I agree with much of the above. A holdover figure is a moving target, BOTH for you... AND the studios.
You know (or should) what it takes to keep the lights on at your theatre. If you're a multi, you're probably applying your drop-dead figure across your combined screens, or maybe looking at the cost of the square footage a film's playing in.
For us, it seems to be a matter of what the season is producing. If all your films are running at $1,500, and the new offerings aren't likely to do better than that, the lower percentages of a holdover probably decides the issue. In the middle of the Summer, that magic number might go higher... especially if you need to clear a screen for a blockbuster. At this point in the season, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that more theatres are using the $200 figure as their magic number.
If a studio's doing well with a film, they might be less inclined to complain if you drop a show... they're probably confident they can place the print somewhere else quickly. When only a few shows are making money, they seem to whine louder and sooner over lower numbers. You get to balance that pressure against the realities of your own business... yay!
[This message has been edited by rodeojack (edited September 10, 2007).]
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