Jay481985 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111755/double-feature-dinner-and-a-movie To Upgrade From Dirty Carpets and Tubs of Popcorn, Theater Chains Try Full Menus, Seat-Side Service The AMC Menlo Park 12 Cineplex in Edison, N.J., is trying to woo viewers with meals and more spacious seating. (Bryan Derballa) As Hollywood churns out ever more attractive big-budget films, laden with 3D and other special effects, little has changed at theaters, where audiences can find worn seats, stale popcorn, and overpriced candy. Under pressure from viewers as well as movie-industry executives, the country's theater chains are trying to win back moviegoers—with food. Audiences at a growing number of theaters can order such dishes as chinois chicken salad rolls or limoncello-tossed shrimp. More middle-of-the-road fare is also available, like cheeseburgers and chicken caesar salads. Seats in these so-called "in-theater dining" cinemas are big and plush. Lobbies are luxurious, with art on the walls and mood lighting. Popcorn is often complimentary and a full bar is de rigueur. Theater chains hope the new style of film-watching—which has previously been the realm chiefly of small independent theaters—will help boost the number of moviegoers after years of flat attendance. Other recent efforts to get more people in the doors include offering reserve seating online and more movies in 3D. But in-theater dining represents one of the movie-theater industry's biggest bets to expand its static audience size. "I am one hundred percent sure that these theaters are the future of movie-going," says Jeffrey Katzenberg, an industry veteran who once served as studio chairman at Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS - News) and is now chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NasdaqGS: DWA - News) "These new theaters really up the quality of experience because they require a high degree of service that movie theaters have lost." A few years ago, a handful of such theaters existed in the country. Now, the National Association of Theatre Owners estimates that the U.S. plays home to roughly 300 to 400 cinemas with restaurant service out of roughly 5,750 total theaters. Industry analysts predict that number could double over the next few years. Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC - News), the largest U.S. theater chain, has opened five premium locations as part of its new Cinebarre line, a combined movie theater and restaurant concept the company began in 2007. IPic Entertainment, which acquired Gold Class Cinemas last year, recently opened its eighth dine-in cinema in Scottsdale, Ariz., and plans to open another five to six theaters a year. Gerry Lopez, AMC Entertainment Inc.'s chief executive, says he can envision converting 10% of the company's total theaters, which now number about 375, into ones that offer in-theater dining. Horror movies don't play quite as well in the format because consumers apparently don't enjoy eating while watching blood and gore, theater executives say. Listening to others chewing, and smelling their food, might also be a turn-off for some moviegoers, although the wide seat spacing may help to minimize any annoyance. And the premium prices may seem high, but movie-chain executives say in-theater dining is a more time-efficient way for some people to spend an evening out. Keeping the multiplex clean is harder than it looks, theater executives say. Tight time slots between showings, and large auditoriums, sometimes confound efforts to keep floors and seats clean. [see the Sexiest Movies of 2010] At dine-in cinemas, seats typically come in pairs of two, with wide aisles between couples to allow waiters to navigate in and out the theater during screenings without blocking views of the movie. Many guests order during the film by pressing a small button near their chairs. Some theaters have small tables in front of the seats; others feature folding trays that extend across the seat for easy eating. Many dine-in theaters have some age restrictions; some don't allow anyone under 21 years old. Ticket prices vary. Some chains, such as AMC, charge a flat fee of $10 or $15 above the usual price of a ticket but include that amount as a credit toward food purchases. Others, like Gold Class Cinemas, price tickets between $17 and $29 just for a ticket and then charge for food separately. Some theaters offer alcohol, luxury seats with armrests and footrests, blankets, pillows, or moist towels before the film begins—as well as chocolate mints afterward. The actual auditoriums are often significantly smaller than those of the vast multiplexes, featuring fewer than 30 chairs, along with assigned seating, digital sound and super-wide screens. Casey Mead, a 21-year-old student at University of California, Los Angeles, drove with his girlfriend last month to Gold Class's location in Pasadena—a small theater with six screens and a dimly lit lounge decorated with modern art—to view the latest installment of the "Harry Potter" series. Mr. Mead says they were willing to pay extra for the higher-end experience. "We never go to the movies normally because for the same price you could buy a DVD and not have to sit in a dirty theater to watch it," he says. AMC's Mr. Lopez says the company's research shows that most customers don't mind the higher cost of dine-in theaters. And he says it's not simple or cheap to turn theaters into full-service restaurants. It requires kitchens, on-site food preparation, chefs and trained waiters who can navigate in the dark during a screening. "We had to play with the menu to figure out what worked best for eating in the dark—you can't have a dollop of ketchup fall on your skirt. And china plates are too noisy, although composite works great," he says. Arlene Evangelista, 69, was upset when she visited AMC's renovated dine-in theater in nearby Edison, N.J. The retired legal secretary wanted to catch "The Fighter"—the new Mark Wahlberg movie about boxing—during the Christmas holidays but was surprised to find a $10 surcharge for the dine-in experience. Instead, she turned around and went home. "I think it stinks!" she said while walking out of the Menlo Park Mall that houses the theater. "This place used to be a date place. It was so nice. I think it's terrible to charge 20 dollars for a movie, especially in this kind of economic climate. What about families?" Movie attendance has remained sluggish over the last decade. Last year, North American movie theaters sold 1.35 billion tickets, down about 5% from a year earlier and down about 6% from 1.44 billion in 2000, according to the box-office division of Hollywood.com. But higher ticket prices helped boost box-office sales to $10.57 billion last year, down slightly from a year earlier but up about 36% from 2000. It's too soon to know whether dine-in theaters will be profitable. Theater chains note that profit margins on concessions, such as popcorn and candy, are far higher than on ticket sales. Half of a ticket sale represents profit for a theater, compared with 85% from the sale of concessions. Executives hope the dine-in theaters will also benefit from higher food margins, although not as high as for snacks. Movie-industry executives say theaters have done little to innovate even as studios continue to spend lavishly on movie budgets. To make matters worse, consumer spending on DVDs, which for years propped up the studios' bottom lines, has plummeted more than 40% since its peak in 2006, according to media-tracking firm IHS Screen Digest, making the studios more reliant on profits from the theatrical window. Hamid Hashemi, iPic Entertainment's chief executive and founder, says dine-in theaters, although still a niche market now, could become mainstream especially as audiences clamor for a higher-end experience. "The movie-going business has always been one size fits all, but now we are realizing that if you give people amenities, they are more than willing to pay for them," he says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 although the concept seems cool, i can't stop thinking about the undercooked chicken that i ate for lunch yesterday. not paying attention and eating very fast, i was almost done before i noticed that it needed several more minutes on the grill. this was from a food court at the mall by my office. if i was in a dark theatre, i would have ended up eating the rest. i guess my concern is more directed at the skill of the cooks and my inability to examine the food before i eat it (which i obviously don't do so good anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 I thought the picture was cool and that place is about 20 miles away so I might be inclined to actually go to a movie theater in 4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 A brand new Muvico/Splitsville opened up here in Fredericksburg behind the mall that is directly across the street from my place just this past spring. That place is friggan NICE! They don't have in-theater dining, but you can take drinks into the theater from the bar. Not only that, just outside the actual theater is a full-service restaurant and they actually got some really good food. I was also impressed that it was actually pretty reasonably priced. Not only that, but to get tickets for the "VIP" section, which is also open to over-21 is worth the extra 5 bucks (especially on Wednesday nights when a ticket to see a movie there is only $5 to begin with). I've seen a few movies in that place already and it is tough to go back to a "regular" theater (considering there is a 15-screen Regal right across the street from my office (and also within 1/2 mile of my place). However, that Regal did do some recent renevations and it really does look nice. Just last week, say that new Tron movie in there and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it actually was. In this day-and-age of ready access to high-def TV and good surround-sound setups, seems these theaters start needing do something above and beyond the old standard popcorn and candy affair to attract people to come and see a movie. Could we possibly be seeing a resurrgance of the "movie palace"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Here in my town, in one of the second-run cinemas ($5 for movies that just left the first-run cinemas), the back section has 2-seater benches. Probably very popular with teenagers having a date on a tight budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 A brand new Muvico/Splitsville opened up here in Fredericksburg behind the mall that is directly across the street from my place just this past spring. That place is friggan NICE! They don't have in-theater dining, but you can take drinks into the theater from the bar. Not only that, just outside the actual theater is a full-service restaurant and they actually got some really good food. I was also impressed that it was actually pretty reasonably priced. Not only that, but to get tickets for the "VIP" section, which is also open to over-21 is worth the extra 5 bucks (especially on Wednesday nights when a ticket to see a movie there is only $5 to begin with). I've seen a few movies in that place already and it is tough to go back to a "regular" theater (considering there is a 15-screen Regal right across the street from my office (and also within 1/2 mile of my place). However, that Regal did do some recent renevations and it really does look nice. Just last week, say that new Tron movie in there and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it actually was. In this day-and-age of ready access to high-def TV and good surround-sound setups, seems these theaters start needing do something above and beyond the old standard popcorn and candy affair to attract people to come and see a movie. Could we possibly be seeing a resurrgance of the "movie palace"? 5 dollars? woah its minimum 10 dollars here and some places 20. That is a steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 5 dollars? woah its minimum 10 dollars here and some places 20. That is a steal. Yeah, I could not believe it myself. I've only recently just started dating my receptionist from work (talk about a cliche there - going out with the secretary [] ), and I took her to go see Red the Wednesday right before Veterns Day (which we had off from work). I went to buy the tickets for the show, as well as access to the "VIP" lounge upstairs, only to have it tell me it was only $20 for the both of us. I was like, "Wait a minute - did I put that in correctly?" It was a touch-screen affair to buy the tickets, so I thought I made a mistake. Double-checked it again, and found out that movies where only $5 on Wednesday nights there, plus the extra $5 for the over-21 VIP lounge access (and believe me it is WORTH it!). As a result, I've actually found myself starting to go there more often to check out movies, as that place really is nice, plus it is only just across the street from my house. I also just decided to treat her to dinner right there in the theater as well, and it really did turn out to be a very pleasent dinner (plus it was the perfect excuse to try the restaurant there as I've always wanted to). That upstairs lounge features a really nice, full-service restaurant as well, plus the food was quite good and actually reasonably priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 We have a movie tavern chain in our area and even a location in our town. It was fun to watch the Simpsons movie while drinking beer (what else?). Obviously I'm not much of a movie theater patron since that was quite a while ago, but I'd rather go to the movies there than at the megamall-o-plex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Alamo Draft House in Austin, Texas, has been doing this for quite a while. Whenever I visit my son who lives in Austin I try to arrange to see at least one movie there. When you take into account what a typical trip to the movies costs plus dinner before or after, the cost is pretty much equal with the overall advantage going to the dine-in theater for conveniece. I like it. I wish we had one here in Colorado Springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatgrass Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Remember going to the Cinema Tavern back in '80s when stationed in Pensacola. Bar and grill type window in the rear, low round coffee tables and big easy chairs. Late first run movies. But a great place for not much money. Don't see this as anything extremely imaginative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 There's a place called Hollywood; in the suburbs of Chicago. (I think that is the name). We saw Inception there. The sound was surprisingly good; (It was JBL Pro stuff). The food was pretty good. (Many burgers named after different stars, plus chicken; etc). They also serve beer; I had 3 Heinekins and was very relaxed by the end of the movie....... The seating is spaced; and very comfy. I would say maybe 40 people max; if filled up..... Not a bad seat to be found. I would like to do it again, soon...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 We have had one of those for a while here: http://www.raleighwoodmovies.com/It was an old 2 screen theater. They took out the theater seating and put in tables and chairs. Waitstaff takes your order before the movie starts and you get typical sport bar type menu items, nachos, burgers, wings, etc. Oh yeah, and beer. [H] They also have digital TV hooked up to the big screens, so they do the Super Bowl and other big TV events as well. It's an awesome little place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted January 24, 2011 Moderators Share Posted January 24, 2011 We had one of those for years in Indianapolis, Hollywood Bar & Filmworks, but it closed in 2006. Largely b/c of the high cost of parking during events at the then new Conseco Fieldhouse. I saw True Lies there. It's a good idea, but ultimately, I didn't enjoy hearing other people eat while I was trying to watch a movie. Popcorn is bad enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 When I was in Portlan, Or we went to the Laurelhurst Theater. They served Beer Wine and Food in the theater. It was great fun. http://www.laurelhursttheater.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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