I'm not shocked. Congratulations, Mike.
I took a quick look at basic population stats for Houlton and Belfast. I didn't dig too deep. I just wondered why you have such success at the Colonial in Belfast, and apparently not so much at the Temple in Houlton. I see they have similar populations. I wonder if I looked at the income levels or other stats if I would understand better. Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes, predicting how much business you will do seems more like luck or magic than it does knowledge and skill. I don't know how much business you do at the Temple, but I'm guessing it would probably fall in line with what I might expect... maybe 10,000 to 15,000 admits per year? On the other hand, I have a hard time understanding how you can sell around 60,000 tickets per year at the Colonial in a similar sized town.
I'm sure you wish you could put something in a bottle from the Colonial and use it at the Temple, but what? The only way I can see for less successful theaters to successfully make the digital conversion is going to be by finding lower cost alternatives to the current equipment options. Lower cost equipment is going to be either used equipment when it becomes available for the right price, or it is going to be something not yet known, or at least not yet approved by the distributors. I've pointed out some of the things that are going on that might bring some of the costs down for small theaters in separate threads, but I don't see anyone commenting. I'm sure everyone would prefer the well worn path of using current equipment and getting VPFs, but as some already know, that is not an option for every theater.
Again, congratulations on your success and your digital conversion at the Colonial. And, I sincerely wish you good luck with finding a way to successfully convert the Temple.
Lionheart
Owner
Gentry Cinema
Checotah, OK
(for sale)
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