Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
The latest movie theater news and updates
-
December 1, 2006
The Wonderful Art of Seat Saving
I can’t begin to tell you how much it pissed me off when my buddy told me we’d be saving seats for his sister when we saw “Munich” one Saturday night. Not just his sister but her husband and two of their friends. I didn’t even know any of these people and here I am sticking my neck out, letting them tarnish my perfect opening weekend experience.
To understand exactly the degree to which this bothered me, you have to realize the tradition that was being jeopardized. For years, he and I have seen every Steven Spielberg film either opening night or opening weekend. Crossing state lines, going to the theater on no sleep; nothing ever stopped us from the event. Almost nothing, until his sister had to have dinner.
So we were seeing this film the night after I’d just taken a red eye back from Los Angeles. Exhausted, I went to sleep until just before I had to drive to the theater. We only left time to get to the theater an hour in advance so we could procure the best seats in the house. Then I received the exciting news that we would have to save four prime seats next to us. I hadn’t planned on having dinner until afterwards. Some TGI Fridays chicken strips sounded pretty nice to me too at the time but I sacrificed them for my opening weekend experience. Not them though. Not the people that would end up watching the film from almost as good a sightline as I.
As we came closer and closer to showtime, I became more and more well versed in spotting those eyeing our seats and waving them off. By the end, I didn’t even have to use any words cause I had the hand motions down to a science.
26 comments -
Historic Theatres Calendar For Sale
Theatre Historical Society of America has a 2007 full color calendar (11x17" when open available for sale through their online store. The calendar features 13 color images of theatres on the schedule for their upcoming 2007 Milwaukee to Minneapolis Conclave/Theatre Tour.
Featured theatres include the Pabst Theatre (Milwaukee, WI), the Al. Ringling Theatre (Baraboo, WI), the State Theatre (Minneapolis, MN) and the Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee, WI).
The calendar retails for $18.00 but is on sale through Dec 3rd for only $14.40. To purchase the calendar go to www.historictheatres.org and click on the link THSA Store.
-
Old 35mm carbon arc movie projectors wanted
My name is Tom Wilson and I am an avid collector of vintage 35mm carbon arc movie projectors and old theater equipment. If you have any old projectors or equipment available for sale or for trade please give me a call at 937-477-9855. I will travel anywhere in the continental USA to pick up equipment that I purchase. Also looking for a free standing ticket booth, marquee signs, light fixtures and decorative poster cabinets etc. Don’t hesitate to give me a call if you have something.
-
November 30, 2006
Hollywood’s comeback story
LOS ANGELES, CA — The cries of the death of the movie theater have subsided a bit this year with receipts coming in significantly higher.
Ending a three-year slump, attendance at movie theaters is up this year almost 4%. Box-office revenue is up too, by 5.5%. The results stand in sharp contrast to last year, when weekly ticket sales failed to beat the previous year’s results for 19 consecutive weeks, and total box-office revenue was down more than 5% from 2004. Attendance fell 8.7%.
Those results led some analysts to speculate that consumers had lost interest in moviegoing, rejecting inhospitable multiplexes and high ticket prices in favor of bigger-screen TVs and videogame consoles. The turnaround this year offers a simpler explanation: Last year’s movies just weren’t very good.
To read more, go to The L.A. Times.
So is the movie theater really back in the driver’s seat due to this evidence? Do you really think there will be less sequels produced in the future?
At least in my opinion, I think the numbers of 2004 were not going to be surpassed no matter what. Shrek 2 and Spiderman 2 were such rare artistic/commercial successes for big budget sequels that nothing would touch them. Things are getting slightly better with art house films getting more press(Little Miss Sunshine) and indy directors getting the chance to make high-profile studio pictures(Batman Begins), but with the Pirates film doing so well this year, I don’t really buy that the industry is going to change that much.
That’s just me though. What do you think?
-
Budget Theater Questions - Semi Urgent
I am trying to find out information to see if it is worthwhile to reopen a budget movie theater in my hometown. In this area we have about 100,000 people living in the city and we are a significant city in Louisiana. This theater is located on the main road of the city and is situated very close to a university.
About 2 weeks ago, this theater shut its door for business. It appears that the theater was being run into the ground and the person who was leasing the building(from out of state) didn’t really care. Now this theater is important because of where it’s located as well as its size. Compared to modern movie houses, the auditoriums are huge!
Now here are the cons of the place. Number one is the awful smell from when smoking was allowed in the building. Also the smell comes from poor upkeep of the carpet in all rooms. My goal will be to clean the curtains and replace carpet on the walls. The next problem is that the theater decided to stop working with the community on things. Bear in mind that they have been operating as a budget house for almost 15 years.
-
Looking for cinema to manage or district manager position
Hi. I have over 30 years of experience in cinema management, supervision, and district management. I have done everything from promotions, group bookings, ordering, training, hiring, public relations, etc. I left the business to teach school, but would like to get back into the business some place in the Southwest, preferably in a small to mid size city. Please send me an email and I will send a resume. Thanks, JIM
-
November 29, 2006
400 Seats for Sale IMMEDIATELY
We are renovating a theater for theatre/church use and MUST remove 400 seats this week. They’re from 6 Movie mulitplex behind Daytona Beach Mall.
Contact Pastor Steve at or call 386-255-0662
Must remove by Thursday November 30, 2006. -
Loew’s Kings giving tours to developers
BROOKLYN, NY — With many hoping for some positive progress, the Loew’s Kings is allowing potential investors to tour the building. No one has picked it up yet for reuse, but an effort to getting the word out is certainly a step in the right direction.
The Economic Development Corporation, hoping to raise interest in the 68,000-square-foot theater, issued what is called a Request for an Expression of Interest, with a Dec. 6 deadline. Possibilities include a performance hall with restaurants, shops and church activities. Even apartments can be part of the plan, if the appearance and character of the theater are preserved. The cost of renovating the place, which has severe water damage in one section and is shot through with mold and asbestos, is expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.
“If anyone could do it, it would be this team,” he said. “The fantasy would be for it to be saved and brought back to its original glory, but any compromise would be better than the state it’s in now.”
For more on this story, go to The New York Times.
-
National Amusements introduces CyGamZ
DETROIT, MI — In order to lure in more moviegoers, one Showcase Cinema is rolling out a large gaming center to attract more of the younger crowd along with their families.
Movie theaters have long had arcades where people waiting for a movie to begin could pump in a quarter or two and enjoy a few minutes of game-playing fun.
But the CyGamZ center, which informally opened Friday, is different.
Located in an unused lobby of the Showcase multiplex, it covers a huge corner of the complex larger than several theaters put together. It encompasses a large lounge with a concession stand and pods of 24 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 video game consoles hooked up to flat screen TVs; party rooms that feature more consoles, more flat screens and the ability to run things like Powerpoint presentations; and a huge back room that houses 60 moodily lit Alienware PCs running a gamut of games from Sims 2 to Battlefield 2142.
To read more, go to The Detroit Free Press.
-
November 28, 2006
Spielberg’s take on future of movie theaters
In an interview when trying to defend the difference in standards between television and film, Steven Spielberg mentioned where thinks the theater audience is going.
In a free-ranging hour of interview with former NBC News correspondent Garrick Utley and questions from the audience, Spielberg said iPod video may be all the rage but count his films out from tailoring his films to fit the small screen.
“That’s one medium where I have to draw the line,” he said. “We’ll shoot for television and the movies and let there be a wide gap” between that and the small 3-inch screen. He also said that he felt that people are social animals who will choose to go out to a movie rather than watch a show on widescreen.
“I don’t think movie theaters will ever go away,” Speilberg said.
To read more, go to The Hollywood Reporter.