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Willard Theater1 motion picture theater
Purchasing — Acceptance of Percentage Basis for Motion Picture Rental. The manager of a motion picture theater which hitherto had purchased all pictures on a flat rental basis was asked by a distributor to purchase a newly released sound picture on a guaranty and percentage sharing basis. The manager objected to a percentage arrangement because of the necessity of divulging confidential information as to the theater's receipts, which the distributor might later use as a basis for demanding higher prices. The manager accepted the distributor's terms for this and other pictures, however, because it was difficult to obtain recent pictures for his theater and because he had no experience by which to judge the possibilities of the newly introduced sound pictures.
(1928)
The manager of the Willard Theater considered in September, 1928, the practicability of purchasing motion pictures on a guaranty and percentage sharing arrangement.2 Previous to that time, all pictures had been licensed by the theater on a flat rental basis. The issue was raised through the unwillingness of a distributor to sell a newly released sound picture on terms other than those permitting the distributing company to share in the gross receipts from the exhibition of the picture.
The Willard Theater was one of three theaters owned and managed by Willard Theaters, Incorporated, in the city of Brooklyn. It was the largest of the three theaters, with a seating capacity of 1,400, and was located in one of the principal business and shopping districts of the city. For a "top" admission price of 40 cents for matinee and evening performances, the Willard Theater presented a feature picture, a comedy or short subject, a newsreel, and an overture by a concert orchestra. The program was changed three times weekly, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. A sound reproducing device had been installed which enabled the theater to play either disc-synchronized or
1 Fictitious name.
2 See Sidley Pictures Corporation, page 325.
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