University Cinema

[Kaizen]

Hey guys, just wondered if you could give me some advice.

I Can hire a lecture theatre and get permissions, liscences etc to show just to dvd films such as the dark knight, on a sunday 8pm-10pm at my university for around £600 (I know the exact ammount, I'm just giving you a ballpark).

If I charge £3 per ticket, and sell out the 400 seatsd, I make £400 profit.

(I know 3*4 = 1200 and 1200 - 600 isnt 400, but i have calculated it correctly - its to do with a sliding 35% of box office royalty fee but thats not important)


SO. My questions are

1) Do I risk £600 i dont have, or do I get a partner to stump up half the money for half the profits?

2) Can I really sell 400 tickets?

3) Would you pay £3 to see the dark knight?

[TheBigIdea]

i think the hardest part would be getting permission to air dark knight in a lecture hall.

as for your other questions (all trivial answers to them)
1) risk 600 pounds
2) no you can't. expect half of it
3) i would

so, how're you gonna scale it up if it works? daily shows? (unless u have a big university around with movie hungry students who don't rip shows off the web, you have a market)

[Kaizen]

I've done simmilar things before, selling £5 gig tickets to 300+ people so im confident. 200 tickets is break even. The university (Reading) has 15,326 students. 400 of them equates to about 3% or 1 in every 30 people buying a ticket. Obviously they arent all living on site but I'm still fairly sure I can do it.

In terms of scaling, I'd aim to advertise local businesses in return for sponsorship at the begining of the movie. I'd also look at selling confectionary when the business was established.

What makes you think I'll only get 200ish?

Thanks for the feedback btw!

K

[Kaizen]

*oh and id only show a film every week. this is for several reasons such as I don't have the time, cant get the hall booked, wont have the audience on different days and dont want to saturate the market. id rather have 400 people turn up each week than 100 every day. (the cost of the hall is fixed at 390 plus vat)

[Kaizen]

anyone else got any thoughts?

K

[TheBigIdea]

hey just read your post, seems like u know your numbers real well. so go for it!

[Kaizen]

Thanks dude. I will! All the best in your ventures!

[mthomas]

Interesting idea. I think the most important question is will you sell enough tickets to turn a profit.

Ultimately, it depends on your tolerance for risk. Are you willing to risk the 600? I would consider bringing in a partner, but at the same time I'd be wary of making any long term commitments with them. Maybe a friend who wants a little extra cash who doesn't have the time to manage these type of showings for the long term?

If you can find a friend or partner who doesn't want any long term commitments, that would be excellent as this could serve as a test run to see if enough people will actually buy tickets.

[Kaizen]

Thanks for the advice.

I think I can find someone in that capacity - to underwrite half of the costs for the first screening. And maybe I could get them to sell tickets for me as well?

[Kaizen]

oh and 200ish tickets is break-even

[SophieM]

That sounds like a pretty good idea, I know that where my sister is at university the cinema is a good 10 minute walk away from the main residences. So I would go for it!

You seem very confident on your numbers, but I don't know how crucial the 600 is to you. If it is something you really don't think you could stand to lose, then you should bring another partner on board, how about another student?

Sophie
FindCollege.info

[Kaizen]

I figure, if I'm £21,000 in debt already, whats another 600 on a good investment? Even if it goes wrong it will be another story to tell. Thanks for the advice!

[awayoflife]

I think that the possible return far outweighs the risk. You know the numbers, if you really don't want to risk the money then maybe offer 50% for the 600 and you do all the work? But I think you should have a go at it. Let me know how it goes!

[Kaizen]

Thanks thats a good idea!

I've got a meeting with the university some time next ave any of you had experience in simmilar fields/any advice for my ngotiation (aside from the batna angle whcih im working - "a deal benefits us both because if you make me profitable I'll be back next week and you'll get a steady income flow")

[Mega B]

All the very best to you,if nothing else you would have learnt something from the experiance.