Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

LETTERS Urges TV Use for Promotion The Lyric Theatre, Lebanon, Mo., was closed permanently due to the terrific TV competition. If this industry doesn’t wake up and use that great advertising medium on a national scale — the TV box in every U.S. living room — there will be more theatre closings. The TOA and Al’ied and producers, stars and distributors should buy the Huntley-Brinkley Report and advertise three or four motion pictures per month in the Disney fashion and acquaint the lost customers with our product! WAKE UP INDUSTRY— don’t fight TV— use it in the manner of Crest toothpaste! How stupid can we get?? Let’s use this great medium on a national scale prime time! We gross twice as much with Disney products than all other products!! WHY? TV advertising of course ! With 12,000 theatres at $10.00 per week matched by the other segments of the industry, we could buy the best spots on TV ! C. BERUTT Berutt & Wandel ’Theatres, Rolla, Mo. Commends Universal on TV Stand This Week Magazine of December 2 stated that Universal is one of the two companies which has, as yet, not furnished any product for the Hartford pay TV experiment. I also understand that Universal is the ONLY film company which has not furnished product for the Canadian pay TV operation. Also, Universal is one of the few companies which has, as yet, not sold any of their post-1948 pictures to free TV. It amazes me that some of the persistent letter-writers to the trade papers have not seen fit to commend Universal on their fine, businesslike stand which, if duplicated by the other companies, would save a lot of theatres from eventually closing their doors. I also have never noticed any trade paper editorials congratulating Universal on this matter. Let’s give credit where credit is due; and I believe Universal deserves a rousing vote of “thanks” for their actions in regard to TV. Feature movies on TV have closed many theatres’ doors and, along with pay TV will close many more, unless something is done to stop it. If all of the film companies had held back their features from free TV and pay TV, as Universal has done, there would be no pay TV, because there would be no product for them to run; and free TV would not be showing 1960 and 1961 releases on “prime time” Saturday and Sunday evenings, as they are doing with product from certain other companies. PAUL TRIPPLER ’ Canova, S.D. P.S. I am a small-town former theatreman, whose theatre was forced to close mainly because of “free movies on TV,” like so many others. I still subscribe to your tradepaper. This policy of letting TV have practically “new” features really irritates me. Universal has proven a fi’m company can make large profits WITHOUT selling their product to television ! (Letters must be signed. Names withheld on request) Agrees With Editorial View I just finished reading your editorial, “Point for More Return.” You have stated the case well. The condition you’ve analyzed also applies to the field of advertising. I can name a dozen pictures which have been screened in the last few years, and we had hardly heard of them, let alone the matter of getting advance information, with the result they came to us in a screening chair with no advance amplification. This is one of the reasons why “ShowA-Rama” was created — a direct attempt to enthuse all exhibitors with special campaigns and plans for future product. You’d be quite amazed to learn how hard it is to get advance information — or the co-operation of some of the film companies! M.B. SMITH Vice-President, Commonwealth Theatres, Kansas City, Mo. Ingenuity Brings Extra Cash With the Christmas season upon us, and all the extra parties and activities, not to mention the extra time spent shopping by most of my patrons, I realized that they would not have much time to come to my theatre. This is how I tried to overcome some of the lost revenue at my boxoffice during this time of the year. Beginning October 12, I started contacting first my merchants for “Christmas Greeting Ads.” This, as you know, can bring much in the way of EXTRA CASH to an exhibitor. I sold 47 merchants. Next, I went to three of my leading factories, and sold them on “A PRIVATE MOVIE FOR THEIR EMPLOYES AND FAMILY.” This they were very happy to do and to each of these factories a nominal fee was charged, thus, once again, bringing in extra revenue. I just finished contacting my local Scheck’s Shop-Rite Market and promoted five bags of “CHRISTMAS GROCERIES,” totaling $15.00 each. This promotion will be handled in this way: Each of Scheck’s customers will deposit their sales slip in my lobby container, after filling in their name, address and phone Newspaper Puffs Theatre For 'Adults Only' Night OSHKOSH, WIS.— The Trail Theatre here received good comment from the Garden County News on the theatre’s plans to recognize grownups in an era when so much emphasis has been placed on the teenage audience. The management has set Monday as “adults only” night, and regardless of what films are playing, only adults will be admitted. “This might be the answer for those who want to get away from the kids for a few hours,” the News commented. number on the back of this slip. On Friday night December 21 these slips will be pulled out and the winners announced from my stage. All my ads will carry this information, plus the ads and a sign at the check-out counters plugging this promotion, and even the local newspaper is going to give us a story on this ’Theatre-Scheck’s Promotion. Scheck’s ads will carry all of the above information in their ads as well. Fostoria, like most towns throughout the country, this time of the year, is decorated for the holidays. I wanted to do something, too, in helping the merchants who have been so nice to me in the past year. I spoke at a Chamber of Commerce meeting and suggested that Christmas music be played on Main Street during the shopping days before Christmas, thus keeping the tired shopper in the spirit of the season. Well, every one thought it was a good idea, but ... So, later that day, I went to a local music store and after explaining my idea to the man he was very happy to supply everything I needed. This, of course, was the player, speaker, horn and records, even a man to install everything. Now, from the State Theatre, comes the wonderful sound of the music of Christmas. This, in addition to all the very pretty decorations in town, makes our shoppers happy and, what is even more, they know where the sound is coming from. What has this to do with helping me overcome some of my lost revenue at my boxoffice during this time of the year? WeU, with the extra Christmas ads, three Christmas rentals (and a possibility of two more), a Christmas grocery promotion to try and keep as many patrons coming as possible, I think with the Christmas music coming from the theatre, this all adds up to one thing ! How can anyone in town NOT KNOW that there is a theatre in town? C. V. MITCHELL Manager, Armstrong State Theatre, Fostoria, Ohio Lack of Color a Patron Deterrent My cashiers reported that a rather large number of prospective patrons were walking away from the boxoffice when we played “The Pigeon That Took Rome,” because the movie was not in color. I knew this was an important factor in selling today’s movie audience, because on an average of eight people out of ten when calling to inquire about a picture we might be playing will inquire about color, but I did not realize that so many patrons would actually walk up to a boxoffice, then leave. To confirm my cashiers’ reports, I relieved one in the boxoffice for a 15-minute period one night at a peak tune. During that 15 minutes, six individual patrons walked up and asked me if the picture was in color and, when I replied that it was not, they turned and walked away. I imagine this is happening all over the country. Color is the one thing that TV fans are not getting too well, and in our area, there are not too many color TV sets. What happened with us on “Pigeon” happens with every black and white film we play. EARLE M. HOLDEN Lucas Theatre, Savannah, Ga. BOXOFFICE :: December 17, 1962 19