Boxoffice-March.1988

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SHOWMANSHIP Charity Benefit Premieres: A Valuable Tool for Showmanship Success Do By Dan Harkins President, Harkins Theatres CHARITY BENEFIT premieres, donations and goodwill all belong in the lexicon of a good showman? Indeed they do, as there is hardly a more effective way for a local theatre operator to launch a motion picture. This heartfelt hometown effort will hit a homerun with all involved; the exhibitor gets a boost at the boxoffice, while his community is funded for a worthy cause. A charity benefit announces the movie to a sector of the marketplace that is rarely tapped. News of the upcoming engagement will be published in local news stories, calendar sections and gossip columns, reaching readers that may seldom flip to the movie page. Likewise, a seldom-touched electronic media audience may be given word of the special event at your theatre via the evening news. Suddenly, the cinema is not just an entertainment center but is the nucleus of community goodwill. This exposure happens far enough in advance of a film's opening to chum a want-to-see interest in not only the benefit premiere, but in the picture's longterm engagement itself Since benefits almost always involve good films, it is then assumed by the consumer that a picture tied to a benefit showing is a movie worthy of their support. This kind of promotion puts a bright twinkle on your theatre's image. Whether you arc helping underprivileged chiltlren, organizations for the mentally handicapped, charities, service groups, schools, art societies, churches or synagogues, the benefit group itself becomes a carrier for a contagious wave of enthusiasm. The public will say to itself, "Here's a businessman who is giving something back to the community. Let's support him!" The most suitable business relationship between the theatre and benefit sponsor is, believe it or not, one in which the sponsor pays the theatre a nominal fee for the auditorium. From my own experience, whenever I or the distributor has donated the auditorium free of charge, the benefitting group has received moderate attendance at best. If — with the distributor's consent — you ask for a nominal per seat fee from the sponsor (50 percent down and the balance on the night of the premiere J, this will cause the organization to work much harder and in the end, everyone will enjoy a bigger success. In addition to a business relationship, it is important to establish each party's role in all of the factors that go into a successful premiere: promotion, publicity, printing, ticket sales, guest speakers, hors d'oeuvres, etc. You will find that some groups are very experienced at this sort of endeavor, while others will need to be led through each step of the process. The first task is setting up a ticket sales network. Obviously, the most potent ingredient for success is having as many people as possible selling tickets to everyone they know. During the past 15 years, I have worked with groups of all sizes, shapes and strengths, and I have found that those who have relied solely on publicity and media exposure have failed miserably. Beginning at least six weeks prior to the premiere, committees should already be working on their contacts throughout the community. Always overprint your quantity of tickets, because too often a well-intentioned committee member will take a dozen tickets and on the night of the premiere will return with most of them unsold (you can feel comfortable overprinting by as much as 50 percent, but to do so the organization's leader must be in frequent contact with his ticket sellers) And don't worry if you oversell. A lot of folks buy tickets just to help the charity sponsor, and will not attend the screening. A ten percent oversell is fine, and can even go as high as 35 percent depending on the nature of the group Encourage sponsors to make the benefit premiere a gala Hollywood-type event. One of our best premieres ever was the re-issue of the original "Star is Bom," starring Judy Garland. The benefit was sponsored by the local chapter of the Screen Actors Guild, and they tapped every contact in the community to be sure that local talent and media stars attended the black tie event. Limousines, door prizes, a search light and even the red carpet were donated by co-sponsors who wanted the exposure. To spotlight these sponsors, be sure to print a special program that lists them prominently. An interesting pricing technique has worked well for several of our local organizations. With this type of campaign, we do not state a fiim price on the tickets, but rather a price range (the range should be something that is affordable for your target group). For example, a local public interest law firm recently sponsored a benefit with ticket prices ranging from $25 to SI 00. People who purchased tickets worth more than S50 were given a special "Gold Donor" mention in the program. The purchase of a $75 ticket placed them in the "Gold Donor" category, while a $100 ticket earned the buyer the status of "Platinum Donor." Marrying the right picture with the natural beneficiary always gives the event a strong resonance. For example, movies like "Colors," "Dirty Harry Part 5," "Beverly Hills Cop II," and the Blake Edwards film "Sunset," are ideal candidates for benefits with local police fraternities. Likewise, "Switching Channels," starring Burt Reynolds, and "The House on Cartoll Street" could work well with local advertising or media associations. Hispanic organizations would work well with "The Milagro Beanfield War," while local amateur boxing associations would jump at a chance to support "Split Decisions." I think that it's wrong to perceive that some films are such guaranteed hits that they cannot be helped by the exposure of a benefit premiere — there's no such thing as over-promoting a movie. So even sure hits, such as "Crocodile Dundee II," "Willow" and "Bambi," could receive extra momentum from this whirlwind of community teamwork. If this article does nothing else, I hope that it at least encourages theatre managers to occasionally pick up the phone and call local charities to get involved. Don't forget that in many ways, your local theatre is the heart of the community. You can lend the tremendous influence of our wonderful industry to a cause ih.U will benefit us all. im SW-46 <strong>Boxoffice</strong>
Butter; please. And salt. And theatre seats. And marketing services. The Hollywood Reporter's Theatre Trade Directory is a comprehensive directory of names, addresses and contact numbers for the circuits and independent motion picture theatres in the Western region of the United States including vendors, suppliers and concessionaries. To order copies, call our Subscription Hotline: 213-460-2057 Discounts are available upon request for quantity orders of two or more. The Hollywood Reporter Theatre Trade Directory 67 lo Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, CA 90028 THEATKE TRADE wMtxinwoo^wroi I7li SUMSET BLVD HOLL rmxw CA nan PLEASE SEND KK OOPKS AT tSOO TOTAi PAYABLE n ADVANCE n US CUHHEHCY ONLY PAJDBY Ow* Mon^ OrdK |To Ttit Hat/^KJOd fl^pOW rvMir* Trm» Dnatry) MMvCm) VISA Am ij^ Can) No U) PLEASE SE/t) UY coits ra '*" "H Cuiipany Nira . Oh a> Ooi««y ~ . vn vn fM • ubiutMf
Page 1 and 2:
he business magazine of the motion
Page 3 and 4:
nuin^^ A Div)8k>n of Mara^ Incorpor
Page 5 and 6:
amuel Coldwvn Theater AMPAS i A ^^f
Page 7 and 8:
CUSTOM FABRICATION A TECHNOLOGICALL
Page 9 and 10:
"!Jk-l-"--?-l.. NOW PLAYING, AT UAD
Page 11 and 12:
The ultimate lens technology. .J ..
Page 13 and 14:
]i »im:\»ia One of the most impor
Page 15 and 16:
^^^^^^^^^^^m^- ^^^d^^tm^
Page 17 and 18:
Digimate* Stereo Power Amplifier Th
Page 19 and 20:
WE TAKE PRIDE IN SUPPLYING HIGH QUA
Page 21 and 22:
The new Kinotone. The word new soun
Page 23 and 24:
CONSOLES The ultimate in projeetion
Page 25 and 26:
. PICTURE THIS a company with over
Page 27 and 28:
MOST IMPRESSIVE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT K
Page 29 and 30:
with •••SPECIAL SPIELBERG-BAS
Page 31 and 32:
A GOOD REASON WHY MOVIES COST SO MU
Page 33 and 34:
a S o u c> DiDi "e3 S T3 C c« S a
Page 35 and 36:
ShoWest Intro Published by Boxoffic
Page 37 and 38:
ShoWest and Showmanship By Harli-y
Page 39 and 40: V E S T R N PICTURES 88 I- CJ
Page 41 and 42: 88 PAPERHOUSE PARENTS THE BEAT CALL
Page 43 and 44: ' A PROGRAM: OPENING SESSION Record
Page 45 and 46: ilSTRODUCING: IE fic^^ z n.ts mill
Page 47 and 48: s .; % jr^ LU z o 1— < IL- S:r
Page 49 and 50: NATIONAL THEATRICAL RELEASE MARCH 1
Page 51 and 52: cS v»* v s^^ >oO O"^' ox'* .^^ :v^
Page 53 and 54: Movie Theater Operators... Increase
Page 55 and 56: what does Pepsi give you that the o
Page 57 and 58: COLUMBIA PICTURES CORDIALLY INVITES
Page 59 and 60: FOR RELEASE 1988 A TIGER'S TALE STO
Page 61 and 62: Research among these candy experts
Page 63 and 64: ONGRATULATIONS JERRY FORMAN SHOWEST
Page 65 and 66: : CINEPLEX ODEON :! T^ ^ ^ ir CONGR
Page 67: WE ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A "BIG SCRE
Page 70 and 71: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporat
Page 72 and 73: ROUNDTABLE: DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBI
Page 78 and 79: « mShaUiest V8 CONVENTION & TRADE
Page 80 and 81: STEAMETTE moist heat portable steam
Page 82 and 83: SW-3S FOR ALL YOUR PROJECTION ROOM
Page 84 and 85: Teccon Theatre Heads sound better a
Page 86 and 87: MARKETING Using Promotional Materia
Page 88 and 89: THE NUMBERS PAGE were " "Ernest and
Page 92 and 93: Acoustical Control in Modern Multip
Page 94 and 95: SOUND ADVICE (continued) that the p
Page 96 and 97: -:%•
Page 98 and 99: tured a series of veiy flexible len
Page 100 and 101: ODELL'S 4 we Cover 4 America's . Po
Page 102 and 103: KANSAS CITY, KS 8220 Nieman Road Br
Page 104 and 105: Kerasotes (continued from p 85) cor
Page 106 and 107: 1 THEATRE PROFILE (continued) Larry
Page 108 and 109: A Little More Clarity, Please IN By
Page 110 and 111: IN THE BOOTH FEELING LUCKY? THIS By
Page 112 and 113: NATIONAL NEWS It's Official: 1987 B
Page 114 and 115: I ' Springfield, Mass. The venerabl
Page 116 and 117: SILVER SCREEN SPECIALTIES PO. Box 1
Page 118 and 119: I FT. Folded Machine Roll Tickets C
Page 120 and 121: BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED Staning Hume
Page 122 and 123: EDDIE MURPHY RAW StatTing Eddie Mui
Page 124 and 125: fooled by Bums's act and he threate
Page 126 and 127: — PROMISED LAND Starring Jason Ge
Page 128 and 129: AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS Star-ring Gas
Page 130 and 131: I B0)9FFIC^ JAN FEB MAR cop SOS, R,
Page 132 and 133: oc S CQo
Page 134 and 135: (DC S CDo
Page 136 and 137: . "^^^^ rtearinq House rates: 75C P
Page 138 and 139: '. • • Ad Index SW-37 SW-2 Agfa
Page 141 and 142:
«? : *• A-^AMERICA'S i.i^^. MCVI
show all

Boxoffice-March.1988

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?