Posts tagged "price"

So you have just sat down at opening screening of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, the theater is full, you look around and think “this Cinema must be creaming it”. A quick calculation of 200 heads at $10 a ticket yields a $2,000 take just for that one screening...

But in reality the theater is only making $200, aka a dollar per person. Whats going on here? ReelClever looks into the world of price cinema pricing...

Its a regular occurrence to see in the daily paper a mother write in about how taking her family to the cinema is an expense that she can no longer afford, she voices her concern to the theater demanding they lower their prices. What she does not realize is that the theater for the opening week of a film, the most popular week, is usually losing money on ticket sales alone.

When a film hits the theaters the movie studio behind the film often gain something along the lines of a 90/10 split of the ticket takings. As with the above example a $10 ticket equates to a dollar per person for the theater. When the film is in its final week of showing, which is when the theaters are largely empty, the split will have been reversed in the theaters favor. A staggered percentage share happens during the middle weeks. Each film is hammered out under a different deal, often only signed just days before release.

The simple reason for this is that Hollywood films cost a lot to produce, every time you spend money on a ticket you are in fact paying for the production and marketing of the film, as well as for its viewing. Should a studio find its not making a return they under the arranged contract use a clause that allows them to dynamically change the profit split for each corresponding week of viewing. The theater is very much under control from studios when it comes to ticket price and such slim profit margins encourage monopoly business. There is simply too little room for effective competition. Also the extra ticket fee attached to 3D films goes straight to the company that provided the 3D projection system, bypassing both the theater and studio.

It should be mentioned that this system is a necessity and debate about the greediness of movie studios aside, big budget films simply require this kind of profit sharing. But what this system does allow is for conscience consumers to make informed decisions. For instance...

• If you happen to like a local cinema then going to see films after the first week of opening this will give the theater more finical support.
• Equally buying their overpriced popcorn will directly benefit the theatre.
• If you enjoy films from a particular studio then you can support the studio by seeing their films in the first week.
• Art house films and re runs tend to have a more even split. This is the reason boutique cinemas with limited patronage are able to survive.

So what this means for the Indie filmmaker is that having a premiere, or a one off showing at a theater is surprisingly economical.

If you have made a film recently, ensure that all copyright issues are in order and have a chat to the manager of your local cinema (preferably independent). Chances are they will be happy to support local content and will most likely offer you a screen to rent for a modest set price, allowing you to keep all the takings from your ticket sales. With most cinemas of any size sporting at least one digital projector these days there is really no reason not to treat your latest work of film art to a silver screen outing.