Exhibitors and the future of theatrical exhibition
March 10, 2010
An interesting interview with Tim Richards, Chief Exec of Vue the other day. Online here – http://www.businessgaze.com/tim-richards-theres-room-for-a-vue
One part that particularly caught my eye:
He was preparing to open a second when the head of a rival chain invited him to lunch. “I thought this was a nice social lunch, and the CEO said to me: “I just want to let you know that I am going to build across the street from where you just signed a deal, and not only that, I am going to open across the street from you at every single site you sign up until you go under.” That was before the food had arrived.
“I had no idea how to respond. I said: ‘I am not a threat: I am a nobody, I have one cinema’. And he said: ‘I want to send a message to private equity that you don’t mess with the incumbents and I want to prevent anyone new coming into the market’.”
In light of the defensive, protectionist tactics taken by the cinemas against Disney with Alice, this does seem to be a deep-routed, and particularly negative stance. They know they’re under threat, and all they can do is try to kill off new developments or competitors.
The trouble as I’ve noted before, is that back in the 20′s and 30′s when cinema was booming, it was an area into which many businessmen moved in order to make some money. These often weren’t people with a love of cinema, they were just good businessmen with an eye for a good business opportunity. 80, 90 years on, these cinemas have either closed or been taken on by second generations and more often than not people with a love for film and not necessarily a love of business. Apart from a few exceptions, too many people of power in exhibition are still trying to run their businesses on an outdated model, and treat any developments as a threat, to be cut down.
