If I Owned A Movie Theater…

1. I’d give customers the option to bring their own 3D glasses, and in return offer them regular admission. I wasn’t thrilled about paying $16 to see Resident Evil Afterlife this weekend. That is nearly the cost of a DVD. Providing this option is environmentally and economically friendly. People can go out and get their own prescription or designer 3D glasses. It could be a niche industry. Likelihood this will ever happen: Never. Movie studios can charge 40-50% more to provide some cheap 90-cent* plastic glasses [citation needed].

2. I’d charge a flat fee to permit customers to bring their own food. It’s no secret that theater operators make nearly all of their profits from the concession stands. The problem is, the exorbitant prices tend to drive a large percentage of movie-goers away. The solution? Offer a flat fee to allow people to bring in their own snacks. What is fair? $1 to $3 a person. That is straight-up profit for the owner. You’d have to lower prices in the concession stands to compete with this charge. Likelihood this will ever happen: Perhaps this could occur in a second-run theater (theaters that show films that already have been out for awhile, or are close to being released on home video).

3. Speed up the lines. This is something I thought about for fast-food chains as well, but what if you had a tablet or digital input device available to you when you are in line for food? You could enter your order, and the servers could start getting it ready for you. By the time you reach the counter, your order is finished - you just have to pay and grab your stuff. This is like turning a standing line into a drive-thru essentially. The reason I didn’t think it would work for restaurants, is their menus can be too extensive. With a theater concession, it’s a very basic menu. Likelihood this will ever happen: Very. With existing means allowing people to buy food when they purchase their tickets at kiosks and online, the next step is to help telegraph these orders just prior to pickup. Plus the modern consumer is very savvy when it comes to ordering items in an application.

4. Show a countdown timer to when the film actually starts. Not just for letting impatient film-goers know how many commercials/trailers they may endure, but more importantly, to let the customers know how much time they can partake in grabbing food. This will also alert people to how much time they can talk /text on their phones. It would look something like this: “Film starts in 5:29. Please silence your phones when film begins.” Likelihood this will ever happen: Never. They want your eyes glued to the screen to consume all the commercials and marketing.

5. I’d follow the sports stadium route and provide some balconies/luxury boxes/private suites. And not because I’m a fan of these two:

A lot of people like to go to films as a group. If you can provide the option of a private suite, they’ll likely snap it up. These should feature a private concession/washrooms, all the bells and whistles. Likelihood this will ever happen: It probably already has! Let me know where via email, and I will update the post.

6. I’d bring back the intermission. I’ve never been to a film that had one of these, but this would be a great opportunity to let everyone reload on popcorn and hit the washrooms. I’d keep these to 10 minutes, and bring a few concession carts (something I don’t see too often) inside the theater for customers to partake in. Now theater operators would think this is an evil thing that would hurt the number of times a film can be screened daily, but in actuality audiences sit in theaters 20-45mins before the film begins - so why not squeeze in a breather mid-film, and start the reel a little sooner? This is a must-have for those 3-hour films. Likelihood this will ever happen: likely tested. It’ll be interesting to see if an intermission will harm the attention spans of some people.

7. Offer up double bill options for a discount. Theater operators should try to look at their establishments like casinos in regards to customers: the longer they stay, the more they pay. Offer folks the option to see movie A at 7:00 and movie B at 9:00 (in the same theater if possible) for a ticket discount of 20%. The odds of that customer using the concession during that extended span will dramatically increase. People will see the added entertainment value as well. If theater operators were really smart, one of the films would be an older release (say three weeks old), allowing for a higher profit margin on the ticket too. Likelihood this will ever happen: I have seen movie studios like Sony package two films for one ticket (Men In Black 2, Spider-Man in 2002) late into the run of both films. But theater operators haven’t really attempted to sell bundles like this before. I say this one is 50/50, depending on how willing theater owners are when it comes to scheduling and selling bundles.