Opening A Cinema

[Purple]

Hi want to ask this question to you guys. I need some information as to opening a cinema. I wanted to know how do i get movies first run no more than two weeks after they are released. This is because we all know about bootleg movies and people get movies bootleg quick. If you understand what i am saying give me some information please.

[teabenny]

Am I to understand you *winkwink* want bootleg movies?

I believe you just contact distributors and you pay a hefty initial fee for the films plus a cut of ticket sales. The distributors are well known - Village Roadshow is/was one.

Then there's timing of movies, which I've read about. Pensioners go to movies in the afternoons, so they don't want to see some bloodfest. Kids movies shouldn't be shown late at night, etc.

And then you need movie posters, popcorn, ice-cream, soft drinks, projectors (the industry's gone digital, by the way), and staff to run it all.

[Purple]

Am I to understand you *winkwink* want bootleg movies?

HAha no i dont want bootleg, i said bootleg because i was trying to get a point accross and that point was i want movies no later than 2 weeks because by that time people will have bootleg copies.

[silversurfer]

I managed a movie theater for 2 years and was the assistant manager at various movie theaters for many years. Friends of mine bought and operate a movie theater in a college town in the US.

1. Do you have a movie theater location with the proper licensing and equipment. Worry about that first. Purchasing a used 35mm projector, new screen and sound system cost my friends about $150,000. And they knew people in the industry and got good deals. And they were able to buy a facility with good chairs. Buying the chairs is expensive. I believe they said they did a $750k installation for $250k, which was a good deal. Obviously if you can buy an old theater that's already wired, you save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2. I only know how the movie industry works in the USA. We have specific laws that other countries don't have.

In the US you visit movie trade shows that happen every few months, sit down and meet with the representatives of the studio and strike deals. The movie studios get to know you and will let you bid on their movies. Some deals we worked out one year included bidding, I forget, like $10,000 per week for one of the harry potter films for a minimum of 8 weeks, or $80k. As part of that we had to also bid on 3 flops and guarantee a showing of the flops for 2 weeks each at, I forget, $3000 per week. Something like that. We lost money every week on the flops and made more than $10k per week from harry potter. also the studio representative audited our ticket sales and they got a percentage of the harry potter money on top of the $10k. I forget how it worked.

Now, that's if you have a chain. My friends have one theater in one college town so they cannot bid on any major studio films- the studio isn't interested in having their blockbuster films shown in an old theater and won't offer them to my friends- and can only show independent films. So they go to Sundance, Cannes and those kinds of conventions to strike deals with distributors there, renting films for 1 or 2 weeks at a time for anywhere from $1000-3000 per week. don't quote me on the numbers, but that's roughly it.

There is also a secondary market called "Second Run" films. These are films that have left "first run" and are rented at will to any theater that will pay. My friend rented Animal House from Swank Distribution for $800 and sold like $2000 worth of tickets. Then there is just plain old film rental, where you pay like $200 for the film whether you show it to a class in college or show it all week in a theater, but those aren't normally feature films.

In the US we had to hire union projectionists, though this is a rarity in many cities.

Frankly, are you really serious here? Have you managed a theater before? You should get a job managing a theater and decide if you like it before you consider opening one.

[silversurfer]

...
And then you need movie posters, popcorn, ice-cream, soft drinks, projectors (the industry's gone digital, by the way), and staff to run it all.

Movie posters are provided free with the film rental long with supplemented newspaper advertising. Do you know the industry you're talking about?

[Purple]

I managed a movie theater for 2 years and was the assistant manager at various movie theaters for many years. Friends of mine bought and operate a movie theater in a college town in the US.

1. Do you have a movie theater location with the proper licensing and equipment. Worry about that first. Purchasing a used 35mm projector, new screen and sound system cost my friends about $150,000. And they knew people in the industry and got good deals. And they were able to buy a facility with good chairs. Buying the chairs is expensive. I believe they said they did a $750k installation for $250k, which was a good deal. Obviously if you can buy an old theater that's already wired, you save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2. I only know how the movie industry works in the USA. We have specific laws that other countries don't have.

In the US you visit movie trade shows that happen every few months, sit down and meet with the representatives of the studio and strike deals. The movie studios get to know you and will let you bid on their movies. Some deals we worked out one year included bidding, I forget, like $10,000 per week for one of the harry potter films for a minimum of 8 weeks, or $80k. As part of that we had to also bid on 3 flops and guarantee a showing of the flops for 2 weeks each at, I forget, $3000 per week. Something like that. We lost money every week on the flops and made more than $10k per week from harry potter. also the studio representative audited our ticket sales and they got a percentage of the harry potter money on top of the $10k. I forget how it worked.

Now, that's if you have a chain. My friends have one theater in one college town so they cannot bid on any major studio films- the studio isn't interested in having their blockbuster films shown in an old theater and won't offer them to my friends- and can only show independent films. So they go to Sundance, Cannes and those kinds of conventions to strike deals with distributors there, renting films for 1 or 2 weeks at a time for anywhere from $1000-3000 per week. don't quote me on the numbers, but that's roughly it.

There is also a secondary market called "Second Run" films. These are films that have left "first run" and are rented at will to any theater that will pay. My friend rented Animal House from Swank Distribution for $800 and sold like $2000 worth of tickets. Then there is just plain old film rental, where you pay like $200 for the film whether you show it to a class in college or show it all week in a theater, but those aren't normally feature films.

In the US we had to hire union projectionists, though this is a rarity in many cities.

Its information i am looking for, so i am asking questionw, now what u said was a good little read, i saw about swank earlier today but was not to impressed they released the movies to late, thats something that will not work out, people wil of bought bootleg copies already.

[Paint and Air Sportz]

If your worried about bootleg copies i doubt you have the millions of dollars to put into a theater, most people never buy bootlegs and just wait for it on dvd.

[Purple]

If your worried about bootleg copies i doubt you have the millions of dollars to put into a theater, most people never buy bootlegs and just wait for it on dvd.

its about location

[silversurfer]

Its information i am looking for, so i am asking questionw, now what u said was a good little read, i saw about swank earlier today but was not to impressed they released the movies to late, thats something that will not work out, people wil of bought bootleg copies already.

Well, in general I would not suggest someone try to break into what I consider a dying industry. The owners of the chain I worked for sold out. My friends who have the theater host poetry and comedy nights and got a liquor license to sell beer and wine and coffee (a rarity in the US).

The movie theaters are going flat broke from piracy and the file traders still complain about the MPAA and the RIAA like these companies will be around forever. Well do the numbers. The owners I worked for quit the business because of profitability declines (plus they were retirement age).

Obviously the market for second run films then are people who are interested in going for a night out and not people who simply MUST have the movie on bootleg, right? That would be the niche market- we used to have restaurants and pubs put into movie theaters that sold food, but the problem is that if the movie wasn't that good the experience was awful and everyone was distracted.

Again, I only know the US distribution methods... your mileage may vary.

[Gaulkin]

Dont waste your time, if you had enough money to buy and run a movie theater you would not be on a random forum asking for answers....

[teabenny]

Ah, silversurfer, i only know what i read from a UK cinema manager, who said he had to order posters.

Thank you, and please no snide comments.

[dg0896]

Not quite silversurfer. I am a proud employee of AMC Entertainment (AMC Theatres) and I know for a fact that 95%-99% if the money made from tickets is given to the movie producers, depending on how long the movie is out. It is not the theatres that lose money from pirated movies (mainly) but the producers. The movie theatres make money from Concessions, although our theatres are monitored quite closely for piracy and rude guests to keep everyone happy.

Well, in general I would not suggest someone try to break into what I consider a dying industry. The owners of the chain I worked for sold out. My friends who have the theater host poetry and comedy nights and got a liquor license to sell beer and wine and coffee (a rarity in the US).

The movie theaters are going flat broke from piracy and the file traders still complain about the MPAA and the RIAA like these companies will be around forever. Well do the numbers. The owners I worked for quit the business because of profitability declines (plus they were retirement age).

Obviously the market for second run films then are people who are interested in going for a night out and not people who simply MUST have the movie on bootleg, right? That would be the niche market- we used to have restaurants and pubs put into movie theaters that sold food, but the problem is that if the movie wasn't that good the experience was awful and everyone was distracted.

Again, I only know the US distribution methods... your mileage may vary.

[teabenny]

From what I heard, record companies were only losing 5% of their profits from piracy. If that's true, I can't believe that the figure for movie companies would be markedly higher.

Bands, on the other hand, often lose out. The record companies claim "costs" and keep most of a record's earnings. The bands make their money through touring.

[silversurfer]

Not really. A good friend of mine from college ran an independent record label for 10 years and had a large back catalog of semi-famous indie bands. He showed me numbers... 1999 he sold 2500 copies of one band's cd
2000: 1500
2001: 500
2002: 200 cds + downloads
2003: 5 cds + 1000 downloads at $0.25 per download.

He had vinyl rights to make records for several major label bands and sold, you know, like 40 Lps after printing 500. He fired all his staff and has been running the whole label himself after work. An older friend who ran a record store shut it down from lack of sales.

I worked the merchandise booth at a show in 2003 and kids literally told me to my face they were "too broke" to buy the cd and we should make it available free online. I remember the show sold out at roughly 1000 tickets and we sold like 75 shirts and 7 cds. 1000 tickets and we only sold 7 cds? That just didn't seem right. 50 cds I'd believe.

Money is fleeing that industry. I knew two people who converted all their cds to mp3s and sold the cds to a used cd store. In one case I bought almost 200 cds from one of those guys.

your mileage may vary.

And AMC strikes very different deals than a small chain would- they're striking nation-wide deals. But I managed the theater several years ago as well and things change.

[dg0896]

You have to remember CD sales are much different than movie sales.