Harrison's Reports (1949)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, iiril, at the post office at Nev. York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS Published Weekly by United States $15.00 (Formerly Sixth Avenue) Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 M v I. ->f» M v Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew York zu> N Y p. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico. Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Great Britain 17.50 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 Australia, New Zealand, India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 Us Editorial Poljcy: Kd Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXI SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1949 No. 35 SATURATION BOOKINGS AS A "GIMMICK" The practice of saturation bookings is the subject of interesting comment in recent bulletins of both the Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana and the Allied Caravan of Iowa and Nebraska. The August 18 bulletin of the ATOI had this to say: "More and more pictures from an increasing number of distributors are being released by saturation bookings. In principle, there is nothing wrong with such mass bookings and in many instances the method has proven very profitable to both exhibitor and distnbutor. By saturation booking it is possible to arouse high public interest in an area on a picture that lends itself to this method of selling. The distributor can conduct an extensive exploitation campaign by radio, newspapers, personal appearances, etc. However, when pictures are picked at random for this type of release without regard to their local suitability and when the distributor does not deliver on the prom' ised campaign, then this type of selling becomes a fraud and a gimmick to increase film rentals. That has happened, too. It is our fear that as an increasing number of pictures are sold that way the only result will be that an exhibitor will be paying high allocations for product that ought to be in the balance group and establishing precedents for himself that are both dangerous and hard to overcome." Charles Niles, chairman of the Caravan Commit' tee of Allied of Iowa and Nebraska, had this to say in an August 1 3 bulletin : "We in Allied are not opposed to saturation bookings IF it is not used as a gimmick to put a picture up a bracket or two. Saturation bookings of big pictures at fair terms are a bonanza for the little guys because it steps up their play dates 60 to 90 days." One of the most effective methods conceived in recent years to boost theatre attendance is the mass premiere idea, or saturation bookings, whereby a particular picture, within a period of several weeks, opens in several hundred theatres in a given area. Such a mass premiere is generally preceded by a highpowered exploitation campaign, including personal appearances by a Hollywood contingent of stars, special tieups with business firms, civic clubs, and charitable organizations, and numerous stunts, all of which usually results in wide newspaper and radio coverage. It all adds up to a mammoth promotional campaign that has the effect of making nearly every person in the area aware of the picture's forthcoming opening in his local theatre. Moreover, it serves to stimulate in most people a desire to see die picture. All this, when backed by a meritorious picture, comes under the heading of good showmanship. But when a distributor takes an ordinary picture and attempts to put it over as something special by means of a huge exploitation campaign tied to a mass premiere in several hundred theatres, the practice comes under the heading of questionable showmanship. To proceed to exploit an ordinary picture in such a way as to lead the public to believe that it is a great entertainment when it is not may hurt, not only the distributor, not only the theatres that will play it, but also the entire industry, for if this practice is resorted to often the public will lose faith in picture advertisements and exploitation campaigns. Consequently, the meritorious pictures, which warrant all the ballyhoo that can be given to them, are bound to suffer. That some of the distributors are abusing the saturation booking idea, as indicated in the aforementioned bulletins, is evidenced by the fact that many of the pictures that are sold to the exhibitors at high rental terms under this plan eventually wind up as a supporting feature on a double bill soon after the ballyhoo has died down. In some cases the distributor, fully aware that his picture is mediocre, does not make it available to the trade press for reviews until after the picture has opened, or until he has had ample opportunity to amass the bookings required for the mass premiere before word of the picture's quality gets around. Hence, many an exhibitor who depends on trade paper reviews to judge the value of a picture finds himself the victim of a "fast deal." The exhibitor who depends on trade paper reviews should, when approached on a saturation booking deal, insist that the picture first be made available for reviews so that he may be in a position to judge whether or not the picture is deserving of the rental terms demanded. If the distributor has a really worthwhile picture, there could be no reason why he should want to delay publication of the reviews. He should, in fact, be eager to obtain their publication as soon as possible, for good reviews will help him considerably to sell the picture to the exhibitor. As pointed out in the ATOI bulletin, mass bookings have in many instances proved to be very profitable for both the distributor and the exhibitor. This selling method should, therefore, be reserved for the truly meritorious pictures. In that way the industry will gain not only dollar profits but also the public's confidence, for those who will see the ballyhooed pictures and find them to be good entertainment will put credence in the claims that will be made about other pictures. The distributor who employs saturation bookings as a "gimmick" to put over a "clinker" is selling the industry short.