Thanks Paul for the constructive criticism — I think everybody has room to improve and good ideas are always welcome. You probably know that the Village North does do midnight shows. We do a fee summer series at some locations (primarily targetted towards children). I just thought calling Village Entertainment a “crash and burn” company is unfair. I suppose a lot of improvements are in the back ground (DTS, upgrades to projection systems and the like) and others are not totally obvious. New seats at the Village Art two years ago, new seating at the Village North and portions of the Lincoln Village and Bloomingdale this year and the like.
But…if people want smaller theaters to stay in business I say the way to go is the film distribution companies. The Village Art, for example, could sure pack them in when the location was able to get a film but mostly we were blocked out by the AMC-Loews theaters and the Century. The reality is that you must play movies people want to see — if you are not able to book the films you cannot hope to survive on throw-away product. The same thing is now happening at the Bloomindale with the new theater at Stratford Square opening — weren’t able to book Harry Potter because the Stratford got it so if you wanted to see Harry Potter last weekend the Bloomingdale was not an option — that means a lot of lost business to us and while free shows and other incentives can and do add some revenues they do not compensate for the loss of a film like Harry Potter and of course the trend will continue with the other film companies. Happens all the time, just look at all the smaller closed theaters out there. Films are our product and for each film there is one distributor, its as though there were only one distributor for beef and they told Dominick’s we’re not going to sell to you because it is in our best interest to sell to Jewel instead so you can’t sell beef anymore. Doesn’t seem entirely fair but that is the exhibition business.
So if you want to support smaller theaters — complain to Warner Brothers and the other distribution companies about not being able to see their movies at your local small theater. Pressure from the consumer might just be the way to make sure the “alternatives” survive. I am sure your local theater (whoever they might be) will thank you!!
As to Classic Cinemas (which does an excellent job) I believe they have closed five or six locations in the very recent past, as has Nova, another smaller and very well run chain.
FYI Paul (and maybe, just maybe) you might want to think about actually having some FACTS before randomly posting. As someone who actually works for Village Entertainment here is a reality check.
Hinsdale — operated on a short-term lease as the building owners had plans to renovate the building. Closed at the end of the lease.
Burnham — building owner wanted to redevelop so lease was not renewed (more $$$’s in redevelopment than in theater rent so who can blame him).
Stratford — mall ownership wanted to redo the location. Decided to go with a national chain.
Water Tower — operated on a short-term lease. The space was scheduled to be converted to live theater but the mall ownership wanted the theater to remain open in the meantime.
Biograph – sadly impossible to get film with the opening of the AMC on Western Ave (also impacted the Village’s ability to get film — that is the way the industry is people).
Golf Glen — mall ownership absolutely refused to address major plumbing problems which resulted in spouting raw sewage at any time more than 50 or so people were in the location.
Village Art – basically unable to book films after the openings of the Century (removed art films) and the AMC on Western — Village cannot play day and date with either location. When the lease was up Village Entertainment attempted to work with the building ownership in an attempt to find a workable rent to keep the theater open. VE offered to leave the seats and projection equipment in the location but the landlord wanted them gone.
Sadly, small companies have a tough go with the recent trends towards monopolization of the industry. New mega-plexes open and the smaller, older theaters just cannot compete because the audiences want to go to the brand-new facility. The advent of DVD’s, pay-per-view and so on have shortened the “shelf-life” of film so there are no longer many surviving second-run or augmented-run theaters. Landlords want to maximize rent and sometimes another use is better for the landlord.
Thanks Paul for the constructive criticism — I think everybody has room to improve and good ideas are always welcome. You probably know that the Village North does do midnight shows. We do a fee summer series at some locations (primarily targetted towards children). I just thought calling Village Entertainment a “crash and burn” company is unfair. I suppose a lot of improvements are in the back ground (DTS, upgrades to projection systems and the like) and others are not totally obvious. New seats at the Village Art two years ago, new seating at the Village North and portions of the Lincoln Village and Bloomingdale this year and the like.
But…if people want smaller theaters to stay in business I say the way to go is the film distribution companies. The Village Art, for example, could sure pack them in when the location was able to get a film but mostly we were blocked out by the AMC-Loews theaters and the Century. The reality is that you must play movies people want to see — if you are not able to book the films you cannot hope to survive on throw-away product. The same thing is now happening at the Bloomindale with the new theater at Stratford Square opening — weren’t able to book Harry Potter because the Stratford got it so if you wanted to see Harry Potter last weekend the Bloomingdale was not an option — that means a lot of lost business to us and while free shows and other incentives can and do add some revenues they do not compensate for the loss of a film like Harry Potter and of course the trend will continue with the other film companies. Happens all the time, just look at all the smaller closed theaters out there. Films are our product and for each film there is one distributor, its as though there were only one distributor for beef and they told Dominick’s we’re not going to sell to you because it is in our best interest to sell to Jewel instead so you can’t sell beef anymore. Doesn’t seem entirely fair but that is the exhibition business.
So if you want to support smaller theaters — complain to Warner Brothers and the other distribution companies about not being able to see their movies at your local small theater. Pressure from the consumer might just be the way to make sure the “alternatives” survive. I am sure your local theater (whoever they might be) will thank you!!
As to Classic Cinemas (which does an excellent job) I believe they have closed five or six locations in the very recent past, as has Nova, another smaller and very well run chain.
FYI Paul (and maybe, just maybe) you might want to think about actually having some FACTS before randomly posting. As someone who actually works for Village Entertainment here is a reality check.
Hinsdale — operated on a short-term lease as the building owners had plans to renovate the building. Closed at the end of the lease.
Burnham — building owner wanted to redevelop so lease was not renewed (more $$$’s in redevelopment than in theater rent so who can blame him).
Stratford — mall ownership wanted to redo the location. Decided to go with a national chain.
Water Tower — operated on a short-term lease. The space was scheduled to be converted to live theater but the mall ownership wanted the theater to remain open in the meantime.
Biograph – sadly impossible to get film with the opening of the AMC on Western Ave (also impacted the Village’s ability to get film — that is the way the industry is people).
Golf Glen — mall ownership absolutely refused to address major plumbing problems which resulted in spouting raw sewage at any time more than 50 or so people were in the location.
Village Art – basically unable to book films after the openings of the Century (removed art films) and the AMC on Western — Village cannot play day and date with either location. When the lease was up Village Entertainment attempted to work with the building ownership in an attempt to find a workable rent to keep the theater open. VE offered to leave the seats and projection equipment in the location but the landlord wanted them gone.
Sadly, small companies have a tough go with the recent trends towards monopolization of the industry. New mega-plexes open and the smaller, older theaters just cannot compete because the audiences want to go to the brand-new facility. The advent of DVD’s, pay-per-view and so on have shortened the “shelf-life” of film so there are no longer many surviving second-run or augmented-run theaters. Landlords want to maximize rent and sometimes another use is better for the landlord.