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Would a 2 screen theater in a small town make it without showing R rated movies?

My theatre is in a town of 1300 people, very much in the buckle of the Bible belt and the R-rated "Hangover" has been very successful for us.

movielover wrote:
I have no doubt that it would. I managed a single screen in a small NE Iowa town and never showed an R rated film. I packed the house many times. The idea that just because films filled with profanity, nudity, violence or sexuality are successful in large cities they would be successful in small towns is just not correct. Most small towns tend to be "conservative". Survey you community (not just those currently attending your theatre) and see what type of films they want.

I never book by WHAT A FILM IS RATED. I dare to say on the rare occasion someone asks what this film is rated I have to go look it up. I think if you want to have a no R rated policy that can work also. Plenty of films in every rating to choose from.

Will you be showing PG-13 films? Those are basically R films that have managed to cut a couple of seconds of footage to get a PG-13. Look at the new Batman films. On-screen stabbings, multiple shooting deaths, etc.

I've seen PG-13 films that are as bad as R-rated films, if not worse.

Are you concerned just about the "appearance" of propriety?

I grew up in very small, very conservative towns and R-rated films were regularly shown in the regional theatres. However, they would never show anything controversial.

I guess it really depends on the age of your audience. If it's older (most rural towns are rapidly "aging" as the youth move to the big city), then you could probably survive without R films. If you're lucky enough to be in a small town that has something to keeps the kids there, then I would think not showing R films could be a detriment. You could always decline to show stuff like Hostel, the Saw movies, etc. Who, other than Dick Cheney, really needs to watch torture.

-David

dnedrow wrote:
What makes you think "kids" want to see films filled with blood, gore, profanities and explicit sex? It would be detrimental to them to allow that. Not all of them are into that stuff. While you may be trying to be humorous your Cheney remark is out of line and has nothing to do with this thread.

Um, in the context of the message, it's clear I'm talking about 18 and over. I don't think youth under 18 move away from home on their own very often. And if they do, that's what the police are for. So, for the sake of clarity, I'll use the term "over 18s" so that you know to whom I am referring.

And you'll note that I explicitly dealt with "blood, gore, profanities, and explicit sex" when I wrote that the theatre could easily refuse to show controversial films. No theatre is required to show something like "Last Tango in Paris" or "Hostel".

So, some over-18's may not be into it, but some are, so it's best to prevent the "some are" over-18s from seeing it, even if that happened to be the majority? I also thought it was interesting that you don't want over 18s to see explicit sex (penetration, etc.) but don't mind them seeing the sex that is part of PG, PG-13, and R rated films. I personally find that stuff boring. I'm never sure what it has to do with moving the story along. I'm of the "scene fades to black, next scene opens in the morning with the couple having coffee" crowd.

And as for the Cheney remark, you'll just have to live with it. It wasn't a political statement at all, though you clearly took it that way. I was simply trying to think of someone who would not find torture unpalatable, and it's clear from his written and verbal statements, that our former Vice President is one of those people. And that's the last I shall speak of it. I'll be glad, however, to continue to debate whether people 18 and over should be allowed to see PG, PG-13, and R rated films.

Love ME SOME DICK CHENEY.........THATS WHY WE ARE SAFE FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS.....

My two cents:

Slap: Your main theater is art-house right? Which I beleive probably skews heavily toward adult crowds vs main-stream which would skew toward families and young adults (15-25 who if most cases rather watch Fast and the Furious than art-house).

Having been in the video business for 20+ years, my experience is that parents are okay with PG-13 violence in Batman/Ironman/etc. It is the sexual content/language in Zohan/Austin Powers/etc. that is the big concern. You see most parents will knock off a couple of years off of the ratings. So when you think pg-13 would you let your 10-year old watch it? 14-15 year-old watch "R". I would say that 75% of parents are okay with their 14 year olds watching "R".

Most "R" rated movies will not do well if you do not have a good size 15-25 year old market. Most small towns do not. Your bread and butter will be non-"R" rated movies.

We have been trying to build our "R" rated business but it has been slow going. The rating is important to us when we book.

Rufusjack, this basically what I was trying to say, but obviously not clearly enough, in re: the "prime" demo for R films. If there aren't enough 18-25s in your market to survive with R films, then clearly it's not a problem to market to the older crowd with PG and less.

I'm with you on the "fade to black" thing dnedrow (I'm from the Jimmy Stewart era). Most of the stuff I booked was G and PG. The last theatre I managed was in a small town and I packed the house many times with this stuff. When a PG-13 came in I saw the crowd change to older adults and I never sold out on those. Never booked a R.

Rufusjack--you are correct .thats why R rated films or not dont matter.People for us come to see what they want not based on ratings. That being said R rated patrons spend much more at the candy stand...

When I watch Hayes-era films, it's amazing how creative the writers had to be to intimate what was happening, rather than just writing "INT DAY: HEATHER AND GRANT GO AT IT".

Same with cursing. Criminals could be just as vicious during the Hayes era as they are now, but without a stream of verbal grotesqueries.

I'm not for censorship, but it would be nice if writers were as creative as they used to be when it comes to these particular items. Of course, that also requires the audience to be a bit more receptive to using their imaginations.

-David

Right on dnedrow, right on!

I usually have a rough time grossing well on R rated material, mainly because it excludes a high percentage of my patrons. A Few times I can get away with it (Gran Torino) and I keep trying but it is tough going and I have many more R rated misses then hits. Gonna try Public Enemies and possibly The Ugly Truth but we usually try to see them first before booking them.