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I spent the good part of my day talking with most of the studios regarding digital cinema and whether or not Seasonal First Runs will have a better chance at product in the off-seasons. If we did, then that could be a great motivator to purchase digital equipment sooner than later.

Unfortunately, the responses were mixed and not terribly hopeful. Without naming studios, a couple of the bigger studios' people I spoke to said that getting movies will still be based on the old system of how much you gross.

Which is why I asked on another thread what the cost of digital is to the studio. A ballpark answer I got from phone calls today is a couple hundred dollars. This is just the cost to put the movie on a hard drive.

Since I am a seasonal first run theater there will be no VPFs paid on my behalf. So that cost to the studio is wiped out. (Remember the CBG deal would not give seasonal first run theaters any equipment provided with VPFs until 1st generation equipment is replaced with 2nd generation equipment at the full time first run theaters which could be 8-10 years from now)

So a studio could have movies they are releasing to us seasonal first runs that cost $1000-1500 less per copy to distribute but still not give us anything more than we get now. Have not we been told that one of the main reasons we may not get a movie is because our film rental will not cover the cost to put the movie on film?

I hold out hope that some minds could be changed in the future as the topic did not seem to be talked about much inside the studios as the people I was talking kept on talking about VPFs being paid on all movies. I encourage you other seasonal first run theaters to talk to your studio reps as well (if you agree).

What do the rest of you seasonal first runs think? Mike, would that be you too?

I know we seem to have a hard time keeping people's attention after 4-6 weeks of old movies. Certainly after 8-10 weeks. So our first big title after running old stuff (Spiderman 3 and Bee Movie for exp.) underperform for us, but by the time we get to the end of the seasonal stuff we are performing quite well. So if we could get more new stuff throughout the year we could do better with the seasonal stuff therefore making the decision to purchase digital equipment more sensible.

Besides that I have a hard time finding meaningful savings or additional revenue to make the decision easier to make.

Since I make-up and tear apart the films, I have a hard time putting a price on that.

Yes we will not have the films shipped to us but who is going to pay to have the hard drives shipped to us? Us?? Hopefully it could be a $40 or savings to ship a hard drive vs a print but that only equates to at best a $1000 a year savings (assuming 2 week runs which maybe a bit low on average).

If you beleive consumers will be receptive to us having digital, how much more revenue could we get vs what we get now? I am not so sure I beleive this unless you are the only one in your area to have digital. Not so sure I want to put that variable in my model as this point.

Alternative programming? That is a tough one to quantify.

Bottom line for me: If I could have more access to movies on the break the whole year I would be very motivated to go digital. Why would a studio not be for this? Especially since that could save money on the blockbuster titles that they do not have to put on film. 2/3rds of the movies we play our on the break. The cost savings on those films will more than offset the additional cost for the other movies.

Any thoughts?

Quote from rufusjack:
"Since I am a seasonal first run theater there will be no VPFs paid on my behalf. So that cost to the studio is wiped out. (Remember the CBG deal would not give seasonal first run theaters any equipment provided with VPFs until 1st generation equipment is replaced with 2nd generation equipment at the full time first run theaters which could be 8-10 years from now)"

You ask very good questions but I would like to back up a second. The info I've seen from NATO and CBG indicates a market by market rollout and you are indicating above that there is a pattern based on gross and first runs, etc. Where did this info come from? Could you post a link to it?

Thank You

That info came from my old booker last September after a lengthy meeting he had with Mr. Anderson of the CBG.

I am in a similar boat. I play first run year round, but do have trouble getting some titles in the off seasons.

I have had this conversation with my booker, who has spoken with the studio reps.

They said that if you are on the fence, digital may get you the movie. But if the movie is only going 1200 runs and you usually don't get in until 2500+, you are still out of luck.

Personally, I think this will change over time as distribution changfes to meet the new realities of digital. Lower cost will mean more access as time goes by.

I just wish CBG would talk about this openly and not spring it on us later. Doesn't seem right.....

That is just openly against what I read in the RFP where it states about a market by market rollout. This is not market by market

[This message has been edited by leeler (edited April 03, 2008).]

Hello all,

First time poster, long time reader. I am in the same boat as many of you operating a small theatre that plays a few titles on the break every year and trying to figure out where I fit in the digital transition. I am very much for the industry moving to digital, long term it is a necessary for innovation in the movie going experience. The problem I see with the transition is that it is expensive for a single screen theatre in a small town and I'm not sure that the studios fully understand or care to understand that we will have to do things different to pay for the equipment without charging $50 a ticket.

Alternative content seems to be the way that the equipment will be paid for, but will the distributors let you share screen time and will people come to it? I would love to play more films, but find that splitting the screen between product ends up with mediocre results for both films.

I don't mean to seem negative about this, but we have a new way of doing things on the horizon and we want to do the same thing with it. VFP fees will not pay for the transition and most likely will not be available to everyone. We need help from the studios, not in the form of money, but in the form of policies that will let us create and innovate a new movie going experience for all.

Welcome to the site Strand. Many of us are in the same situation as you. I can't speak for the others, but for me, the path to take at the major intersection ahead is quite obscured with rhetoric. I'll be glad when everything is laid out for us in easy to read language with detailed facts and dollar amounts.

WelcomeStrand4me!
I think for the short term (next 3 years ) a good option is what is talked about in this forum.:"what every small theater should do that does not have 2k"

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rufusjack:
That info came from my old booker last September after a lengthy meeting he had with Mr. Anderson of the CBG.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

At Showest in March 2008 Wayne said it will be market by market.

Now my 2 cents
He didn't say is what constitutes a market and no one knows where the dividing line is. How far outside of Dallas for example is the Dallas market?

No matter what happens there are going to ba a lot of unhappy people. I don't envy Waynes job. You can't please everyone.

It can still be market by market but within that market, full-time first runs get equipment first all other types of theaters within that market have to wait a few years.

So lets say you have 30 theaters in a market/disctrict, etc. 20 are 100% first run, 7 are seasonal, and 3 are sub-run. Only 20 theaters in this district will have the opportunity to get digital equipment. After those 20 get equipment or pass, then they go on to the next market.

The reason being that since the equipment is being financed with VPFs and the studios only pay VPFs on the break....