People going to the movies again; independent theaters capitalize
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The national “Barbenheimer” craze not only spelled a resurgence for an industry often dubbed to be “dying” but has inspired record foot traffic and box office success for two high-profile films in the same weekend. So how do small theaters fair?
Last weekend’s release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” illuminated a major reason why people desire to return to the theater. As movie theaters across the country evolve following a downward attendance trend and the rise of streaming, smaller family-owned and independent theaters are capitalizing on the movie-going experience, their diversity of content and the reason people go to the movies at all.
Indiana University Cinema Director and Professor Alicia Kozma has plenty of experience being the small fish in a monopolized pond. She is the vice president of Art House Convergence and previously owned a theater in Champaign, Illinois.
Art House Convergence is a collective of 2,000 members across North America and Western Europe that seeks to breed collaboration, best practices and opportunities within the independent theater industry. They hope to amplify and advocate for their community of businesses, which can tend to get lost in the landscape of big chains, Kozma said.
“We have found that when we work together, when we work collaboratively, when we build these networks, we can be much more effective both for our individual theaters,” she said, “as well as a broad industry as a whole.”
Currently, most areas are significantly outnumbered screen-wise. Kozma oversees the single-screen arthouse theater on the IU Bloomington campus. That screen is one of two independent movie screens in the college town — the other being a drive-in — compared to the 24 combined at the two AMC Theater locations.
That difference is the norm. Typically, independently-owned theaters support one or two screens, and the outlier larger movie house, typically in a big city, can possibly put up five screens. Comparatively, AMC has an average of 11 screens per theater with 10,500 screens at 950 locations.
“Independent exhibitors tend to not just be smaller in size, but smaller, usually in screen size,” Kozma said. “By screen volume, which is really how the industry is tracked, it is still primarily run by conglomerates.”
It wasn’t always this way. Kozma said the industry started being flooded with multiplexes in the mid-to-late ’90s with patrons typically attending a local theater prior. She remembers going to her local downtown theater, “The Cameo,” growing up. Since then, it’s become an issue of resources for the smaller folks. The billion-dollar companies will always have more at their disposal than a mom-and-pop, she said.
“If you’re breaking even, you’re doing good,” she said.
Kozma talks about independent movie theaters breaking even, what big films mean for them and movie theater’s position as a community builder.
When blockbusters like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” hit the silver screen, Kozma said that impact is tremendous because the theater is more likely to actually make money off ticket sales.
How the system works, Kozma said, is that theaters rent films from the distributors, and for new releases, that entails “versus terms.” What that means is a theater has to either pay a set sum or a percentage of the ticket sales that the film generates — whichever is higher. She said that’s often tricky because, with the number of screens and seats, they have to sell half the house for every showing for a couple of weeks. Statistically, she said a theater usually makes 10 cents on the dollar for ticket sales with the rest headed back to distributors.
Where theaters make their rent is through concessions, and that’s why they tend to be more expensive. When movies bring out the crowds, she said independent theaters can cover the rental costs of the film, make some money off ticket sales and cash in on more people buying concessions.
“If you have a local movie theater and you really like it, go buy popcorn,” she said. “Go. Always buy popcorn, always get a soda.”
Staying afloat in this ecosystem means being different. The number of films Hollywood produces has significantly declined, meaning big box theaters have multiple screens showing the same movies since they are usually tied to just showing new releases. That could spell trouble for those theaters to have even slimmer pickings, she said, if the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes persist as long as they are projected to.
“No one wants to make the choice between seeing ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ at one theater at 3:15, or ‘Sonic the Hedgehog ‘at the other theater at 3:20,” she said. “That’s not a choice.”
Independent theaters have more flexibility and more content they can screen, Kozma said. These locations can show previously released movies, foreign films, classics, documentaries and shorts. Kozma calls this type of film line-up a “beautiful patchwork of broad and deep cinema culture.”
Another contributing factor to the “Barbenheimer” hype, Kozmas said, was how these two films were among the few debuting this summer without a numeral after it. They are originals, and she said it shows people are craving new storytelling and ideas. That could give independent theaters an edge because they are already diversifying their content.
“That’s absolutely unlike anything you would be able to get in a mainstream cinema,” she said
Independent theaters have staff who love film and are thoughtful when they choose programming because they want to give the community a targeted experience, Kozma said. It’s also very possible that people will see a film they won’t be able to access on Netflix or a streaming platform because it was a festival release or foreign film. But at the theater, they have access.
Independent theaters also tend to not be too difficult to get to and cheaper, she said. They are local and get to know their patrons. Kozma said they try to save preferred seats for their “frequent flyers.” She said they prioritize the experience aspect with the best projection, tasty snacks and warm welcomes. They want people to know they are happy they decided to go to the cinema that day and are excited to share their passion for film with them.
These major movies also serve as great marketing for local theaters, Kozma said, because they get people in the door to experience what the local joint has to offer. New audiences could see a trailer they are excited about and decide to come back again and again. It’s about developing that culture, she said.
“Because once you step in the door, those theaters take care of their patrons. They care about the movies that they’re showing. They’re going to give you an amazing experience while you’re there,” she said. “It’s going to make you want to go back.”
A promising part of the “Barbenheimer” double feature hype, Kozma said, is that it was not manufactured by studios. People got themselves excited to go to the movies. There were no marketing campaigns telling people to wear pink to “Barbie” or dress up in 1940s garb for “Oppenheimer,” but people did anyway. It was grassroots, and that’s good for the industry, she said.
Last week’s double feature showed that people want to go to the movies, she said. “Oppenheimer” sold an additional $5 million because people intended to see “Barbie” but elected for the dark biopic instead when the Mattel film was sold out.
The movies have grossed a total of nearly $350 million as of Tuesday, according to Box Office Mojo.
People want to watch movies with other people, Kozma said, and it’s the community participation that sets it apart from watching at home. It is more fun to laugh with a crowd during a comedy or curl up in fear at a horror movie with others, she said, mentioning how the “Minions” movie in 2022 inspired teens to dress up in suits and call themselves “gentle-minions,” which resulted in significant box office success. People need to have spaces to express their fan culture and find community, she said.
“Movie theaters have existed and will continue to exist. They’ve existed since movies have existed,” she said. “They’ll continue to exist because there was a value in the community aspect. There’s a value in that participation. That’s not going to stop.”