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What most of you are not understanding is that a first-run theater has ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT on a discount theater. You are catering to two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT customer bases. Those that go to first run theatres rarely, if ever, visit discount theaters and vice versa.

there are so FEW good second run houses left and very few in texas , We are talking about texas

Interesting thought. If that's the case, then my county (drawing area of over 300,000) now has no discount house. Over the past year, we've lost a single-screener and just last week, a twin. Our first-run houses, many of them suffering the '2-week and it's dead syndrome', still have to hang onto prints just to keep the screens lit. Considering release frequencies, a picture is so totally tapped out by the time it leaves, there's no market for the discounter... either that, or the cheaper ticket isn't suitable motivation in my area.

Currently, there in only one theatre that does not run mainstream product on the break. It's a single screener, located in a high-income, relatively isolated section of our county. It plays the art/independent fare, and appears to reasonably serve what limited audience there is around here for such entertainment.

Guys,
I appreciate all the support, positive or not. It's good to hear things from people who know what they're doing. I still like the idea of a discount theatre, but may be leaning towards not at all. There are almost too many screens to compete with discount or not.

Slapintheface,
I'm not sure how much you really know about Tyler. The 86K census on the city signs is 5-10 years old. It's a fast growing city. Given that the majority of the growth is on the south side of town, but every major business is on the loop(highway around the city). The theatre is a block off the loop, near the university, and less than a mile from several very decent restaurants(hence..dinner and a movie). It's not the prime location for the new megaplex, but we're talking discount theatre here. I like stats, I'm all about them, but lets get some fact checking done first.

An 8 screen discount doing 1 million guests per year would have to be in a huge market. Speaking in terms of a town with a population ~100,000, I don't think 450,000 is a good estimate. I also would have to disagree about first-run not impacting second run. With 32 screens holding product, I would guess that many films are played in first-run houses until close to their dvd release date. It would be very difficult to get anyone to spend $3 or $4 per person to watch something they could rent for less at the local video store.

In my area, there is a 14 screen and us (8 screens). There used to be a 5 screen and a four screen, but they were both closed within 2 months of the 14 screen opening. With just 22 screens in town, many films are played up to the dvd release date, which effectively makes a second-run setup impossible. It would take cooperation between a first run and a second run in order to make sure the second run had product to show that wasn't already available to the home market. And if they are owned by different companies, I don't think that will happen.

This is especially true when you look at how quickly movies are being rushed to the home theater market. It used to be that for a film to play in the theater until it's video release, it would need to play for a year or more. Now, it only has to play for 2 or 3 months (with some rare exceptions) before you can rent it and watch it at home for a fraction of the cost that even a second-run setup could charge.

I live in tyler 1 mile from the theater .

Hopping back to the original question. I have a couple of thoughts. Is anyone in the market playing Spanish language fare? With the large Hispanic population, this might be a niche worth exploring. Is there a dedicated Hispanic radio station that you could partner with on promotions?

What type of university is it? Liberal Arts? Ag-School? What is it known for? Don't dismiss Large's suggestion of Art out of hand. The American population is aging and one of the best growing markets is adults 40+ who want to see movies but want good movies, not the crap that Hollywood puts out week after week. A good booker would be key in helping you get established in art. Remember, the key to a successful arthouse is that your focus is marketing the movies to get patrons in the door. You don't have the $25 million ad campaigns of the major studios to build awareness. You have to do the work. Don't be afraid to get niche. As an independent, you can move faster and be leaner than the big guys. Use it to your advantage.

Rialto,

No one that I'm aware of plays any actual spanish films. I never thought of advertising through the local stations. There are one or two spanish stations at least. I don't speak any spanish, so I haven't paid any attention.

As far as an art theatre, that is something that's out of my scope of knowledge. I've read a little about them, but really know nothing of them. It might be an interesting idea given my situation!

My two cents. I would work the lease hard, epsecially on an outfot that has been closed for so long. I agree that finding product for 6 screens is going to be tough. So drop one or two and put in a pizza kitchen, some seating and xbox's with 6' foot screens that you can rent out by the hour. You will make more money in that space than if it were playing films. I like the idea of Spanish films.

Roger Detzler
President
IOKA Entertainment