Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1963)

V, APRI Aewpotnts L 15, 1963 / VOLUME 31, NO. 8 Questions far You. $Mr. Exhibitor The past decade in America has been the do-it-yourself era; and we might as well face the fact that you, Mr. Exhibitor, in your search for a real full-scale recovery program, will have to do a lot of it yourself. The film companies in recent years have been taking their friends as they find them — in free and pay television as much as in the theatre field. They will help the exhibitor who helps himself; but in today's climate they are not blazing the trails. It's up to you, Mr. Exhibitor, to come up with some solutions of your own. We suggest you start by asking yourself a few pertinent questions. It might be well to write out your answers, in order that you will see before your own eyes a program to solve your problems. Here are a few questions you might ask: Who's running my theatre? Am I asserting myself sufficiently as the policy maker for my own theatre? Am I developing sufficient sources of film supply so that I don't have to be hung up by a booking jam on a couple of films? Am I depending entirely on national and press book promotions of pictures instead of developing my own standard promotions? Obviously, the number of pictures I can find to play at my theatre is bound to be subject to the booking policies of the major distributors, clearances and so forth — but have I explored the product line-ups of the smaller outfits, the foreign offerings, the reissues, the special programming possibilities, so that I don't always have to take whatever I'm offered? What am I selling? That's a question I should decide immediately. Am I just selling a picture on a screen, or am I also selling my theater as an entertain ment institution? Am I presenting my refreshments as attractively as possible and getting maximum returns from that important source of income? Am I selling a package of entertainment for and to the entire family? Am I selling a show that starts at the right time of the evening to be proper for the entertainment package? Can I cooperate with my competitor? Am I engaged in blind and costly competition with a fellow exhibitor, instead of cooperating with him for our common benefit? Are we bidding against each other, instead of splitting the product? And how much could we help each other by cross-plugging our theatres? Why not pick up the phone and call him today for a meeting? Do I know what's going on in the business? Do I read the trade papers thoroughly? Am I well informed as to the availability and quality of product, the trends in public taste, the work of theatre operators elsewhere? Do I know how to translate this information for my own use? Am I giving as much service as I might? Do my patrons have to grope for their seats in the dark or is there an usher to show them the way? Have BULLETIN Film BULLETIN: Motion Picture Trade Paper published every other Monday by Wax Publications, Inc. Mo Wax, Editor and Publisher. PUB LI CATION -EDITORIAL OFFICES: 123? Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Pa., LOcust 8-0950, 095 1 . Philip R. Ward, Associate Editor; Leonard Coulter, New York Associate Editor; Berne Schneyer, Publication Manager; Max Garelick, Business Manager; Robert Heath, Circulation Manager. BUSINESS OFFICE: 550 Fifth Avenue, New York 36, N. Y., Circle 5-0124; Ernest Shapiro, N.Y. Editorial Representative. Subscription Rates: ONE YEAR, S3. 00 in the U. S.; Canada, $4.00; Europe, $5.00. TWO YEARS. $5.00 in the U. S.; Canada, Europe, $9.00. I the best screen and is my sound system up to par? Do I run as many special shows — children's matinees, women's shows, merchants' appreciations, lodge nights, etc. ? Have I come up with any new service ideas geared to the modern needs of the people of my community— from better parking facilities to, let's say, parcel checking? Have I checked my market lately? Do I know for a fact which are my best promotional media? Have I used them all so that I have a basis of comparison among radio, television, billboards, window cards, program mailings, newspaper ads, snipes, street bally and so forth? Have I made ticket-selling contact with the local school system? Do I know' what my patrons want? Have I a definite clientele for specific kinds of pictures, and do I try to find the pictures these patrons have shown they want? Have I gone over my attractions of the past couple of years to see whether any pattern of preferences emerges? Do I have any knowledge of whether price is a factor — is there a specific ticket price which seems to be most attractive and still profitable? Or is price immaterial to my patrons? Is my theatre worth saving? Are the prospects of future business and of future population trends in my area sufficiently healthy to warrant keeping the theatre in business? Is the amount of investment necessary for proper operation of the theatre justified by the present and foreseeable level of business? These are the big questions for each exhibitor to answer tor himself. Before you can expect the distributors to face up to your problems, face up to them yourself. Only after you have a cleai understanding of your own situation can you formulate a positive program for survival. Film BULLETIN April 15, 1963 Page S