What I need to start a second run theater

Hello Griff. I, too, am in the same position as you. Where are you located? I’m in Orange County, southern California, and am looking for a place to re-open with (preferably) British films, especially in nthe catagories of “second run, art, independant etc. My e-mail is Perhaps we can help each other? -Simon

i’ve been wondering this same thing. what are the costs? how does one rent a 35mm for showing and what does that cost? license? etc etc?

I’d agree with Ken, check www.bigscreenbiz.com for all the answers you might need.

Hello James,

can you send me the details to me at

Thanks,
sri

First off i would need to know if there is anything in the building now like conccession , seat, projection room , bathroom fixtures ie ect.. i have a list but i need to have a general idea

yeah everything is there. i think the projectors are a bit older. the seats are in good condition. one screen has a rip in it that should be repaired or replaced with a new one. concession is there.

could u send me a list of the various costs and things to take into consideration. still very new to the whole thing but would love to be able to throw a business plan together. never have attempted anything like this before – need to know my next step. :) thanks

I would also appreciate any advice and info – my husband and I were just discussing opening up a cinema drafthouse in Milwaukee, WI. We are starting to do research at this point, so we know nothing!! I’m not too sure how much we are interested in doing a franchise, though, unless that would be our best option.

Thanks! email addy –

Well i have 18 years of running Cinemas / Theatre all in the North east so i know the in and outs i use to book my own films and come up with new ideas i turend one of my cinemas in to a dinner theatre while another was center for holiday partys so i might be able to help in several ways
if anyone is interested in plans

We’d like to read some followup success stories from the many requests for information on how to open a theatre, that are asked of this board on nearly a weekly basis. Surely one of the many folks must have had a serious interest, and followed through? Come on, tell us your result stories.
Did anyone get beyond the dreamer stage?

Yes i did get to the part of opening a inema i have the outline of aoll needed however if anyone is interested and is for real i can give ya a hand it takes alot of equipment if there is none and if you have to open one from ground up it can be costly as much as $60,000.–$160,000 depends on land and area its best to find one that is closed or been closed just need to think hard of where and how to do things if anyone is serious drop me a line

To build a business plan, begin with your public library. I am not sure what business model a movie theatre would fall under but would probably have both retail and service orientations.

In any plan, you will need an overall goal of what you want to accomplish. Then start with a brainstorming session of all the needs you can think of for your location. When you approach for financing, you will need to support how you arrive at your estimates. There is often free busienss plan help from anorganization of retired businessmen. You can usually find out about it through the library or local community college.

Make sure that you check with you local government entities about the location you are thinking of leasing. Find out about about all the code requirements you will be subject to as a new owner. The building/planning department and fire department should be able to provide current code information and probably have past reports.

Always remember that the fixed costs of hardware are the easy ones to estimate and control. It is the costs that can be highly variable that are too often underestimated. Lease, labor, insurance, advertising. Labor costs can be affected by a variety of things such as type of projection equipment and how automated it is, hours of operation for the theatre, and the availability of local help.

If you aren’t in a rush, try a business management class at a community college that includes a project of building a business plan. I have a friend who is an assistant manager of a theatre who is going to do just that. Although he has worked at the theatre for 6 years, he has found that his knowledge is only of his own theatre and equipment and is having to do research on different options. I know he has been talking to his local projectionists to gain insight into other equipment. The projectionists sometimes like the older equipment since that keeps their job.

Somebody else on this board thought they could play DVDs on a big screen, in a bar or restaurant, and call it a dinner theatre. Anyone have any opinions on whether the film companies would care about film cost?

The future of movies will be all digital. With high speed internet links, there will ultimately be no need for even sending disks. This will help control counterfeiting through the use of encryption so only the intended receiver can show it at their theatre. There is too much cost involved in traditional film duplication, handling and storage.

Don’t get me wrong though. I hate digital today. They need to put some of the traditional film glitches into it to make it realistic. Just like digital music which has been all cleaned up from the actual recording, it just isn’t the same.

Good thing is that old equipment will continue to decrease in price while theatres going digital upgrade and as long as film is still around. This can also create a new business opportunity for those people who fixed and maintained projection equipment to support the small theatres around the country.