Canadian Film Weekly Year Book of the Canadian Motion Picture Industry (1953)

Sainthill-Levine & Co. Limited 100 Claremont St., Toronto (EMpire 6-5231) Uniform Co-ordinator J. Pollock Tip Top Tailors Boulevard Dr., Toronto, Ont. (EMpire 8-1661) Manager, Uniform Department K. McKenzie REFRESHMENTS ( : ROSS income from theatre refresh ments in Canada, estimated at about $18,000,000 this year, is up about one-third in two years, according to the second survey of the field by the Canadian Film Weekly. That total was arrived at in seven years, starting with almost nothing. The increase reflects the main fact indicated by the survey—that theatres added to the number of items handled. Some sold candies only, then added popcorn or drinks or ice cream. Quite a few added chewing gum. Some were handling two and put in counters, which enabled them to add the others and increase the sale of all. Of those replying, 33.8 per cent handled all five lines listed above, as against 11 per cent in the 1951 survey; 30.5 per cent sold four, compared with 19 per cent; 12.2 per cent offered three, as against 17 per cent; 8.1 per cent carried two, compared with seven per cent; and 7.6 per cent had only one, as against six per cent. These figures seem to point out that Canada has many theatres too small to house counters and answers to the questionnaire showed it to be true in three per cent of theatres, which used automatic vendors only. Seventy per cent had counter service only and an additional 17.4 per cent had both counter service and coin machines. The actual increase in theatres handling refreshments was very slight—going from 90 per cent two years ago to 92.2 per cent this year. But, of course, more lines were carried, the returns showing that 85.5 per cent now sell candy, as compared with 57 per cent in the first survey; 85 per cent sell popcorn, as “against 50 per cent; 70 per cent handle soft drinks, compared with 44 per cent; 62.5 per cent offer ice cream, as against 31 per cent; and 52.2 per cent sell chew 147 ing gum, compared with 31 per cent in the previous survey. Forty-two per cent said that handling confections added to maintenance costs. The best revenue-producing merchandise is popcorn, 57.1 per cent answered, while 12.5 per cent voted for candy, 11.2 per cent for ice cream and 10.3 per cent for drinks. However, it is considered that candy outsells any other item but, because of its low markup, yields a smaller profit than popcorn. Ten cent merchandise was favored by the patrons of 73.5 per cent, items costing more than ten cents were bought by 11.9 per cent and 8.7 per cent preferred those under ten cents. Action pictures are the best stimulant to refreshment buying, according to 44.5 per cent. Six per cent stipulated comedies, 5.8 family pictures and 3.5 musicals. Nine per cent of the exhibitors who replied said that they intended installing new equipment in 1953, most of them explaining that they meant soft-drink machines. Forty per cent run their own counters, while 14.5 per cent use concessionaires. The first figure includes many circuit houses whose refreshment stand is handled by an affiliated service company. Theatre Confections, Famous Players’ service company, handles 350 accounts, while Odeon takes care of about 100. Canadian Automatic Confections is the concessionaire for perhaps 50 and several others are concessionaires and suppliers for Independents. The estimated Canadian refreshments gross of $18,000,000 is better than 20 per cent of the size of the national boxoffice gross. In the United States the refreshments gross is something like 42 per cent. Why the difference? A leading executive in the field claims that Canadians don’t have the same interest in popcorn as Americans, although it is the most popular item here. Also that the Americans pay more for it than Canadians, It begins to appear that the $18,000,000 estimate is too conservative. Canadian Automatic Confections Ltd. 121 Sherbourne St., Toronto, Ont. (EMpire 3-5215) OFFICERS Siavtvsaseeneengexshanbecevedtres Mrs. G. N. Heller Frank Henry Strean President Sec.-Treas. & Gen. Mor. ....