Film Weekly 1956-57 year book : Canadian motion picture industry (1956)

16 MILLIMETRE An increase in the number of theatres but a drop in receipts and admis¬ sions, the identical trend shown in 35 mm. exhibition, was the case in Cana¬ da’s 16 mm. field in 1954, according to the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Of the 1,938 “Regular Theatres” 210 16 mm. houses, an increase of 17 over 1953, had receipts of $664,062 for 1,686,705 admis¬ sions, as against $685,208 from 1,790,392 admissions the year previous. All figures used exclude amusement taxes. The increase in the number of 16 mm. situations is mostly accounted for by the increase of the Canadian population by immigration and the expansion of new areas for motion picture entertainment. So great was this growth that it made up in the overall total for those theatres which converted to 35 mm. and those which were forced to shutter due to the coming of TV. However, indications are that 1955 had a drop in 16 mm. places of exhibition due to TV’s expansion into new areas. The DBS differentiates between “Re¬ gular Theatres,” Itinerant Operators, Community Enterprises and Drive-in Theatres. Itinerant Operators, of course, are those exhibitors who travel from town to town carrying portable equip¬ ment, usually on a regular schedule. Community Enterprises are defined as “Community or parish halls in which mo¬ tion pictures are exhibited by non-profit organizations such as churches, lodges, Boards of Trade, Canadian Legion bran¬ ches, etc. Although a regular admission is charged, these halls differ from regu¬ lar theatres in that members of the or¬ ganizations operating them frequently provide their services free of charge.” Both Community Enterprises and Itin¬ erant Operators showed decreases in everything except average admission prices. Of the 645 Community Enterprises 493 used 16 mm. equipment and these took in $774,431 from 2,360,943 admis¬ sions for an average admission price of 34c, as against 519 establishments, $903,605 in receipts and 2,693,832 admissions at an average price of 33c the year pre¬ vious. While the DBS report does not separ¬ ate 35 mm. Itinerant Operators from those using 16 mm. it notes that there were two out of 141 who used the largegauge equipment in 658 halls in 1954 and four of 158 who used the standard-width equipment in 805 halls in 1953. The Itin¬ erant Operators in 1954 took in $385,682 from 1,106,070 admissions which aver¬ aged 35c, compared with $468,562 from 1,381,655 admissions, at an average price of 34c in 1953. During 1954 there were 1,513 films dis¬ tributed theatrically and these took in $1,617,870 in rentals, a big drop of $404,242 from the $2,022,112 of 1953. This de¬ crease is likely accounted for by the de¬ cline in busines due to TV and other factors, which caused the closing of a number of situations. On the other hand, 16 mm. films for non-theatrical use re¬ turned $1,324,172 in 1954, a gain of $953,040 over the year previous, and is due to the increased use of such films by in¬ dustrial concerns and the expansion of television. Associations FILM COUNCILS NOVA SCOTIA FEDERATION OF FILM COUNCILS c/o Secretary, 40 Gray St., Windsor, NS OFFICERS President . William Giles Secretary . Miss Helen Smith Treasurer . H. M. Puddington NOVA SCOTIA FILM PURCHASE POOL c/o Secretary, Regional Library, Truro, NS. President . E. E. Schofield Secretary-Treasurer . Mrs. M. McConnell QUEBEC FEDERATION OF FILM LIBRARIES e/o Secretary, Film Library, Trois Rivieres, Que. OFFICERS President . Arsene Turcotte Vice-President . Father Derouin Secretary . Therese Trepanier Directors . Messrs. Auger, Schank ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF FILM COUNCILS c/o Secretary, 155 Heath St. E., Toronto, Ont. OFFICERS Past President ........ R. H. Macklem, BA, BPaed. President . E. R. Crawford 1st Vice-President . J. A. T. Simpson 2nd Vice-President . Mrs. Eunice Wishart Educational Adviser . . K. L. Young, BA Educational Adviser A. F. Klein, BSS, MS, LLB Director of Public Relations . Miss E. Multin 179