in SDTV 6 months later, the couch is more comfortable, i can pause it and the food costs much less, even when i went to the movies i cant recall the last time i purchased food there,

hell i don?t even rent movies (or DL them for that matter) i haven?t rented a movie in so long I(at least 3 years) that blockbuster canceled my membership, there just isn?t anything worth spending money to see, i generally just wait for it to hit TV

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: badmouse
I started working in the Movie Theater biz back in 1971. I figured it was a temporary job, because video projection and stuff like that was going to put all the technical people out of business. Still waiting . . .

Some basics of the business: the theater does indeed make its profit on the concessions.

Also remember, this is a CASH business. As the IRS knows well, any time you have large amounts of cash, you "might" be having a large amount of that cash "disappearing". That cash is definately going somewhere . . .

Interesting fact: when i was still in the business, the last show on Friday Night was generally considered to belong to the staff. That is, all the money that came in got kept by the staff, making up for those low wages. Theater management & distributors expected it. Also, in my day, NO ONE was ever arrested for stealing. Fired, maybe - unless they started sharing the swag. If you were, say, a cashier or you sold concessions, and you knew you would be quitting soon, you automatically started pocketing every bit of $$$ that was anywhere near you. Unless you were really clueless and didn't know that everybody else was doing it. Things may have changed (but I doubt it).

I go to the movies a lot, because I like to. I don't buy stuff - if you like movie theater popcorn, try making it at home with Coconut Oil - awesome. I know how to bring in my own food, anywhere. I hate commercials. I love previews. I'm really nasty to people with cell phones, or talkers. I have no problem moving LOUDLY to another seat if people annoy me. Then again, I'm really used to theaters.

And I still have an incredible urge to chew gum and throw it on the floor or stick it to my seat. But I don't do it.

Wow. That's completely opposite of my "movie theatre days". I worked a small town theatre for 3 years while in High School. Cash only. Our owner made us take inventory of every paper cup, box of milk duds, and pop corn tub/bag in the place. She had it down to a science and new if we were pennies off.

She could tell who was running concessions that night because of the way we ran our sales tax. I always added the prices together including sales tax because I knew the amounts in my head. Everyone else ran the pre tax prices and then multiplied it by the sales tax amount.

I was always a couple pennies off because of rounding off the amounts.

She(the manager) was that anal about it.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: badmouse
I started working in the Movie Theater biz back in 1971. I figured it was a temporary job, because video projection and stuff like that was going to put all the technical people out of business. Still waiting . . .

Some basics of the business: the theater does indeed make its profit on the concessions.

Also remember, this is a CASH business. As the IRS knows well, any time you have large amounts of cash, you "might" be having a large amount of that cash "disappearing". That cash is definately going somewhere . . .

Interesting fact: when i was still in the business, the last show on Friday Night was generally considered to belong to the staff. That is, all the money that came in got kept by the staff, making up for those low wages. Theater management & distributors expected it. Also, in my day, NO ONE was ever arrested for stealing. Fired, maybe - unless they started sharing the swag. If you were, say, a cashier or you sold concessions, and you knew you would be quitting soon, you automatically started pocketing every bit of $$$ that was anywhere near you. Unless you were really clueless and didn't know that everybody else was doing it. Things may have changed (but I doubt it).

I go to the movies a lot, because I like to. I don't buy stuff - if you like movie theater popcorn, try making it at home with Coconut Oil - awesome. I know how to bring in my own food, anywhere. I hate commercials. I love previews. I'm really nasty to people with cell phones, or talkers. I have no problem moving LOUDLY to another seat if people annoy me. Then again, I'm really used to theaters.

And I still have an incredible urge to chew gum and throw it on the floor or stick it to my seat. But I don't do it.

Wow. That's completely opposite of my "movie theatre days". I worked a small town theatre for 3 years while in High School. Cash only. Our owner made us take inventory of every paper cup, box of milk duds, and pop corn tub/bag in the place. She had it down to a science and new if we were pennies off.

She could tell who was running concessions that night because of the way we ran our sales tax. I always added the prices together including sales tax because I knew the amounts in my head. Everyone else ran the pre tax prices and then multiplied it by the sales tax amount.

I was always a couple pennies off because of rounding off the amounts.

She(the manager) was that anal about it.

Such managers (really good ones) are few and far between.