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I want to open a first run, 5 screen theater. Four of the theaters would be regular theaters, but the fifth one would be set up like a dinner theater, and would host live entertainment sometimes. The town I want to open it in is a small town with a population of about 1500. I know that sounds too big for such a small town, but there is also a town 13 miles down the highway with a pop of 15000 and a number of other small towns with pops of about 1500 in the area. What's more, there is absolutely no theater within a 45 min drive from the bigger town and even further from most of the small towns. On top of all that, there is no other form of entertainment in the area other than bars. The reason I chose the small town I did is because it is located in the center of the region it would serve and has an atmosphere better suited for it than most of the others. So here's my questions: How many seats should I place in each theater? and how big do the screens and the rooms need to be to accommodate them? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My rule of thumb is 2 screens for every 10,ooo in population.75 to 125 seats would be enough for each.Just my opinion.

Ok, thanks. Then I should have about the right size, because I just looked up the demographics for my county and the population is about 38,000. That doesn't include the county right next to it either, and it would be the closest theater for most of that county as well.

I would want to be in that town of 15,000. 13 miles is a long way!

IMHO, one room should be close to 200 seats (so you can handle any school groups and such). Then 75-100 on the rest. Keep you screens as big as possible.