How to Start a Movie theatre house

                                   
There are many options for opening a movie theater, including large corporate or franchise multiplexes, drive-in theaters, smaller and more specialized movie houses, and neighborhood theaters. Whatever type of theater you are interested in opening, you want to make sure it will be a popular success. While there are many challenges to opening and sustaining a theater, this type of business has the potential to be a thriving part of a community’s identity and peoples’ lives.

Get familiar with the exhibition industry. Learn everything you can about the movie theater industry. There are books and magazines devoted to the business of movie theaters (also known as exhibition), databases with information like moviegoer demographics, and other resources available.

Learn about different types of theaters. There are a lot of different venues and styles for showing movies. These include:

• Mainstream, first-run theaters: These typically show major films at their time of release. They are often corporate or franchise operations, but not always. These usually show a number of different films at one time in individual theaters housed within the building.
• Second-run theaters: These specialize in films that have already been shown in first-run theaters.
• Independent theaters: These may show independent films, specialized features, classics, major-release films, or some combination of these. These are more likely to have only one or a few screens. These may also be theaters that open up in a bar or restaurant.
• Drive-in movie theaters: These are open, outdoor areas which show films on large screens to viewers who park and watch from their vehicles. They need special projection and sound equipment, and ramps for cars to park on. Drive-ins can often only be used in warm months of the year. They can be repurposed during other times, for as flea market spaces, etc.
• You can also set up a very simple theater that might be a homemade screen set up in someone’s yard, or a consumer-grade projection system set up indoors. This could be sufficient for your needs if you are just interested in showing films to fairly small groups of people, such as for non-profit community events.

Conduct market research. Find out what movie theater offerings are in your area. If you live in a large city, there will likely be multiple theaters. If you live in a small city or town, there may be one theater or none at all.

• Talk with the other theater owners to see how well their businesses thrive. Just because you’ll be a competitor doesn’t mean that you can’t have a friendly professional relationship.
• Conduct a survey of the local community to determine what kinds of films people watch. You’ll want to make sure you’re playing movies that people will actually watch. If you live in a really conservative area, for example, you probably won’t have a lot of success showing really racy, edgy films.

 Decide which kind of theater you want to open. Each kind of theater has specific concerns. Some options may be more successful than others, depending on your community and audiences. This decision will also be dependent upon your start-up capital and potential investors. Choose from among the mainstream, first-run theater; second-run theater; independent theater; or drive-in theater.

 Look into theater chains that offer franchise opportunities. Some movie theater chains have franchise opportunities, in which you put up the money to open a theater in the chain’s name. Benefits and drawbacks to doing this can include:

• Having the brand and name recognition of a major chain, which will draw moviegoers who are looking for a standard experience.
• Ease of setup—the franchise terms will probably determine many decisions that have to be made in opening the theater.
• The financial backing and resources of the chain, including contacts to film brokers.
• On the other hand, you may not have as much control over the details of your theater if you have a franchise.
• Some major chains do not offer franchise opportunities.

Understand the regulations for starting a business in your area. If you are interested in a theater as a profitable business, much general information about starting a business will apply. Your movie theater will need to be founded and operate in accordance with the regulations regarding businesses in your area—including any permits, building code requirements, taxes, etc.

• You can also start a non profit movie theatre. For this type of operation, you’ll need a mission statement, bylaws, and a board of directors.

Select a location. Location is one of the most important aspects of any business, including movie theaters. You will want to have your theater located in a place that will be accessible to many people, easy to find, and near other businesses and attractions that will draw people. Having a good location means a better chance of drawing customers and staying profitable.

• Think about parking as well. If your customers have trouble finding parking spots, they may be less likely to come to your theater.

Pick a name for your theater. Choose a name for your theater that is attractive to customers. Many theaters have classic names or some version thereof, using words like Bijou, Metro, Pickford, Star, and so on.

• If you have an angel investor or benefactor, you might consider naming the theater after this person.

Develop a business plan. A business plan will be helpful when seeking financing from lending institutions or independent finances. The plan will show your specific insight into the theater business. There are numerous sample business plans available online that are specific to starting a movie theater. Your business plan will need to include information such as:

• Mission or objective of your business
• Market research and audience analysis
• Costs of initial start-up and maintaining the theater
• Pricing for tickets, concessions, etc.
• Projected costs and revenues

Plan your timing. Figure out when you would like to open the theater. Aim for a time when there will be lots of people in town. Don’t schedule your opening night for a time that competes with a major concert or other event that will attract a lot of people.

• If you are planning to open with a certain new film, you’ll need to schedule your opening for when the film is available.

 Pay licensing fees to show movies. If you are showing films to a paying audience, you need to make sure you have secured licensing permission from the film’s distributor. There are copyright laws that determine how films can be shown to a public audience.

• Contact the film distributor to find out fees for screening a film.
• If a movie is in the public domain, this means that no entity holds copyright. Therefore, you don’t need to pay a licensing fee.

 Schedule your screenings. You’ll want to offer several showings of each film. Make sure you have a decent range of screening times in the late afternoon and evenings, on weeknights and weekend nights.

Promote and advertise the theater. Movie theaters compete with many other forms of entertainment for the time and attention of customers. You will have to work hard and do everything you can to draw people in. Market your theater in a variety of media, focusing on how it will provide moviegoers a unique experience.

• Invite the local media for a tour of your theater. Be available for interviews. If the local newspaper or TV station does a piece on your business, this will be invaluable for your business.