Grand Forks: Indie movie booked! Bargain movies are back!

This may be Oscars weekend, but there is much more interesting movie news for film fans in Grand Forks. For one thing (warning: shameless self-promotion ahead) my own latest feature, “Dangers from Within,” is playing at the River Cinema in downtown East Grand Forks. As a marketing experiment I will have DVDs (genuine commercially pressed, not home-burned) on sale in the lobby during the theatrical run. Moreover, movie-goers will able to use their “Dangers from Within” ticket stub for a $5 discount on the DVD.

However, the most immediate and, it can only be hoped, long-lasting movie event locally is the sudden decision by the ailing Carmike Cinemas to change their Columbia Mall 4 Theatre into a bargain house. As of last weekend, all seats for all shows at the Columbia cost not $1.99, not even $1.50, but only $1 per ticket. At the same time, the screen fare switched from brand-new first-run movies to films that have already been released for some time and will soon be coming to DVD.

The price and programming policy switch was obviously due to the extreme competition Carmike has been experiencing in Grand Forks since the opening of the new independently operated River Cinema in December, which had tickets priced about 20-25 percent less than Carmike’s.

When both theatres play the same titles, the River Cinema has consistently been out-grossing the Carmike theatres, despite the lower ticket prices, and despite the much-touted “Digital Cinema Experience” that Carmike has been promoting since switching from traditional 35mm film to Christie digital video projectors last April. With the new discount policy, the Columbia 4 has also converted back to 35mm film (since second-run titles are apparently less likely to be available in digital formats). The first-run Carmike 10 still shows most movies digitally.

Just two weeks ago Carmike’s Georgia home office had dropped all its Grand Forks ticket prices to match the River Cinema (from $8.50 to $6.50 evenings and from $6 to $4.50 matinees). Such a move is questionable if the corporate office truly believes it is offering a higher-quality movie experience than its competition. The timing and exact price-matching are clearly an indication both of financial distress and of knee-jerk corporate decision making by a company that has already demonstrated it has little understanding of how to run theatres efficiently.

On the other hand, the conversion of the 4-plex into a “buck house” is the most intelligent business decision Carmike has made since they started running the Grand Forks theatres over 12 years ago. At that time there was a profitable bargain theatre (the Plaza Twin) but within five years Carmike closed it down (in September of 2000).

Second-run bargain theatres can be consistent money-makers, if properly operated to keep customer volume high. At only a dollar admission, they need to sell about six times as many tickets to match the grosses at first-run prices. This means bringing back proven hits, frequent title changeover, aggressive equipment maintenance, and showtimes that are carefully considered to distribute the crowds. Bargain theatres can also take advantage of all the free advertising for movies that are about to come out on DVD.

Far from competing against first-run theatres (except among very low-income customers), bargain theatres tend to increase movie-going in general. Not only does the low price permit families and low-income people to have an inexpensive night out, but the second-run policy gives regular movie-goers a chance to catch up on movies they missed on their initial releases before (and sometimes even after) they get to video.

Besides fostering repeat-viewing of favorite films, it also tends to encourage people to see movies in theatres rather than waiting for DVD, going out to films they might be reluctant to see at first-run ticket prices. When it’s possible to see a movie in a theatre for less money than renting the DVD, it can only help build audiences for all movies, including DVDs (which are really just a souvenir of the theatrical film and can never replace experiencing it on a two-story-high screen with a big audience).

Once the public realizes that most movies will usually play only one week, they are more likely to make time to see films they want to see in a theatre instead of continually putting it off until it’s too late. With some shrewd planning and advertising, that fact might be exploited in a bargain multiplex by occasionally bringing in limited-appeal niche-market titles that never even open locally during their initial releases.

Of course, the River Cinema has promised to devote one of its screens to regular “art house” films once all 12 of its screens are up and running. (Right now 11 are operational, and the 12th is planned to be open by April or May before the summer releases.) Showing the Grand Forks-made “Dangers from Within” is a step in that direction and sets a precedent for regionally made movies without national distributors.

Moviegoers who wish to see exhibition policies that they approve of continue, however, must be willing to support them with their ticket dollars. A dollar theatre can only continue if it continues to take in dollars and lots of them. Independent films will only continue to be scheduled if those that do play are profitable.