Boxoffice Pro - Winter 2020

Theater FOOD & BEVERAGE
“I believe the slowdown
of promotions will not be
long lasting, and as soon
as cinemas are confident
that the big titles will stop
moving, cinemas will start
committing to promotions
once again.” —Jeff Waaland,
Golden Link
concession items months in advance of
the movie’s release, and when the movie
circumvents theaters or is pushed back
indefinitely, it changes everything.”
That isn’t to imply consumer interest
has abated; sales of specialty popcorn
vessels remain in high demand according
to Jodi Pine, RCM Media’s executive vice
president of sales and marketing. She
points to smaller concessions menus as
one of the main drivers for that demand
but admits “it’s been difficult to create
concession programs and promotions to
support our theater partners as studios
keep changing their release dates.”
“Our business is tied primarily to large
titles. With the constant changes and
films pushing back or some going straight
to VOD, most cinemas have become very
conservative in terms of activating and
planning film promotions for the rest
of the year—and even into next year’s
first-quarter titles,” echoes Jeff Waaland,
president of Golden Link. Despite these
recent struggles, Waaland is confident
it is only a bump in the road. “I believe
the slowdown of promotions will not
be long lasting, and as soon as cinemas
are confident that the big titles will stop
moving, cinemas will start committing to
promotions once again.”
It’s crucial to keep in mind, despite
how endless the Covid-19 recovery seems,
that the solutions of today might not
be relevant tomorrow. While vendors
like Cretors have quickly adapted to
offering additional products such as
hand-sanitizing stations and mobile floor
standing shields to help cinemas better
serve customers through the pandemic,
their core business remains tied to
delivering dependable equipment that can
be used for years to come.
When asked if cinemas should consider
any future changes to the design of their
concession stands, Larry Etter answers with
a categorical reply: Do not change a thing.
“If an architect starts drawing new
sanitary instruments, spacing, lighting,
and restrooms—how long will it take to
complete construction of that project?
Twenty-four months? Longer? By the
time all of the implementation of virusprotection
conditions are built, we will be
back to 2019-type operations,” he says. “In
constructing new facilities, we need to
have a vision of what 2023 will look like;
hopefully it won’t be too much like today.”
48 Winter 2020