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Author Topic: film rental rates
Ramin Hashemi
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 129
From: Houston TX
Registered: Sep 2004


 - posted 06-27-2005 05:22 PM      Profile for Ramin Hashemi   Email Ramin Hashemi   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
How do y'all do your film rental negotiations. What is a good average rental rate for a triplex for say 2004. How much negotiations is there to be had?

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-27-2005 06:54 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Our booker handles that for us.

As for negotiation room: Big blockbuster movie = Almost none.

Flop movie = Some.

In my experience you'll find more flexibility in the length of your required play-time than you will in percentage terms. But this IS a different part of the country than you're in, so your mileage may vary.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-27-2005 09:31 PM      Profile for Randy Stankey   Email Randy Stankey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Are you talking about current First-Run?

In the educational/non-profit market where films are rarely available until the First-Run is over (Right before the DVD comes out, usually) you should expect to pay about $500. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. Then you split any profits above that first $500 with the distributor. (Usually 50-50.)

If you are not talking about educational/non-profit, start at about double that and go on up.

Your mileage may vary... See official rules for full details... Void where taxed, regulated or prohibited... You must be 18 years old to play...

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Adam Fraser
Master Film Handler

Posts: 499
From: Houghton Lake, MI, USA
Registered: Dec 2001


 - posted 06-28-2005 12:10 AM      Profile for Adam Fraser   Author's Homepage   Email Adam Fraser   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Film rentals for a first run theatre average out around 50-60 % over the entire year. That includes the 70-80+% of the first week of a big film, down to 35% when a film is all but dead. It just depends on the product you decide to play and how far off break it is.

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 06-28-2005 09:24 AM      Profile for Barry Floyd   Author's Homepage   Email Barry Floyd   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
We're averaging about the same as Adam posted above, and we're a single screen drive-in in Tennessee.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-28-2005 12:18 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Same here.

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Ramin Hashemi
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 129
From: Houston TX
Registered: Sep 2004


 - posted 06-28-2005 02:34 PM      Profile for Ramin Hashemi   Email Ramin Hashemi   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks for all the replies.

We are a triplex showing first runs only. Typically we keep movies for 2 weeks, except for the big ones, 4 weeks. We also pay the 70/60/50/30 or 60/40/40 rates. I was told that annual averages should be between 50% and 53%. Keeping in mind that 1 or 2% does make a big difference, is 50-53% a reasonable goal?

thanks

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-28-2005 03:11 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Small places like yours (and mine) lose the advantage of milking the movies in those fading weeks when you only pay 35%. Course, there aren't many people coming then either.

What makes up for it is when a movie becomes an unexpected big hit, then we can play it in week #4, pay a lower film rental and do really well. This last happened with "The Pacifier."

One advantage my type of theatre (a single screen) has: We don't have to play too much of the crap and can focus on the good stuff. (Well, the stuff that sells.) So for us it's "Slump? What slump?" If there's only one big hit out there, chances are that's what we're playing! [Smile]

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Ramin Hashemi
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 129
From: Houston TX
Registered: Sep 2004


 - posted 06-28-2005 04:47 PM      Profile for Ramin Hashemi   Email Ramin Hashemi   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
ok Mike, but how can you handle Star Wars for 4 weeks and survive the fourth week. what is your population?

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-28-2005 06:51 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
First, we only ran SW-III for 3 weeks. The last week was about 3/4 of our average, but the first two weeks were outstanding, so it worked out OK.

We have only run a handful of movies for 3 weeks -- the last two LOTR movies, Titanic, and SW-III. Everything else we play on the break runs for two weeks, and most other movies just run for one week. We don't play every movie on the break -- just the super-hyped-blockbusters. Sometimes, as with Pacifier and Madagascar, a little delay (for word of mouth to build) helps us.

Our local town's population is about 2000 but we have a few smaller towns around us that we draw from, so our total drawing area is about 10,000.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000


 - posted 06-28-2005 10:42 PM      Profile for Mike Spaeth   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Spaeth   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Our aggregate film-rental last year was 46.2%

This is quite a bit lower than industry standard for a few reasons:

14 screens, we play quite a few weeks at 35%.

Urban theatre - the film rental on pictures like Honeymooners, etc. are much lower than the norm. These are the movies that do well ... so we pay high rental on low grosses, and low rental on high grosses.

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Matt Fields
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 545
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: Jun 2005


 - posted 07-09-2005 12:39 PM      Profile for Matt Fields   Email Matt Fields   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I have four screens, play first run, and paying 50.1% for the year. In my town basically everything is dead after two weeks, maybe three for a Star Wars or Longest Yard.

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Ramin Hashemi
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 129
From: Houston TX
Registered: Sep 2004


 - posted 07-17-2005 09:58 PM      Profile for Ramin Hashemi   Email Ramin Hashemi   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Matt, was this a typical year for you. 50.1 is pretty good. We did this 2 years ago, but not last year.

Can booking agents be held accountable for a level of %s?

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Matt Fields
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 545
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: Jun 2005


 - posted 07-20-2005 08:06 AM      Profile for Matt Fields   Email Matt Fields   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Ramin-
That is typical for my situation. I often get what my booker calls "The Small Town" deal. For example, a studio will make a two week deal at 60/40. Alot of times, I'll play the picture the third week (at 35) and get the aggregate below 50% on a new picture. In the fall when the releases aren't quite as big, I play some off the break.

A trend I have been noticing is that more and more studios are offering aggregate deals (paying the same percentage every week, for example 55%). If I think the movie is heavy up front with little legs (Harry Potter for example), I'll take that over paying 70/60/50/35.

If you don't have a booker, get one. They have inside info, can save you time, and have at least a tiny bit of bargaining power. I do believe they will pay for themselves in lower film rental, especially with the companies that still settle product after the fact.

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