Indie theaters are using repertory films to stay afloat
Earlier this month, Sony Pictures, the movie producer behind a web of Spider-Man films, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “The Garfield Movie” to name a few, acquired the movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse. Given that movie studios were essentially banned from owning theaters for seven decades, that’s a big deal.
While movie theaters are still reeling from the pandemic and disruptions to the film release pipelines caused by last year’s Hollywood strikes, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal discussed the news with Stephanie Silverman, executive director of the Belcourt in Nashville, Tennessee.
He caught her while she was in Chicago attending a conference for independent exhibitors. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Ryssdal: So, what is the vibe amongst independent exhibitors, of which, obviously, you are one at the Belcourt?
Silverman: You know, first of all, every time you say, “How’s it going?” there’s always a little sigh first, and then it is like, ‘you know, it’s okay.’ We’re definitely commiserating a little bit, but I’d say on the whole, the vibe is positive.
Ryssdal: Well, tell me about the optimism, because, you know, there have been Hollywood strikes. There’s a pipeline challenge. You know, people are getting laid off and you’re kind of on the receiving end.
Silverman: Yeah, we are definitely on the receiving end. I think, honestly, the optimism is because it feels like we’re coming to the end of what is a profound impact from the strikes. We are still seeing some really wonderful new release movies, but, you know, it’s just not Barbenheimer-level awareness right now. But the world of good moviemaking is still alive and well.
Ryssdal: Did you show either of those options, the “Barben” or the “Heimer”?
Silverman: We showed the “Heimer.” We showed it on 35-millimeter film. But yeah, “Barbie” didn’t need the help of the Belcourt. She was doing fine on her own.
Ryssdal: Would have done some business for you, though!
Silverman: Of course! But we try and center filmmakers who maybe aren’t Barbie, right? They’re smaller filmmakers, they’re foreign films, they’re repertory films. That’s where we feel like our place in the world lies.
Ryssdal: So I was obviously being flip, because I knew you weren’t going to show “Barbie.” But it does get to the whole — your challenge is programming, right?
Silverman: Yeah. We exist sort of showing two sectors of movies: First runs, the new releases, and repertory — and usually, the first runs are the bigger revenue titles for us. So, we make more money on the new shiny releases, and repertory is just part of our curatorial work and is core to who we are but has traditionally been secondary. And frankly, this year, that has been fully flipped on its head. So right now, it’s the repertory programming that is really our bread and butter. So, the work requirements from our curators and from our programming staff are huge. All the marketing assets we put together, you know, it just, it’s, it’s exponentially increasing our work to do that, but it’s also got great returns. So, it’s just a functional part of our reality right now.
Ryssdal: All right, a couple of other things on my list here I need to tick through: Inflation. Obviously, the headline numbers are down, but price levels are still elevated. What are your input costs? Like, what’s going on with you?
Silverman: You know, they’re still up there, of course. For things, especially like, cost of goods, concessions items, things like that, we don’t expect them to go down. We’ve had to increase pricing a little bit. But I think we’ve done it in a way that hasn’t been too stressful on our patrons.
Ryssdal: If I wanted to come on a Saturday date night with me and my wife, how much is it going to cost me at the Belcourt for two seats?
Silverman: Well, if you’re a member of the Belcourt it’s only going to cost you $9.50 for you and your wife.
Ryssdal: Okay, business model question, I’m sure you saw the thing where Sony, big producer of movies, is going to buy Alamo Drafthouse.
Silverman: Yeah.
Ryssdal: That’s a very big deal in the whole movie producers owning theaters thing. You know, there’s history involved. What does that mean for you?
Silverman: The positive for me is that it is just like the rubber stamp of approval on theatrical matters. It matters so much that this giant movie studio [is] buying some [of its own] movie theaters. Now, of course, we don’t want to get into the years of the Paramount consent decree where the studios owned every theater, and there was a lot of confusion about who got to show what, but I don’t think we’re going to get there. I am just thrilled that a major studio says, “This matters so much to us that we are putting our money in it, and we’re going to experiment around how we build audiences over time.” So frankly, I’m glad to have Sony as a colleague in the theater exhibition business.