Hi Team & Friends

First edition of my weekly newsletter of trends, ideas, thoughts, for exhibition.

I am gathering information from many sources and hoping this is helpful information during this difficult time in our industry.

It is urgent and important that planning for the eventual re-opening of the film and exhibition industry after the coronavirus pandemic has relented.

There is a theater called Circle Cinema in Tulsa, OK(Google the article in Screen Dollars).

They plan to re-open their doors “sometime in May”(conditions permitting). They will have completed significant policy changes in their operations. It’s interesting to consider what changes they are making to their procedure for ticketing, concessions and seating. It will be extremely interesting to see how the public responds.

Most important is question of the film program a theater puts together for the early weeks after re-opening for all types of cinemas. Especially for the majority of main stream commercial theaters who greatly depend on Hollywood it is especially critical.

Indie distributor IFC Films will offer almost 200 titles from its library available to exhibitors for booking at no rental fee during the first month after a theatre re-opens.

Worthy of note new platform for Internet movie viewing known as “Virtual Cinema” “Theatrical Video on Demand”. Viewers can purchase a “Virtual Ticket” allowing them to watch a new film release that would normally have been playing at their local theater, and direct the proceeds from their ticket purchase to benefit their actual, local cinema. It is heartening to see these efforts by distributors and exhibitors alike in support each other during this crisis.

Martin Grove writes in “Screen Dollars” April 27th edition how the slow ramp up in attendance after theaters have re-opened will result in lower week-by-week box office results, even for the most anticipated blockbusters. This could result in longer theatrical runs for those releases to allow all interested viewers to a screening. Worth a read. Google it

I wanted to keep this one brief. Next week I will include a broader spectrum of comment. Let me know if you want to continue to get this kind of mail otherwise I will not send it.

See you at the Movies,

Steven Krams

MTE &CF&DL Inc.