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Show Page The National Enterprise, June 29, 1977 twenty-tw- o f Theater overkill He knows where to Continued from page one Premieres are rare take his client to lunch With less than 500 films cluding a barrage of 3, as well as smaller theaters and a (in- X-rat- ed His company knows how to productions) being marketed in the nation annually, theater treat a valued business client. For a quiet, unhurried luncheon meeting . . . quick service when you need it ... or simply for a relaxed midday break from a busy, pressured schedule. operators are scrambling for (premiere) rights to a first-ru- n movie. Exclusive showings are becoming rare and the shortage of films has sent the cost of obtaining a premiere Lunch from 11:30 until 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday billing skyward, Hoffman Auerbach parking validated. said. Dinner from 6:00 until 1 0:30 p.m. nightly except Sunday with live music while you dine Some of Salt Lakes theaters, like the Broadway, cant afford premiere films. Others, corowned by porations, fare much better. The Valley Fair 4 is owned by Trans Continental Theater Corp. and the Century com plex is owned by Syufy Enterprises, both of San Francisco. Mann Theaters, Inc., operates the Cottonwood Mall cinemas out of San Francisco, and the Centre, Utah 1, 2, and valet parking. out-of-sta- te fp la fleufdc ly 1 I 338 South State Telephone 359-575- 3 I Wfe are here to serve are owned by drive-i- n Plitt in Chicago. The local DeAnza Land and Leisure Corp. owns the majority of and Trolley county drive-inTheaters operates its 1 1 screens through a local corporas, tion. Its a seller's market, Hoffman said. A theater must present front money of anywhere from $15,000 to $250,000 to buy rights to a first run, as well as give the distributors anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of box office sales. Revenue for the theaters, he said, is made primarily in the concessions. Tough way to do business Hoffman said theaters are forced to blind bid, or offer their guarantee front money and percentage agreement without having viewed the picture. Its a tough way to do business, he said. "You can never tell how the public will respond. Blind bidding was profitable to the Centre, though, which won the contract for Star Wars by offering $50,000 front and a 90 percent box office fee. Twentieth Century Fox in turn agreed to pay operation costs and 90 percent of advertising. We were leery about the film, Hoffman said. Everybody was. But heres one example where blind bidding actually helped the operator." Star Wars has grossed $250,000 in six weeks' running, so Centre anticipates substantial profits from the Call us if you need a Real Estate Loan residential or commercial. Nick Nicholson film. Vice President Weve just broken The even, Hoffman said. front is compensated and well begin our profits this 9S6-ZS3UO- week. Its their own fault We will take a loan application any day of the week - 7 days a week. Theater operators resent blind bidding, but Kenny Lloyd of Twentieth Century Fox says blind bidding is a dilemma. self-inflict- ed Operators are the ones hurthe ing the price structure, said. Before the market was overrun with theaters, we could make arrangements with an operator two weeks before a picture opened. The demand is so great now that Glenn Woodward Loan Officer Friendly - Courteous we book a film up to seven months before it will open, often before the film is even We are here to serve. completed. He said ten years ago, films in Salt Lake City would run for two weeks. Now, with higher costs of obtaining films, the theaters screen movies until theyve milked every penny they think they can from a film. Silver Streak ran for 22 weeks, and Hoffman hopes to run Star Wars even longer. Don Qui Loan Of The Lombard Mortgage Company 1137 East 2100 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84106 7 Telephone (801) 486-483- J f i" Fad film market Salt Lake City is considered by distributors to be an ideal test i' |