Boxoffice - October 2018

SHOWEAST 2018
CARIBBEAN CINEMAS
BARCELONETA, PUERTO RICO
Like many folks in the industry, your
family legacy is exhibition. What are
your earliest memories of working at
a theater?
I grew up in the business. Even
though Caribbean Cinemas was started
in 1969 by my dad, he was in the business
since I was a kid. I would spend a
lot of time in movie theaters, and when
he went out on his own in ’69, it became
the best way for me to learn the business
and go through its growing pains. I was
in charge of the vending machines in
high school. I would work the morning
shows on Sundays and be a theater
manager throughout the summers. I got
the bug at a young age and I jumped
back into the business full time after
graduating college. I thought I would go
back and get an MBA, but that didn’t
happen—I just stayed working.
Of all those roles, is there one that still
stands out as a personal favorite?
The excitement of figuring out the
hit of the week, the hit of the month.
When you were operating single- and
twin-screen theaters, you really had to
study what you were going to program. If
you were in a downtown area, with six or
seven theaters around you, it was crucial
to pick the right film come Christmas or
early June—because you were essentially
rejecting everything else. As a result, I’ve
always enjoyed the film-buying and booking
part of the job. Film buying is a little
easier today because you end up playing
almost everything, but back then you really
needed to have a historical knowledge
of markets and what type of films and
genres would work in them.
Caribbean Cinemas is present throughout
the entire region—a diverse collection
of territories with different cultures
and tastes. What makes the Caribbean
region so distinct?
When you look at it as a bloc, it has
a lot of similarities to the global market
in that action-exploitation, slapstick
comedies, and mass-market-appeal
movies stand out. Another distinction
is that sophisticated films have a much
more limited market—but that market
still exists. The San Juan area of Puerto
Rico and the Santo Domingo area of the
Dominican Republic, they have the audience
to support those films. In those very
markets we have our Fine Arts theaters—
three multiplex cinemas—where we cater
specialty product. We’ve been doing that
for over 30 years, opened the first one in
1986. That’s exciting because the theaters
themselves have followings. For example,
films from Spain and Argentina will only
work in those cinemas as opposed to
commercial cinemas, even though these
are predominantly Spanish-speaking
countries. In other countries, like Trinidad,
for example, we’ve found that Indian
films do very well because there is a
sizable Indian population in the country.
It all depends on the local audience.
Which amenities and new technologies
are most popular across your circuit?
We absolutely love bringing the latest
in amenities and technology to our theaters.
We have three 4DX auditoriums,
one IMAX, and 14 private-label PLFs
[CXC, Caribbean Cinemas Extreme]
with Dolby Atmos sound. The programming
that goes along with those formats
is a perfect fit for our audience in the
Spanish-, English-, and French-speaking
Caribbean. Over the years we’ve always
introduced new concepts—from reserve
seating today to high-back rockers in the
’90s and cup holders in the ’80s. Those
cup holders, let me tell you, they helped
us keep auditoriums clean. Back in the
’80s we didn’t think twice about it! By
the time your Saturday 9 p.m. show
opened its doors, it was standard operating
procedure to have guests walk over
the cups and popcorn bags from earlier
in the day. Whether it’s innovating or
renovating, it’s what helps keep us fresh
and focused.
You’re coming off a very difficult year,
marked by the devastation of two hurricanes.
What was that experience like
from your perspective as an exhibitor?
I grew up in Puerto Rico and I barely
remember hurricanes in my school days.
There was Hurricane Hugo in 1989,
George in 1998—we used to get hit, but
it would only be a piece of the island
72 BOXOFFICE ® OCTOBER 2018