1,167 Comments

1. Start the prices at $0 then increase as more viewers want to watch the movie.

   Comment by Bulls Fan — July 24, 2006 @ 4:55 am

2. If your goal is to sell as many tickets as possible to each showing why not offer a scaled tier of ticket prices tied into the number of tickets purchased. For example
   1-2 Tickets purchased = full price
   2-6 tickets purchased = 10% discount
   6-10 tickets purchased = 20% discount
   10+ Tickets = 30% discount.

   This would encourage people to organize and purchase tickets in bulk by rewarding them with lower ticket prices based on the number of friends they bring to a viewing. You could offer this promotion solely through your ticket purchasing website for your films or you could make it a universal deal.

   Comment by Matthew Patrick — July 25, 2006 @ 1:07 am

3. Mark,

   I know you’re looking for a way to get 5 million people to see a movie without spending a fortune on advertising, but I think that’s the wrong problem to solve. The challenge should be: “how do we change the economics of the movie business to make the most money possible?”

   The entertainment business is increasingly becoming about the niche. We’re seeing it in the music business with iTunes. We’re seeing it in the TV business with a million channels. Why should movies be any different?

   Currently we’ve got a situation where the movie industry is spending a ton making the movies, a ton advertising the movies, and they’re counting on us as the consumers to spend >$100M watching the movies in the theaters to make it a profitable venture. The problem I see is that it’s just tough to come up with enough good ideas to create movies that millions and millions of people want to see. I’m not sure there are enough ideas to do that, just as there aren’t enough great music acts out there for all of them to sell 5 million copies of their latest CD.

   First, the problems you as a movie maker face:

   -a movie ticket costs $10-12. This goes for all movies, from Star Wars to Gigli, opening weekend to 10th week, front row on the outside to perfect seat in the middle. This is insane.
   -while the cost of a ticket is rising far faster than the growth in inflation, the substitutes are staying at the same price or getting cheaper, and are improving in quality. This is a problem. 10 years ago if I wanted a great movie experience there was only one game in town, and it cost say $7. The alternatives were watching a VHS for $4 or something on cable. Today you’ve got a DVD on a big screen TV, also for $4, or a wide range of choices on cable packages and “on demand” programming. You’ve got to realize that the competition for the movie dollar has improved dramatically and you have to offer a much better option to pull in that consumer (whether it’s lower-priced tickets, an improved movie experience or a more-appealing movie to a consumer).

   My solutions aren’t very sexy, but I think they’d be great for both consumers and producers of movies:

   -Look at movie making like “Moneyball.” This is tough since the big studios don’t all collaborate (wink, wink), but every weekend try to shoot for 1-2 movies that are going to draw big crowds at multiple showings (with budgets of $100M+), and then make several other movies with much smaller budgets (<$25M) and smaller release windows that can sell out screens for a week or two. You can take bigger risks creatively with smaller budget films, they’re less of a risk to produce, and every now and then you hit a home run. With $100M+ budget movies I feel like there aren’t a whole lot of avenues you can take, and it’s tough to know ahead of time if you’re going to end up with an Independence Day or a Stealth.
   -increasingly drill down into viewing tendencies. Your goal is to fill every seat in every theater at all times. Is the 9pm showing of Stealth outdrawing the 1pm showing of Spiderman? If so, you’ve got to figure out a way of getting people to that 1pm showing, which probably means lowering costs at that end.
   -Vertical integration in the movie industry. I think this is inevitable, as the status quo clearly isn’t working, and at some point consolidation is going to be a necessity to try out new things. I have to say that Landmark is getting a larger and larger share of my theater dollars, because I know what I’m getting: a no hassle movie experience with nice theaters and movies I can’t see elsewhere. Only when studios and theaters stop trying to turn every movie into Star Wars do I think we can get some productive change.

   Comment by Conor Sen — July 25, 2006 @ 1:11 am

4. I would mix movie marketing with commercial advertising. Movies now have careful product placement (i.e. a character reaches for a Coca Cola.) I would contract with Coke to advertise the movie (in their own commercials or offering free movie tickets through purchasing their products) in exchange for key product placement and/or product giveaways at theaters (free bottle of coke to ticket buyers). This would allow movie/commerical advertising to have a mutually beneficial relationship while sharing/reducing costs.

   Comment by JC — July 25, 2006 @ 1:18 am

5. a lot of people are saying that a great movie sells itself, and i think that is part of it, but these days the “buzz” effect online is huge. positive reviews on sites like yahoo movies, blogs, myspace, etc… really influence opinion. figure out how to master the buzz.

   Comment by Joe — July 25, 2006 @ 1:26 am

6. The idea, which may already be posted (given the vast quantity of posts, I have not perused them bc I simply don’t have the time.) The idea mimics CVS or grocery store value programs, where you get a pass that gives the retailer your demographic information in return for small, but meaningful, savings or discounts or other value-added services.

   I tried to post it at length with all of the other intricacies, but keep getting an error. contact me if you’d like to discuss further, i know a bunch of people who could kickstart this thing.

   Comment by B — July 25, 2006 @ 1:34 am

7. First of all, the movie has to be not just good, but great. Good isn’t worth $9.50 admission and 2 hours of one’s life. You need to make people say to themselves “I really want to see that movie.” Not “That movie looks ok. I’ll wait for the DVD.” People don’t mind paying to see a great movie. They don’t like paying to see something that might just be alright.

   So let’s say you have a film that you know is great. Now you just need to get people to see it. You want a good balance when it comes to marketing. Don’t spend more money than you have to. TV spots, magazine ads, trailers, the usual. Not too much. It doesn’t matter how great a movie is. You cram it down people’s throats 6 months before it even hits theatre’s, you’re going to turn alot of people off. Don’t go overboard with promoting it, but do enough so people know about it to decide if it’s something they want to see.

   A movie has to stand out from the rest, otherwise it just gets lost in the shuffle. Take “Miami Vice”. This movie is going to bomb. Why? It isn’t doing anything new or different. You could slap any generic title onto it and it would make no difference. It’s an unoriginal cop movie that no one wants to see. All the marketing money in the world couldn’t help this film. This goes back to the “great” film idea.

   I could go on forever about this. You want to know more. I’ll gladly tell you. I know what people like and don’t like.

   Comment by Angry Ken — July 25, 2006 @ 1:44 am

8. mark,
   c’mon. the internet isnt the end-all here. internet marketing is cheap. you previously wrote about newspaper ads costing a fortune. yeah, thats true. they do, but that’s because they do work.

   If you confine the problem to an internet one, I have some great ideas, but not through user generated content sites. They tend to lack credibility. You need to use trusted sources, buy good adspace on good sites. I’d also go so far as to say you need to incent people to take risks with your films. i love your movies, but they require risks, give them something besides the movie.

   Comment by michael — July 25, 2006 @ 1:44 am

9. well, I think as new movies become readily available on DVD, television, the interent, almost as soon as they hit theatres, that for the most part the majority of people who will still go to movie theatres are the true film lovers. That’s why I would love to see more independant films shown in theatres. Like right now I am DYING to see “Four Eyed Monsters”. Arin and Susan’s podcasts’ are amazing! they are sooo talented…and I want to see their film soo much! please show Four Eyed Monsters in your theatres! THAT will bring people to the box office!

   Comment by Leslie — July 25, 2006 @ 1:45 am

10. There’s some incorrect assumptions floating around out there.

    1. Assumption: it’s hard to get people to the theater.

    While it’s true attendance is down (and ticket prices are up), Americans still spend about 8 billion dollars a year at the box office. Some one is still going to movies.

    And It’s way easier to convince people that already
    see movies in the theater to see your movie, than it is to find new movie goers. The focus of advertising should be on convincing people to see Good Night and Good Luck instead of Syriana

    2. Assumption: Good movies market themselves.

    If that were true, Mr. and Mrs. Smith ($186 million) was more than twice as good as Brokeback Mountain ($86 million). That movie was still 3 times better than Mark’s movie- Good Night, and Good Luck ($31 million). The best movie of last year by that standard was Star Wars Episode III ($380 million).

    Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a budget almost 8 times bigger than either Brokeback or Good Night and Good Luck. And with 110 million dollars, you can buy a whole lot of really effective advertising. The question is how Good Night and Good Luck does the same thing with a 7 million dollar budget.

    This is an efficiency problem. And so far, my space hasn’t done the trick.

    What’s “the tipping point” for a movie?

    Comment by Kyle Warneck — July 25, 2006 @ 1:46 am

11. In retrospect, maybe my first suggestion was a bit off-key.

    Just partner with Hooters, start serving beer and wings and you’re done.

    Comment by Chris — July 25, 2006 @ 1:48 am

12. Basically if I’m understanding you correctly you want to get more people into the theater to draw in a greater dollar amount for the producer of the film and not so much on the theater that is showing it. Well i think that would be kinda easy to accomplish if done in the right way. If you look at it from both perspectives a solution should present itself that both the producers and the theaters could market well.

    Let me break it down to a normal viewing weekend scenario. Lets say I go to a new movie on saturday and really like the movie and the enviroment that I saw it in. Well it was the movie that sold me and not where I was at. Being that it was a great movie I will want to possibly go see it again. This time I decide to go with another friend who has not viewed the movie yet. So we return to the same theater and watch it again.

    So here is where the marketing comes in. I present my ticket stubb from the previous visit and I get half off the second viewing and my friend pays full price for his. In comes the dollar amount. The theater eats the half they didn’t get since I came back to their theater to see the movie and the amount I did pay goes to the producers pockets and the second ticket gets split normally.

    Probably at this point you wonder how this could be beneficial for all parties involved. Basically I think it could lead to a growth in the theater industry. Sure they lose out some but they have more to gain. I came back to the same theater which means i must have enjoyed the first time. Its repeat busness. I get in cheaper and will have a few extra dollars to spend at the concession stand which i might not have before since I paid so much to get in. So they get back the money that they could have on the ticket to be split and instead get to pocket it all themselves. Also the overall theater experience should get better since they would want me to come back instead of going to another theater to see the same movie again.

    So basically by the theaters losing some on repeat ticket sales they have the potential to gain more. The Producers get more money back to them since peaople are more inclined to go see their movie more while in theaters throughout its full run. And as a consumer I get a break in ticket prices when taking a friend to a good movie instead of just telling him about it and waiting on the DVD to come out.

    Comment by Kody Stewart — July 25, 2006 @ 1:53 am

13. Mark,

    Better monetization of the 20 minute pre-show reduces ticket prices, fills seats and makes local merchants very happy. Best of all, your audience escapes the torture of the traditional 20 minute pre-show.

    see email for details.

    Comment by HighAnkleSprain — July 25, 2006 @ 1:55 am

14. See the general concensus Mark?

    As I stated earlier,in post 45, bring the content into the home, even fresh HQ content.

    **THEATRES ARE DEAD AND OF THE PAST**

    Most of the people that go to theatres, IMHO, just don’t have much of a choice.

    The rebates,vouchers,lotteries,etc are all OLD gimmicks…and just an indicator of trying push a bad OUTDATED product.

    PEOPLE ARE NOT STUPID, and these TACTICS WON’T WORK.

    Why do you think SO MANY people have purchased so many BILLIONS of dollars in HD equipment?

    Yes, we are lazy. Yes, we like our privacy, and yes, we like our homes.

    If we want to spend our time watching a movie, it had better be the enviroment we expect and enjoy…OUR HOME.

    The right volume, the right display, the snack and food is priced right and it is what we like, AT HOME.

    Why redesign theatre seats, when the perfect seat awaits you at home? Just the place you want to be after a hard days work.

    Many here have already commented on forgeting the theatres.

    Post 151 has it all wrong…

    The technology is HERE, IS easy to use, and is waiting for US to use it.

    I am one of the fools that threw down $5,000 on an entertainment system, just so it could collect dust. Yes, I rent an occasional DVD, but, the quality isn’t there, and it is NOT a new release.

    It dosen’t have to be a $5K setup either, many people are happy with the TV they own, and the lack of crappy theatre enviroment might more than make up for the big screen, but BIG Screens are getting cheaper by the MINUTE.

    If you don’t act on your opportunity, someone else WILL.

    Like the other guy said, 10 years later you don’t want to look back……

    It dosen’t HAVE to be 1080P. You far have more bandwidth available to consumers individually, than the internet could currently provide to each individual.

    No ticket stubs, no leases, no insurance, no property management, just data and boxes, of course if you played your cards right, the boxes are already there

    You are positioned perfectly for the NEW DIGITAL AGE. Put that Network to work, the consumers’ equipment is waiting!

    Oh, and I don’t need a movie theatre to leave the house and be social.

    Comment by jh dfgd — July 25, 2006 @ 2:00 am

15. FREE BUTTERED POPCORN – ALL THE TIME …
    =
    MORE CUSTOMERS ALL THE TIME!

    How’s that for out of the box thinking?

    Pretty corny eh?

    Simple

    Sometimes ya just gotta give a little to get alot.

    DR

    Comment by DR — July 25, 2006 @ 2:02 am

16. Hey, ok, first of all, I agree with the people who say “make better movies”. Sure you can spend outragious amounts of money marketing crap and people will go see it, but if you spent half of that money doing surveys on what people (especially young people) want to see, you would score big. People, like my friends “the four eyed monsters”, are marketing their films independantly. This makes them cool. They are doing it regardless of the system’s bullshit ignorant politics. This is the future of marketing and distribution. Giving people what they actually want to see, not what is oversaturated and shoved down people’s throats.

    Comment by Travis — July 25, 2006 @ 2:17 am

17. I think the movie business is just one of many businesses being affected by what is effectively procrastination. You, as one who owns a sports team, should realize the beauty and the security afforded by this. When there is a game, for example, that is the one and only time any given fan will be able to see that exact game; for, the exact same event will never happen again. This is how you get people to attend series-type championships. Moreover, one must plan ahead to see, what one would expect to be, “a great game.”

    Unfortunately, movies as they stand today are static, and can be seen by anyone at least 20 times a day at megatheater on opening week plus a couple weeks, and still at least 5 times a day throught the film’s box office run; but, even then, one can just, “wait for it to come out on dvd.”

    Thus, one has one of two options to increase demand for a movie: vary each screening of the movie (which is unfeasible– Clue tried this with their alternate ending stunt), or restrict showings of the movie in its original form. Clearly, the latter is the closest any producer or distributor can get to replicating the uniqueness factor of live events, while still retaining the inherently static nature of the film. Several methods arise to accomplish this, which could be used in-tandem or individually:

    1. Restrict opening month showing slots. This does not mean restrict theater rollout, but rather opening the film in all cities it would normally open in, but restrict showings to a couple a day. People wait in line for many midnight showings of movies simply because they want to be the first to see it for a variety of reasons, including the feeling of being special.

    However, this is counterintuitive to mainstream boxoffice rollout. A big fuss is always made about record weekend box office numbers without taking into account longer-term numbers, which clearly are a concern else you wouldn’t be writing this blog.

    Perhaps some of the best examples of this are Broadway musicals. Without referencing the diminishing popularity of conventional theatre, one must still admire that even with only showing two shows a day, they can still charge well upwards of $100 dollars a seat (for good seats), make pocketfuls, and still manage to run for years (as opposed to months). The result? It’s nearly impossible to buy a good ticket at the box office the same day of the performance.

    Of course, this works happily. It requires people to plan ahead if they want to go see the new hit movie. They end up having to buy their tickets online to reserve their spots. They may end up even forgetting to go or might have a scheduling conflict arise. In either of these cases, their seats will be released to the hungry crowd outside.

    2. Put less on the DVD. Increasingly, more and more features are being added to DVDs, which in turn, make the idea of buying/renting the DVD instead of simply watching something in the theatre considerably more attractive. Why pay $10 bucks to sit in a confined space, eating food that’s bad for me, with a massive guy behind me talking on his cell phone, with the sound too soft and a baby crying– all to see ONLY the film– when I could simply forego the whole “experience” of the the movie theater? I could sit in front of my MASSIVE 1-acre long big screen TV, eating a cucumber, watching the “behind the scenes” and listening to the director’s commentary.

    Want to get more people in the theaters? Nix all of that from the DVD and and maybe put it in seperate “artistic” showings of the film only (possibly at arthouse theaters that serve alcohol and have more comfortable chairs). That way, someone pays to go see the movie, and if they like it, they go and see the behind the scenes and director’s commentary, too. Plus, if the commentary is funny enough, they might even enjoy it.

    Comment by Kurt Radwanski — July 25, 2006 @ 2:19 am

18. That might have worked from say…oh, the beginning of time throught the ’90’s, but things have changed a little bit

    Comment by jh dfgd — July 25, 2006 @ 2:22 am

19. My post 350 was directed to post 349.

    I agree with post 351!

    Comment by jh dfgd — July 25, 2006 @ 2:25 am

20. Hey, ok, first of all, I agree with the people who say “make
    better movies”. Sure you can spend outragious amounts of money marketing crap
    and people will go see it, but if you spent half of that money doing surveys on
    what people (especially young people) want to see, you would score big. People,
    like my friends “the four eyed monsters”, are marketing their films
    independantly. This makes them cool. They are doing it regardless of the
    system’s bullshit ignorant politics. This is the future of marketing and
    distribution. Giving people what they actually want to see, not what is
    oversaturated and shoved down people’s throats.

    Comment by Travis — July 25, 2006 @ 2:25 am

21. In my opinion there should be more original films shown. there is a lot of indepentdent films out there that aren’t given the recogintion they deserve. for example there is a new indie film out called Four Eyed Monsters. the directors have brought a lot of the new, fresh creative qualities that people are looking for. the directors have a video podcast that is amazing and extremly entertaining. it is very popular and i guarantee that if you showed their film in your theaters you will be pleasantly suprised at the satisfction of your viewers. i know that if this film was in a theater in my area i would bring as many people as i could to see it.
    This is what your looking for if your looking for change. New, Creative, Artistic, Original, Indepentant film. something that we haven’t already seem a million times!

    Comment by Lauren Nunez — July 25, 2006 @ 2:31 am

22. i want my 4 eyed monsters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by MattIE B. — July 25, 2006 @ 2:36 am

23. Hollywood is a fucking joke. It’s so simple. Good movies make GOOD money. You put out like 5,938484793579433 horror films a month that SUCK!!! The writing is shit. Lame ass rappers may be popular in tinsletown but middle america could care less about some thug in his acting debut. You can market a movie any way you want, that still won’t guarantee asses in the seats. So, what do you do? You let US, the audience decide. BEFORE you greenlight a script, test it out on opinion polls, see if people even care about seeing that type of film. Test audiences can only do so much, because then it’s pretty much too late without wasting more money. Your myspace idea, I’m sorry…but no. If I had one of my friends constantly trying to push or advertsise a movie that I had already made up my mind that I wasn’t going to see, it would just be obnoxious and annoying on their part. And, the major thing on why most adults don’t go to the movies is the price and the people…there are barely any movies out there for their age.

    Comment by Alicia — July 25, 2006 @ 2:37 am

24. There have been several posts “dissing” the younger generation, yet they have the most expendable income of any demographic. Overlooking them is perhaps the most foolish idea I’ve ever heard of.

    Instead, embrace youth and technology by adding interactive component to your movies. This could be tiered to work with any movie.

    Blackberry type devices that allow for instant messaging, polling, and voting during the movie.

    Taken to the extreme, you could allow the audience to control the outcome of the movie.

    Think “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ or in the later case, a chose your own adventure game.

    I posted a little more on this idea on my blog at http://www.yugflog.com.

    Hope to hear from you soon.

    Comment by Chris Rogers — July 25, 2006 @ 2:43 am

25. There have been several posts “dissing” the younger generation, yet they have the most expendable income of any demographic. Overlooking them is perhaps the most foolish idea I’ve ever heard of.

    Instead, embrace youth and technology by adding interactive component to your movies. This could be tiered to work with any movie.

    Blackberry type devices that allow for instant messaging, polling, and voting during the movie.

    Taken to the extreme, you could allow the audience to control the outcome of the movie.

    Think “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ or in the later case, a chose your own adventure game.

    I posted a little more on this idea on my blog at http://www.yugflog.com.

    Hope to hear from you soon.

    Comment by Chris Rogers — July 25, 2006 @ 2:44 am

26. I see your job offer is getting a lot of response, pretty cool. Anyway, here is the answer to your question.

    I like to watch formula one races, but I am busy like everyone else, so I missed a lot of the races on cable because I forget or don’t know when they are on. Then I signed up for the formula one email list, now they email me the day before each race and since then I have seen every single race that has been on cable…. Think for a second how powerful that is, for the price of a couple emails they converted a person who watched maybe 30% of their races into a person who now watches 100%.

    How did they get a 70% increase in what I watch, they send me information so I know who qualified and in what position, information that I didn’t have before but now that I have it I am interested and I want to see more.

    Ok, here is the million dollar idea, if you had a data base that knew why I watched movies, and could target me with specific information and deals, tell me more about what I want to know when I want to know it, then I probably would go to every movie you emailed me about.

    Set up a website so I can go there and check off the actors I like, the types of movies I am interested in, then send me information about the movies that no one else has. Tell me something interesting about Johnny Depp that happened while filming a couple weeks before his movie is release, build up my interest and get me involved in the process, then when you send me the email that the move is at the theater I will run down there to see it along with the other 200 million people in your email data base. Build the proper amount of suspense and anticipation along with the information that I want and you can fill your theatres for the price of some emails. Then you can take all that money you saved on advertising and buy yourself something nice.

    Comment by The Movie Man — July 25, 2006 @ 2:51 am

27. So funny to read you from where i live….Brussels (belgium).

    Nice blog, really !

    Regards.

    Reno

    Comment by reno — July 25, 2006 @ 3:01 am

28. Nowadays, people can recreate the movie experience at home with the technology that’s out there. But people still enjoy going to the movies for the big screen and shared experience with others.

    So why not try to bring the ‘home’ experience to the movies? As an experiment, build one theatre inside a megaplex that holds only 20-50 seats. Allow people to reserve the theatre during the day, to see the movie they want. Have menus waiting for them with the different snacks, either paper copies or interactive touch screens that accept credit cards. Position the seats so that people can order at anytime during the movie, and a server can reach them without disturbing others. Show a commercial with people lounging in recliners with their feet up, pushing a button and getting a tray of junk food, and watching the newest release, people will come out. Hell, just thinking about it makes me wanna drag a lay-z-boy into the nearest theatre.

    And don’t limit the movies to new and current releases. Let it be a true ‘on demand’ experience, and let the people order the movie they want. I’m sure there are a lot of older movies that younger and older people would love to see on a big screen. It would be easy to fill a 50 seat theatre with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars geeks all dressed up, or perhaps a smaller audience (book or movie club group) for an artsy-fartsy movie that leads to a post-show discussion in another room with comfy chairs (and an opportunity to purchase more concessions Beyond that, you could have birthday parties, wedding receptions, whatever, as long a minimum charge is set to make it worthwhile (10 tickets, 20 tickets, whatever the price break is). Offer limo service to those too lazy (or drunk) to make it out. How cool would it be for a guy or gal to surprise their significant other with a night for two at the movies in a real theatre, while being served, so that no one has to get up an go to the fridge?

    The possibilities are limitless, but the point is, the theatre experience has to change, and become more intimate. You’re more likely to remember the night you saw movie X with your wife/husband or 20 of your good friends, than worrying about getting to the theatre 30 minutes early so you don’t get stuck all the way in front or missing an important scene because of a loud kid or someone on their cell phone.

    And for those who say, “make better movies,” No shit. But even those don’t always do well. People either want to see a good story, or a lot of stuff blown up. That formula will never change. Word of mouth and affiliate programs aren’t enough to drag people out to the same old movie theatre. You have to change the experience.

    Comment by csr — July 25, 2006 @ 3:09 am

29. You own a TV station – so take Project Greenlight (with less corny scripts), but track from the slection process through to production.

    Throw in an element of Idol meets Snakes on a Plane, and by the time you come to market the invested community become the audience (and marketers) for the move. It’s not about creating buzz for it’s own sake. Create the interesting idea, and buzz will follow.

    Post release, your release at once sale in theater is both the film, but also the DVD of the making of series.

    Comment by Euan — July 25, 2006 @ 3:13 am

30. Hi, Someone has probably already said this (and if they get the job good luck to them)but I think there are probably two main points to take into consideration. First, more and more people want to watch good movies when they want and as soon as possible, therefore distributing movies on the net is a good start. Second, the success of movie theatres has been the social setting they provide, unfortunately less and less people are going to the movies so you need to establish a different kind of social environment or an entirely new setting. If you provide a new social setting you can make money. Of course if your movies are crap then there is no point. I have some other ideas but I would end up writing forever. In any case it sounds like an interesting challenge.

    Comment by Todd — July 25, 2006 @ 3:15 am

31. Everything studios think about movies is wrong. It all really boils down to that. Myopically concerned with the first 3 days as the measure of all things, studios create events out of thier films and are constantly swinging for the fences on every pitch.

    The truth is the economics of the motion picture industry are all wrong. We’re in the pre-salary cap era where studios spend without abandon to try to build the super team film and then are left clueless when they don’t even make the playoffs.

    What studios need to do is to diversify thier film offerings. Rather than spend 200 million on 1 film, look at doing 10 films at 20 million, or even 20 films at 10. And not all those films should have huge campaigns behind them. Some films need time to find their audiences. Time is the greatest asset you can give to a film. I’m a big fan of rolling good films out and letting the word build on them. The film The Puffy Chair has been running in Portland, OR for 6 weeks and each week has been strong… Why? Becuase it’s been given a chance to find that audience… Budget for the film under 50K

    It’s easy to say how bad many of the movies out suck, but the truth is… there are great films out there, but no one will touch them because they don’t know how to market them. Take Four Eyed Monsters. I saw the film 2 years ago at Slamdance, and it’s a film people are clamoring to see, yet no one will give the quirky modern love story a shot.

    The truth is, there isn’t a one size fits all way of marketing films. Each film might need a different path to find its audience and again some need more time than others. But I can tell you what doesn’t work… The same ole same ole marketing campagins. Audiences have been burned too many times by big hype and a less than stellar follow through. It’s tough, but the bridges to audiences are well singed over the past few years… And they need to be rebuilt.

    The best way to do this is to really focus marketing and promotion on the PEOPLE who make these films happen. People like to root for people, filmmakers… actors…people! So open the door between the world and the people who make the films. Look at Eli Roth and the way he’s reached out and connected with people about his films… Morgan Spurlock is a huge model of taking the show on the road and making a fan one person at a time. Same with Kevin Smith. Again I point to Erin and Susan with Four Eyed Monsters and how they’ve connected their world to that of the audience.

    People WILL go see movies in theaters and you don’t have to spend a fortune to get them there… But you do have to give them a reason, and more of the same isn’t enough… They want to connect and root for people… One could say that Pirates would have done that huge business even if they haddn’t spent a fortune marketing it, because people root for Johnny Depp.

    - Geoff Kleinman

    Comment by Geoff Kleinman — July 25, 2006 @ 3:39 am

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    and many more available in store and legit buyer needed.

    Comment by Missy Mary — July 25, 2006 @ 3:44 am

33. The money is not in movie theater anymore. Who wants to pay 9 bucks to have people chewing and drinking around you and not even being sure the movie is worth it.
    Solution : 3DVisor glasses
    http://3dvisor.com/
    People will buy or lease a package (3D glasses to plug on computer or portable hard drive + subscription to watch the movies + option of small portable hard drive like a MP4 Player)
    With the portable hard drive they can watch the movie anywhere (laying on the bed, on the beach, plane, commute trip…). Or the price is less expensive if they choose not to get the optional portable hard drive and to use their own portable hard drive (mp4) or to watch it on their own computer.
    The leased portable hard drive can be of just 4-5 Gigas.

    So this is for one person, for several people ? Wireless 3d glasses linked to the hard drive with a wireless router. A full household can be watching a movie at the same time in different part of the house or together and then they can all share their impressions in the comfort of their own home.

    All the right products are out there, someone just needs to put them together in a package to ensure convenience to the clients.

    Comment by Philippe — July 25, 2006 @ 3:50 am

34. I would like to see more money out of the movie budget given to charity. When Steven Spielberg did the movie “Munich”, I talked to his spokesman Marvin Levy about donating money to both the Israeli and Palestinian Olympic teams. I had recommended the bobsledding team called the Frozen Chosen. I would have gone to see the movie if that had happened.
    It would be nice if the the producers of a movie about Enron would donated money to the Enron families.
    When Charlize Theron does a movie about sexual harrassment in the mining industry, it would be more believable to me if she did not appear on Oprah but rather gave money to help those women.
    Going to the movies should be a feel good experience all around.

    Comment by Laura Goldman — July 25, 2006 @ 3:58 am

35. High School / College Gimmick.
    Market the movie to college campuses/high schools. Student presents ID at the door. School gets a point. Winning school wins a prize. Money donation, Meet & Greet with someone famous, whatever.

    Touring Band Gimmick.
    You make a bazillion glossy postcards. Touring bands go to your site to setup their account. They get a code. The code is put on the amount of postcards you give to them. They put the cards out at their shows. The card is good for $3 off the ticket price. Those cards get turned in. The movie theater sends them back to you. That band gets 10 cents a card. It’s a new revenue stream for them to tour on and it’s a way to grassroots promote your movie.

    Comment by Joe Cinocca — July 25, 2006 @ 4:18 am

36. how about selling DVD’s before the movie arrives. You could call it “Premeire Preview” I think people would spend at least $29.99 to get a copy before the movie even arrives. You could cross promote with pizza delivery national chains, many more options…my starting salary is 1 mil. per idea.

    Comment by Rene Guerrero — July 25, 2006 @ 4:19 am

37. Here my ideas. What would make me go more often to
    your theater for a movie? Something simple that does
    not break the system, but allows gradual improvement.
    We love free stuff, and the sense of getting more of
    it if we are loyal customers.

    1. Give each moviegoer a plastic stub like the
    ones you get from Blockbuster, CVS or your public
    library. It comes in two sizes, one for your
    keyholder, the other for your wallet. You get all the
    personal stuff when the customer fills the application
    to get one. You will link later with the number of
    credit card, zip and so for. Thats the membership,
    free, no photo, almost instantaneus. This plastic
    membership will allow you to collect all sorts of
    statistics.

    1.1. Every 12 (or the number you like) tickets bought
    under the membership, get the next one free. Just like
    that.

    1.2. Every year under the membership gets the member
    another 1/2 ticket for free. Until he or she gets a
    movie for every five tickets or so.

    1.3. Make national raffles for lifetime free movies
    between members. Give every member a chance
    proportional to the number of tickets accumulated
    during the year. You may elaborate a lot on this. A
    free movie prize will be reflected in the plastic
    membership. Maybe changing the stub to gold or silver
    to make it flashier. Lesser prizes like 5, 10, 20
    movies will be great to have too. Or even free 6
    months memberships for netflix, or free tivos or
    Xboxes.

    2. VIP Rooms. You enter the VIP room with the stub of
    your just watched movie. This could be anything, but
    here is an initial. I would start with a VIP room
    for teens and young adults, with cheap videogames,
    Dance Revolution contests, and XBox Tournaments on
    the big screen.

    2.1 Movie Rooms. This is just regular movie theater,
    with less seats and a big DVD Jukebox with the first
    10 or 20 minutes of every movie actually showing,
    extended advances for futures movies, short movies,
    sports highlights, videogame deep presentations, other short documentaries that are better showed on
    a big screen with a good sound system.

    3. Make popcorn free, absolutely free. You have to pay
    for everything else, but the popcorn is totally free.
    Wow.

    That would do it for me: progressive discount
    memberships, VIP/Movie rooms, and free popcorn.
    Thanks for the dream and the free popcorn!

    Comment by Rafael Salazar — July 25, 2006 @ 4:20 am

38. Here my ideas. What would make me go more often to
    your theater for a movie? Something simple that does
    not break the system, but allows gradual improvement.
    We love free stuff, and the sense of getting more of
    it if we are loyal customers.

    1. Give each moviegoer a plastic stub like the
    ones you get from Blockbuster, CVS or your public
    library. It comes in two sizes, one for your
    keyholder, the other for your wallet. You get all the
    personal stuff when the customer fills the application
    to get one. You will link later with the number of
    credit card, zip and so for. Thats the membership,
    free, no photo, almost instantaneus. This plastic
    membership will allow you to collect all sorts of
    statistics.

    1.1. Every 12 (or the number you like) tickets bought
    under the membership, get the next one free. Just like
    that.

    1.2. Every year under the membership gets the member
    another 1/2 ticket for free. Until he or she gets a
    movie for every five tickets or so.

    1.3. Make national raffles for lifetime free movies
    between members. Give every member a chance
    proportional to the number of tickets accumulated
    during the year. You may elaborate a lot on this. A
    free movie prize will be reflected in the plastic
    membership. Maybe changing the stub to gold or silver
    to make it flashier. Lesser prizes like 5, 10, 20
    movies will be great to have too. Or even free 6
    months memberships for netflix, or free tivos or
    Xboxes.

    2. VIP Rooms. You enter the VIP room with the stub of
    your just watched movie. This could be anything, but
    here is an initial. I would start with a VIP room
    for teens and young adults, with cheap videogames,
    Dance Revolution contests, and XBox Tournaments on
    the big screen.

    2.1 Movie Rooms. This is just regular movie theater,
    with less seats and a big DVD Jukebox with the first
    10 or 20 minutes of every movie actually showing,
    extended advances for futures movies, short movies,
    sports highlights, videogame deep presentations, other short documentaries that are better showed on
    a big screen with a good sound system.

    3. Make popcorn free, absolutely free. You have to pay
    for everything else, but the popcorn is totally free.
    Wow.

    That would do it for me: progressive discount
    memberships, VIP/Movie rooms, and free popcorn.
    Thanks for the dream and the free popcorn!

    Comment by Rafael Salazar — July 25, 2006 @ 4:27 am

39. I think you will always have problems trying to get people to come see movies. You dont own every movie theatre so all the discount ideas are not very feasible.

    A while back, I read about you trying the straight to DVD idea. I am not sure what ever happened with that, but I was certainly hoping you would start something in that area.

    Itunes has millions of customers actively looking for entertainment to buy. Recently they have been selling TV episodes. The obvious problem with that is if I really want to watch the show, I will watch it on TV for free.

    But, if I could buy a movie that is in the theatres, I would in a minute. I would love to watch Pirates on the plane but I’m not wasting my Friday night on it. I would sell the movies on Itunes, where millions of people with video Pods are searching for some good reason to use that damn video function.

    myspace is just a trend that will wear out but the portable entertainment device is here to stay.

    I’ll take any job you have, hell, id be happy to be an intern.

    Comment by matt — July 25, 2006 @ 4:28 am

40. I agree with the 1+ people (I noticed at least one of the 300+ comments mentioned it who suggested subscriptions for movie chains. They would need to rejig their relationships with the distribution companies though as there is no longer a $/ticket sale occuring.

    For a bonus $/yr I get free DVDs of movies I liked or didn’t get to see; from the theatre.

    BTW – I don’t want the job – I just want to go to the movies when I feel like.

    Comment by Dr Nic — July 25, 2006 @ 4:38 am

41. BTW – I do not believe that people want to watch things only at home. I’d rather watch sports at a pub or the stadium so I can cheer and complain with other supporters.

    Similarly, I like to go to the movies so I can share the emotional rollercoaster with others. I like to laugh with others around me. I don’t cry, so skip that one…

    Cheers
    Nic

    Comment by Dr Nic — July 25, 2006 @ 4:45 am

42. There are so many networking sites such as Myspace these days that you can basically tell who likes or doesn’t like what.
    It’s more than making a great movie, it’s selling it and making the customer wanting more, or in your case, making the potential customer counting down days until they can see the video.
    A perfect example that comes to mind would have to be “Four Eyed Monsters”. They created this film that I didn’t see until many many months after my initial visit to their Myspace. However they send out these podcasts that is not necessarily a trailer for their film, but a taste of what they are about. I made several trips to their site waiting for another ‘episode’ of their podcast to appear because I was so intrigued by them and their aura basically. By the time I heard it was coming to my city I was seriously counting down the days to see it and would have seen it every night of its showing if it didn’t cost 20 bucks in gas to get to the theater it showed at.
    How this can help you? Get what you can from videos, more than just trailers, that give the viewer something to crave more. Interviews with the actors, producers, directors, etc could show people just a taste of a behind the scenes look at the movie, but enough so that they come back looking for more.
    Don’t go over kill on the movie, but just before it. To the point where if they see much more they will be totally disinterested, but so they HAVE to see the movie to get the climax, or even a closing, of the subject.

    Comment by Chad — July 25, 2006 @ 4:46 am

43. I would suggest to enhance the user experience in movies theaters.
    Actual competition is home cinema. Ticket price is not a problem (how many movies tickets does make a full home cinema setup?)
    You need to find something new that can only be offered in theaters.

    Comment by Thiber — July 25, 2006 @ 4:47 am

44. Mark, I think what you’re doing here is a brilliant idea. Why NOT ask the public for ideas? OK, here’s my contribution.

    You start a Movie Club (perhaps with a better name). People buy a card for $50. or $100. or whatever price makes sense, business-wise. This allows them to attend a given number of movies. No expiration date and the card is transferable (after all, from your point of view, what difference does it make whose ass is in the seat?) If the price for movies happens to go up before the card is used up, well, bonus for the Club Member.

    The most immediately obvious advantage to this from your point of view is that you have their money upfront, which means that it’s sitting in the bank earning interest before the movies are even released. The cards are essentially gift certificates and could even be given as Christmas or birthday presents. A “premium” card might include free popcorn and Coke with attendance.

    These cards could be sold through Amazon.com and other online venues; there could even be a version that purchasers can print directly from their home computers; unique barcodes would make this practical.

    There should also be an online website that the customer can access which will reserve a seat at the selected showing at their local theater. The site would communicate with the theater to tell it to remove a seat from the inventory for that auditorium, ensuring that there actually IS a seat for the Club Member when they arrive.

    Upon arrival, a scanner would “read” the ticket’s barcode and let the customer avoid standing in line outside the theater, eliminating one of the biggest annoyances for moviegoers. Some multiplexes might even want to have special showings in designated theaters reserved for Club Members. No talkers, no annoying cell phone nonsense, etc. Certain showings might be “Adults Only,” meaning that the theater could serve beer or wine.

    Since you’d have the users’ email addresses, you could inform them of special free “VIP” screenings of new movies you wanted to promote, impending DVD releases, etc.

    Basically, what this idea would accomplish is getting movie lovers who have become disenchanted with the multiples experience back into the theater.

    Yes, I want the job! I have a lot of experience with out-of-the-box promotion. Take a look at this:
    crankymediaguy.com/vresume.html

    Comment by Bob Pagani — July 25, 2006 @ 5:19 am

45. Ok Mark.
    Idea One
    Forget the cinema – do something else. We are planning to do a film in a day, everyday, for a year. Check it out at http://www.365films.com. Its TV meets cinema meets the web. The best bits of all 3.

    Comment by Tim Clague — July 25, 2006 @ 5:40 am

46. Idea 2

    Give the film away for free. I’m in pre-production of a new feature film that will given away for free. Therefore I don’t need to worry about ticket prices or even piracy. The film is funded through adverts placed in the film. NOT product placement. This is more ‘honest’. This film contains proper full on ads presented by the main character. I get away with this approach as I have specifically written a plot and a central character who makes his living doing it.

    More about the film at: http://www.projector.demon.co.uk/circum.html

    Comment by Tim Clague — July 25, 2006 @ 5:46 am

47. Join the outsourcing parade. Nowadays, it is not necessary to hire high priced public relations talent in New York or Los Angeles. Somebody in Tel Aviv Israel or India would be glad to do it for a fifth of the price. Shari Arison, the richest women in the country, pays only the equivalent of 67 dollars for a thousand word article for her website Essence of Living. http://www.eolife.org. From Tel Aviv, I put several items a week in Page Six of the New York Post. I just send them by email. Richard Johnson loves the articles about Natalie Portman, Leo Di Caprio’s new Israeli girlfriend etc. Tomorrow, I will put an article in the Daily Telegraph of London.

    Comment by Laura Goldman — July 25, 2006 @ 6:29 am

48. I would simply reform the netflix model and make it one that sends direct email to those who participate in it. Develop a software interface where users intially enter a series of questions about their types of movie preferences(indie, horror etc…) Also have questions about storyline types, actors etc.. Then send emails to those people once a week with a list of five theater releases and five dvd releases that match their preferences. People go to movies that interest them, but only if they are aware that the movie exists, what the movie is about and where it lies in the movie genre spectrum. I have done some very small contract film marketing and distribution and I think this would be the best way to simply reach customers that already exist. Perfect example for me: Wordplay. I only went to this movie because a family member dragged me, but if I had a known this was a documentary, indie etc… I would have seen it long ago. So rather then trying to convince, one is trying to simply gather up happy customers that already exist. If they are informed they will go. Anyway the whole thing would be very cheap to develop and could only do good. I think the main reason why this isn’t done is because there is no unity amongst distribution companies, but in reality everyone would benefit because there is such variety in moviegoer preference that the gain of one distribution company over the other would be slim. However, if I’m a distribution company and I’m developing the software I’m doing some tweaking with it and putting my movies, if at all relevant, at the top of these email lists as they come out. Best regards.

    Comment by Kevin Lenane — July 25, 2006 @ 6:41 am

49. - Find your target audience. If the movie is about some farmers trying to grown corn, not too many people from NYC will be too interested. Then advertise in those locations only… maybe rent some billboards that have messages that keep people guessing… such as “It’s coming… August 29, 2005…” (the movie date.) If the movie is good enough, it will take off on its own.

    - Advertise on MySpace! I don’t know how much that costs, but just put a full-page advertisement on the front sign-in page and the ad for the movie will be seen by 40m+ people in just one day..

    - Send advertising postcards with catchy artwork to select locations that inclue your target audience. I’ve never found an ad for a movie in my mailbox before – I think it’d be an interesting way to go about it! Postage for postcards is relatively reasonable… sending out 20 million of them has some huge possibilities…

    - I’m not sure how the movie business works, but maybe contact certain companies about using their products in the movies to help cover costs, which will allow for bigger and better advertising methods? If there are going to be 10000 shots of a computer in the movie, and they all say “Dell” on them… well, you know.

    - Post flyers around college campuses.

    Comment by Jeff — July 25, 2006 @ 7:21 am

50. I believe paying 8-12 dollars for a movie is money well spent if you see a movie that leaves an impression on you. This is especially why you should showcase the Four Eyed Monsters film in your theaters. Not only would you be bringing in an amazing film, but you would be gaining popularity from the generation that is going to make the future of box office hits or misses.

    To personally see the podcasts that Four Eyed Monsters have posted, truely shows the devotion that these filmakers have in releasing a peice of art to the world. From these podcasts, hundreds and thousands have viewed them, and most of them would gladly come to your theater to see a screening. A movie like this would get a big response.

    I would gather everyone i know to a screening in my area, not only because I, like thousands of others, have been captivated by the podcasts, but because it would be great to see bigtime attention on an indie film which deserves the attention.

    Comment by Lisa — July 25, 2006 @ 7:40 am

51. Simple. Less ad spend, more word of mouth. Put the money into ‘kids for a quid’ (1GBP in English money) for opening weekend/weeks. As many as you like with at least one full paying adult.

    This a) fills the theatre on opening weekend, b) is spread word of mouth by the kids, c) gets the movie watched and more word of mouth – and word of mouth is king.

    Total cost = less than a traditional campaign. Full theatres. happy people.

    I’ve seen this work in sport. My home town football (soccer) club use this periodically and _always_ sell out the ground. These kids are future season ticket holders. The cheers are a little higher pitched but it works.

    Of course, you need to have good movies and believe in them for that to work – but I assume you are cool with that.

    Comment by Josh Hart — July 24, 2006 @ 5:57 am

52. Cool! I know some people from webdate.com who might be interested to take up your challenge!

    Comment by Elizabeth — July 24, 2006 @ 6:14 am

53. Mark,

    Quick Pitch

    I feel there is a variety of different ideas floating around too solve this problem. Many of the ideas are garbage and I feel innovation is the key to lower prices and better service in any sector or market in the United States. The U.S. in general is completely enthralled with personal computers and the convenience of using a Tivo to watch their favorite show. I feel that the growth of the internet is changing the way we watch TV. Some people watch news clips online, and others now use online T.V. players (TVU player) to watch content from anywhere in the world as long as the user has internet access. As a lazy/on the go culture in general, I feel the best way to lower marketing expenses while creating a new market would be to promote “Live Theatre” a new way to watch movies. It would allow for the movies to be seen in the home or from anywhere where a computer is connected.
    Basically, you could have the first ever simultaneous live movie link between the entire world. It would be impressive and could change the way we would watch movies in the future. There are a lot of ideas that can branch off of this to create different revenue flows and this idea could be implemented fast in variety of ways. Feel free to contact me to learn more or to work on a business plan, thanks Mark.

    Mark Smith (I.U. Grad)

    Comment by Mark Smith — July 24, 2006 @ 6:32 am

54. Try giving some extra value for their regular ticket (I take it that you cannot influence too much the price at which theaters will sell the tickets). Anyone who sends you a used ticket has the right to a discount on the DVD (whenever that is edited), on the VoD-edition through your platform and on any merchandise you might have with that movie. This may not increase too much your movie sales in theaters, but is a good way to spread the word a little, to sell more in later stages, to have satisfied consumers and to have their emails (since you will exchange those discounts for their ticket AND their email).

    Comment by AMRS — July 24, 2006 @ 6:58 am

55. I like the free baby sitting idea. The adults would drop the children off to watch a kids movie, while they watch their own. This is the number one reason we see less movies!

    Here’s another idea, send the movie’s main actors to a random theater(s). Make it like Country Music’s Fan Fair.

    Comment by Robert Gremillion — July 24, 2006 @ 7:11 am

56. To me it seems simple… you have to get people to that point where they absolutely have to see the movie. So, what about making the first 20 or 30 minutes available online. Or, what about some kind of lead in to the movie, so that watching those 20 or 30 minutes doesn’t kill the movie (because yeah, 20 or 30 minutes may be almost a 3rd of some movies) and then get the potential audience interested that way.

    I don’t think that doing advanced screenings is a great idea, because you turn the value of the movie into $0, and any time I missed an advanced screening in college, even when people said it was awesome, I waited until I could get the value as close to $0 as possible, which sometimes meant I didn’t watch it at all (sweet, I hit the $0 value of watching the movie) or I rented it.

    But, by maybe getting people where they have to see the movie, they’ll go out and watch it. Shoot, if you did it just right I know that my wife and I would try to leave the house immediately to go see the rest of the movie.

    Comment by Alan — July 24, 2006 @ 8:03 am

57. There are a lot of things you can do in order to attract more people to the movies and reduce your advertising budget. Here are a few:

    There will always be people who will go to a movie the first week it comes out (I was like that for quite some time). They are not your problem. The problem is the people who don’t care about watching the movie two months after its release.
    Solution: Build a steps based pricing system for movies. A movie should cost $12 at the first week. But after a month, his price should be lower. (In the back end system you can also tie the price to demand. When demand start to go down, the system automatically reduce the price of the movie). You can also do a promotion where if a person goes to a movie in the first week, he gets a discount or a free ticket for an older movie.
    Yes, it could mean that some people will wait a few weeks before going to the movie in order to get a reduced price, but it also mean that a lot more new people will go to see the movie. The backend pricing formula should find the right balance.
    (You can also run this idea on seating places. Like in concerts. The best seats costs more than the ones in the first rows.)

    Print on the movie ticket a code users can enter when they back home in an Internet site in order to get some value. For example:
    - Access to screen savers, desktop background, ringtones etc.
    - Free download from iTunes of the movie theme song.
    - On line chats with the movie actors, producers, etc
    - A possibility to register to a lottery with some cool prizes
    - Access to director comments about the movie, behind the scene footage and interviews (could be even scraps from the material already made for the DVD)
    - Discount code for another movie
    - A discount on the movie soundtrack (via partnership with iTunes, Rhapsody, etc)

    As comments here can’t be formatted using HTML, i posted my complete answer to your question in my blog:
    http://www.nechmads.com/blog/blogs/shahar_nechmad_-_diaries_of_a_startup/archive/2006/07/24/32.aspx

    Comment by Shahar Nechmad — July 24, 2006 @ 8:05 am

58. Mr. Cuban,
    Take a look at my blog, especially the “MMM’s Greatest Hits” series of links off to the right. I think you’ll see I’ve given a lot of thought as to how to change the marketing of movies. If you think my stuff is strong enough I’d love to brainstorm with you.
    –Chris Thilk

    Comment by Chris Thilk — July 24, 2006 @ 8:20 am

59. tie it into kids fundraising. almost any activity has some sort of fundraiser(candy, carwash etc). sell them in the spring for a fall opening with the kids getting a buck for each one sold and some free tickets if certain goals are met. just an idea, but remember, almost any fundraiser is a beating for parents.

    Comment by john acton — July 24, 2006 @ 8:28 am

60. Television is very developed in our modern world. Practically a television set costs in every house. Therefore people which inlay a money in development of television will never remain in a loss.
    The more so young men very carries with this

    Comment by Puhanov Roman — July 24, 2006 @ 8:35 am

61. Mark, this suggestion may help.

    When you buy a ticket for a movie for the theater you should receive a ‘credit’ for 1/4 off the DVD when released. If you buy two tickets, you receive a ‘credit’ for 1/2 off the DVD. Set that as the maximum you can get off of a DVD though, 1/2 off. If you buy 100 tickets, you can only get credits for 1/2 off the movie you just saw in DVD format.

    This should only be redeemable directly after the movie has played in the theater though. Have a little stand in the theater where customers can redeem their credits directly after the movie. The DVD should be shipped directly to the customer’s home. (This will also help theaters market directly to their customer base with email notifications and snail mail marketing to YOUR CUSTOMER BASE!)

    By doing this, you’ll eliminate the issue of folks not going to the theater because they can buy the DVD when it comes out. Lots of folks say ‘We’ll get it when it comes out on DVD.’ They’ll feel like they’re not throwing away $20 to see a movie (if it’s crummy) if they can see the movie in the theater and buy the DVD both for about $30. Also, I rarely want to see a movie just once! This would allow me to see the movie and purchase the DVD together.

    To make this ‘really’ work, and if you really want to hit a home run on this, ship those DVDs to ‘preferred’ customers a week before the DVDs are released in retail stores. You’d have to work with the studios on this though!

    You see a movie and say, I can’t wait for this to come out on DVD when you’re walking out of a good movie. Then you are able to order the DVD there, have it shipped to your house and receive it a week before those who didn’t go to the theater to see it. It’s a win, win situation!

    I think one or more of these suggestions could really benefit the theater business. With a little tweaking to this module it could really improve sales.

    So, when do I start?

    Comment by Aaron — July 24, 2006 @ 8:42 am

62. It is about the product, Mr. Cuban.
    A company should not need to spend the retail price of the product in order to attract customers to purchase it.

    I work in the Detroit auto industry.
    (And I’m staying, but thanks for the job opportunity.)
    We are on the wrong end of the economy of selling cars right now because we have been making product that the customer doesn’t want. We’ve been listening to ourselves, not the people with the checkbook. Over the decades, competitors have come along and eaten our lunch. If we (the US Auto Industry) had taken care of our customers by listening to them and providing for their most basic wants, there would have been no opening for other products. So now we offer huge incentives in flailing attempts to attract customers. Does that sound familiar?

    Similarly, the movie industry has been paying attention to it’s own internal voices but not to the voice of it’s customers. And now there is competition for our entertainment dollars.
    Virus Marketing (which is one of your suggestions) is not going to get more people into movie theatres any more than “rebates” and “gas cards” get people to buy products customers don’t want.

    I can assure you of this – produce a good product and people will pay a fair price for it.

    I’ll tell ya what, here’s a good idea for you: How about you form a movie production company here in Michigan. We have lots of hard-working people who will compete for those jobs. We have plenty of big buildings to create indoor sets and use CGI for the rest. Production can run nearly year-round because without the distraction of nice weather – shows can create more content.
    But in order to make it work, you have to start by structuring the company as a business – with business people at the help. Not with “entertainment” people. This problem Hollywood faces is similar to the problems of the US Auto Industry in this way too. We have gone through cycles where we put an “engineer” in charge and the company would make exciting products but lose money. So we would switch to a “bean counter” and the company would make a profit but have boring products.

    Does this seem familiar to Hollywood’s current problem? Lots of incentives to purchase the product? Lots of creative output but nobody holding the purse-strings?

    I’ve read that some of the best “inventions” are where someone applies a concept from one field into an entirely different field. Well, here’s an idea and a chance to apply it. Study what the non-US auto companies have done to become such juggernaughts in the US auto industry. Then apply those concepts to the US movie industry.

    Good luck.
    I look forward to sitting in a theatre someday, enjoying your success.

    Comment by _Jon — July 24, 2006 @ 8:46 am

63. Idea #1:
    Have your engineering staff devise a mobile movie theatre. Whether by land, sea, or air… as long as you make the setup of the theatre itself as “cool” and as RubeGoldbergish as possible, that, itself, will become part of the show — and the public knows a good show when they see one. Strike one and only one print of a given movie, then have your mobile theatre tour the U.S. — if not the world — with it before the “real” run. Gasoline is not cheap right now, of course, but I bet that changes in a hurry once we put down the insurgency in Iraq.
    * * *
    Idea #2:
    Bring back the serial. Produce an action-heavy/FX-heavy/funny/weird serial, have each chapter play before an at least semi-appropriate new feature, and of course don’t release the serial on DVD until all the chapters have been shown theatrically. You might have noticed that quality special effects keep getting more affordable. You also might have noticed that people have been spotted paying for just the trailer of a much-anticipated movie and then walking out. In this way, you may well get the same people coming out to see 12 or 14 or 18 of your movies instead of just one. Since the Landmark audience tends to skew older, you might find it a fine idea to produce the first new Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers serial in about 60 years.

    Comment by Jack Maxfield — July 24, 2006 @ 8:58 am

64. I think we have to look at the world of sports entertainment to guide us in this process. So many sporting events now are just one piece of a much larger puzzle around them. Take a look at few examples.

    College Football- We no longer arrive at the game 30 before it starts then leave for home after the final second. It is an entire day’s event. RV’s role in the night before. There’s food, recreation, pre-game rituals. The stuff around the game has become bigger than the game. But thats okay, it still helps college football.

    NASCAR- Same thing on even an bigger scale. People arrive days before the event, campout, eat food. Some people do not even go to the acutal race, but watch it from their motorhome. Again, great for NASCAR.

    This idea also hold true for other entertainment venues. People and families want the “big” event, lots of things to do, see, eat, experience. Festivals, fairs, amusement parks, water parks, theme parks, all day events. That’s where the money is being spent.

    So, the big question is- How do we take this philosophy and tie it into movies.

    First, it is already being done in the form of film festivals. Film Festivals, once for the wierd, odd, indie crowd, are now become more mainstream. However, we’re not taking about more film festivals as being the solution.

    The answer is in how we surround the movie with things that attract people to see the film. This is where a radical approach needs to happen. The stand alone theater is outdated. Theaters need to attach themselves to other entertainment venues, and I’m not talking about a mall. Imagine if the major theme and water parks had large theaters within thier walls and were part of the park experience. A family walks around in the heat for 5 or 6 hours doing the rides. The kids are getting cranky and the parents are hot. Maybe it’s time to hit the theater in the park to see the new Cars movie. I know some parks already have a theater or two, but that’s not what I’m talking about. This would be an entire theater complex with all the new releases, not a movie about the history of bubble gum.

    The bottom line is there has to be an attraction for the family. There has to be more. It has to be part of an “all day event.”

    Just my thoughts.

    Comment by Scott Engbrecht — July 24, 2006 @ 9:17 am

65. Comments 59. and 63. are on the right track (try to use a market mechanism to determine the correct pricing for a ticket), but haven’t gone into enough detail to come up with a workable solution.

    If we are looking at the movie theater business as a revenue-maximizing problem (and assume more-or-less fixed marketing costs), one obvious potential solution is to use a multi-unit auction format that attempts to maximize the revenue from each screening of a movie, rather than maximizing the revenue per ticket. Movie seats are perishable items, so (within limits) it makes sense to try and fill the theater for every screening. Of course, filling the theater also increases the number of people that have seen the movie and can generate buzz around it.

    The fairest multi-unit auction (and the one with the best chance of filling the theater) would work as follows: assume a screening with n seats. Customers bid by indicating how much they’d be willing to pay for a ticket to that screening. Then you take the nth highest bid, and everyone who bid *above* that number gets a ticket, at the price of the nth bid.

    Assume a theater with three seats. Ten people enter bids for tickets, at $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, and $10. We take the third bid from the top ($8), and the top three bidders pay $8 each for tickets (and no one pays more than he/she bid). We now have revenue of $24, more than the revenue ($18) of pricing tickets at $9 (we have only two people willing to pay that price, so we won’t sell all the seats). Lowering the price to $7 makes no sense, as we can already fill the theater at $8 a ticket. If we have five seats to sell, the price per ticket is $6, which although lower than our original $8 ticket, still yields more revenue ($30 for five tickets) than the $8 price ($24 because we sell only three of our five seats).

    A multi-unit auction format also solves the problem of what to charge for matinee tickets, what to charge for tickets after a movie has been in the theaters for a while, how to maximize revenue for the opening week-end, etc.

    Obviously there are issues with this plan, among them the simple fact that it might be hard to explain how the auction works to the average consumer. But if used for select screenings (especially for geek-friendly movies), I think it’d be worth a try (and just the buzz from the first auction could help promote the film).

    Comment by Jack DeNeut — July 24, 2006 @ 9:18 am

66. The industry is shifting from a ‘one size fits all’ to a niche mentality.

    There is less and less ability for the customer to be forced to adapt to you and more of adapting to what the customers want.

    There will not be a give 20% discount and all will be well answer.

    You will have to make it be different things to different people.

    For example:
    My wife will get a group of friends to see a $1 movie and bring all of the kids at 12:00 in the summer. The movie is not important, it just has to be a kids movie. And actually seeing a movie that the kids have already seen is safer.

    Teenagers, yea they are influenced by advertisement. The latest movie and late at night and a ‘hip’ atmosphere that is important. Thier goal is to get out of the house, and be part of what is exciting.

    When we go on a date night, there are several different attractions. The whole goal is to get out of the house. Sometimes a quiet evening with not much concern for the movie, and sometimes as group, sometimes we go for a specific movie.

    Other groups that we are involved in would be a huge oppertunity to go see something relavant to that group.

    Comment by Mike — July 24, 2006 @ 9:19 am

67. Mark Cuban, there is no way you will get people like my father out of the house, none. He watches a few movies per month from the comfort of his easy chair and has no interest in social networking, movie theatre memberships, or affiliate promotion. My suggestion is keep movie prices high and to cohabitate a theatre with an office building so as to receive regular rents on the building when movies are not being shown.

    Comment by Earle — July 24, 2006 @ 9:25 am

68. When I was young, movies were not as expensive, and on Saturday afternoon the theater ran 3 of them, back to back. We took the bus or sometimes our parents drove us, and every seat in the theatre was filled. The popcorn and pop was the same price in the theatre that it was outside, or a little, but not much more. Parents dropped their kids off, and did their shopping, and we sat there hugely amused. Your industry has raised your standards so that going to the movies is now an event. To go for a movie and a hamburger costs teenagers $50.00 here in Canada. They can see DVD’s at home so much cheaper. Your industry needs for it to be something lots of people do almost every night. For a while in Canada they had 2 Dollar Tuesdays, they made quite a bit of money, so they raised the prices, and cheap Tuesday dissappeared.
    Take a city, your choice, and run kids movies4 hours worth on Saturday afternoons. Lower the price of candy bars to something like the people pay in the super markets, and the price of pop to something more realistic. Put on movies that the kids know, and sometimes if you have a hot new first run kids movie, toss it in, fill the theatres, and teach young people that this is a good way to spend some time.

    On hot days have heat wave specials where you charge a few dollars for admission and as always make people thing they got a deal on popcorn and soda. Too many people view your food and beverages as a rip off, and well they are, stop being so greedy. Recently there was a heat wave in Ontario Canada, how much money could have been made if during the hottest part of the day the Theaters were running double bills at a reasonable price, heck it’s summer, and it’s hot, how many mom’s would have given anything to have a safe entertaining place to get their kids out of the heat. There should be childrens favourites running every afternoon in every theatre in North America. and they should change every three days so the kids can spend 2 afternoons a week paying you money. Maybe not a lot of money, but you are showing them old favourites, and are already in the black for them. A movie theatre filled with squealing little bums at 3.50 a head Saturday afternoon is better than a theater with 10 people at $12.00

    Good Luck with this, Owning theatres used to be a gold mine, you guys have really screwed it up.

    Comment by Peter — July 24, 2006 @ 9:30 am

69. The issue here is not that new movies suck (they do.) There’s a reason for that…people spend millions on shitty movies every weekend (You can thank the Bays and Ratners for that.) It’s buzz. Plain and simple. I’m not talking about over-the-top spending on McD’s promotions and $10 million trailers. This can be achieved with intelligent promotion to target audiences.

    You’ll see an example of how effective “buzz” is later this summer with “Snakes on a Plane”. Yes, Snakes will probably top $100 mill. in a few weeks with the help on a little thing called the Internet. (I haven’t really seen any promotion for this movie at all) The thing is, internet geeks love getting excited about medocrity. Snakes will not be a ‘good’ movie, but will entertain geeks en masse.

    This model could potentially be applied to every movie. Create a demographic-friendly buzz, and you’ll put assses in your seats. BTW, if it does top 100 million, you owe me a job.

    Go Mavs,
    Geoff

    Comment by Geoff Scott — July 24, 2006 @ 9:31 am

70. I see a theme: Everyone wants you to solve the thing they like least about theaters.

    - bad movies
    - no babysitters
    - ticket prices
    - no “Netflix” like database recording their preferences, predicting movies back to them
    - no streaming release (for those who don’t leave home)

    I hear complex solutions to a simple problem. The problem—no cheap way to market films—is connected to another problem: movie theaters and movie marketing are as focused on community as Wal-Mart. The result is where we’re at today, people go to the theater to connect to beautiful movie stars, not the people around them.

    It wasn’t hard to market films back when theaters were neighborhood hubs for social activity. Neighborhoods have changed but the desire to connect remains. Now we see a trend of people connecting through smaller, tighter groups built around more refined interests. If somebody were to survey, “Where do you connect with your friends?” I don’t think “The local multiplex” would hit even the top ten.

    Imagine ten little theaters packed out with ten different films from all over the spectrum and history, most of them one night events hosted by the person who coordinated and marketed the screening. Why did they coordinate and market a screening? The same reason people sacrifice a Saturday to clean and cook for a party. Imagine theaters returning to their previous state as gathering points for people in relationship. The movie-lovers at the center of those relationships know what their people want to watch and when they want to watch it. So give them what they need (charge them if you want to) and let them do your marketing.

    Your challenge is to build a brand that represents that experience. People’s expectations are jaded toward a multiplex. Change expectations. Don’t nickle and dime ticket prices and online rating systems. Obliterate what people expect to experience from movie theaters, and be something different.

    That’s what we’re working toward at http://spout.com

    Comment by paul@spout — July 24, 2006 @ 9:37 am

71. Lots of great ideas have already been mentioned…the industry doesn’t need a bandaid, it needs to be torn down and reconstructed

    -movie theaters with beer and food (the paramount in Oakland is busy…they even have baby brigade where you can bring your infant on Monday nights)
    -zap cell phones in the theater (legislation to allow them to be used by theater owners)
    -variable pricing – a movie that cost a million to make should not cost as much as a blockbuster
    -reserved seating – charge more for the best tickets and then you don’t have to get there 30 minutes before the show
    -more 2nd run theaters, between first run and dvd/cable release
    -tie movie stubs with discounted purchase of dvd

    I hope these are the ideas you are looking for, because there is no small fix and no amount of social networking is going to get people to movies under the current paradigm.

    Comment by M — July 24, 2006 @ 9:48 am

72. Change 2929 Entertainment and Magnolia Pictures websites into more than just information about upcoming and released films. It should make the process more transparent and interactive. Release information about projects that you are considering and get the feedback from movie fans. Gather opinions about possible cast and crew. Release information about progress as you go and build interest without the advertising hype that often leads to anticipointment.

    Most movie websites are only useful to determine if you want to see a movie after it has been released and you’ve already heard about it. Make your websites into places where people can go to find out what movies are in production and let them have input into the process. That will give them some ownership of the movie and incentive to see the movie when it is released.

    Comment by Steven T. Cameron — July 24, 2006 @ 9:56 am

73. You need better posters. You need dynamic images. You need trailers that properly tease people into the theater.

    What’s the biggest film going right now? Snakes on a Plane. Why? Because the poster looks great with the snakes wrapped around the plane. The trailer teases us with snakes on a plane.

    Here’s another thought – dress up your theaters to excite folks to come down and see that film that you own. Look at what Hitchcock did to theaters for Psycho.

    Arresting images. Teasing trailers and an atmosphere that screams “Be Here Now!” Don’t appeal to the old people. They’ll come if they come. Don’t appeal to families. They always complain about why Hollywood doesn’t make nice simple family films and then they don’t show up (outside of the blockbusters). Appeal to the people in your theaters. Bring ‘em back, alive.

    Quit being polite with your ad campaigns. Sam Arkoff didn’t make AIP work by being polite. Don’t be afraid to be a carny. Temptation isn’t a bad thing.

    What could I do for HDNet? Review materials and scream “And I’m going to withdraw $10 from my kid’s college fund for this!” Don’t play it safe and normal. People can stay it home and play it safe and normal. And those are the people you don’t need to appeal to.

    Comment by Joe Corey — July 24, 2006 @ 9:57 am

74. How about a club and membership account. For $19.99/month or $3.99 per DVD, you can join and get the latest movie releases automatically sent to your home (mail date is each Tuesday). The DVD is a special technology that allows you to watch the DVD twice and then recycle the disc. No need to ship the disc back. It’s fully recyclable. Plus, the disc does not need to be sent back to get new movies. If you can watch the movie now, or simply store the disc until it’s convenient to watch. People don’t have to leave the house OR spend a fortune.

    Comment by DVD Dude — July 24, 2006 @ 10:01 am

75. Don’t charge for showings on opening weekend.

    Or, better yet, go direct to the public on the internet, bypassing the theaters for a few weeks.

    Comment by Jeremy Zawodny — July 24, 2006 @ 10:20 am

76. Mark its like this (and if someone has already mentioned it, I apologize, there are just too many other comments to read): Its all about radio. First of all radio is free, it doesn’t cost you anything except for time. Get actors, directors, producers, to go on air and promote the movie. Will Ferrill has been doing it to promote his new movie and it really can be done with any movie. You can even give stations movie premiere passes and they will inturn make 30 second promos for the movie or 10 second liners. Clearly you can’t promote every movie you make on every radio station in the country, but thats where the rest of your marketing team comes in. Target certain demographics and call producers/promotion managers and you have yourself a successful movie premiere.

    Comment by Andrew Brooks — July 24, 2006 @ 10:24 am

77. The Question

    Mark Cuban: – “How do you get people out of the house to see your movie without spending a fortune.”

    The Answer

    The answer to this “Holy Grail” caliber question can be found by breaking down the question to it’s very basic element.

    First, I believe the question is posed incorrectly: It’s not about you “getting” people to do anything. It’s about understanding the process of why people choose / elect to see your product. So, the new question would read…”Why do people get out of the house to see my movie?”

    Possible answers:

    -Because the theatre is the only place to see the movie
    -Because there’s a ton of hype
    -Becasue my friend said it was good
    -Because it was rated well on Yahoo! movies
    -Because it was raining out and there was nothing else to do

    The end goal is to totally eliminate all of the top answers, you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.”

    What would make people finally start to say that about the theatre experience? I think that the process will take some time, but there are number things you can do to jump start the industry, here are a just a handful I think would work immediately:

    1) GPS Meets WI-FI – I am facinated with the idea of using cell GPS data to deliver internet relevent advertising. Example – I walk around or drive around all day. My phone records the GPS coordinates I follow through the day. i get home, hop on the computer..now my cell phone links to the net via wi-fi, all of the gps coordinates are comminicated toan advertising network…maybe “Ad Maverick”…ads begin to display in banners and in search results based on where I was that day…Now imagine the possibilities of incorporating movie trailers and info based on my daily activity.

    2) Integrate Ice Rocket with Your Database System – This is among the most innovative ideas I have. Imagine being able to rank pages on the net, possibly even MySpaces pages, based on the number / or quality of specific movie references. So I could go to ice rocket, select this new movie tab, type in a movie, and research it on ranked pages. The owners of the sites could get some sorta kick-back. This data could then be appended to database info you keep at theaters to specific customers.

    3) If individual customers could benefit from the success of a movie: I am a fan of promotions, I think if done right promotions are the most powerful form of advertising. Instead of spending 40mm advertising a movie, offer a $1-2 cash prize to a couple movie goers. Or a $10k prize awarded to each or your theatres.

    4) If tech savy folks could get an instant (time sensative) upload to IPOD-like devices @ the theatre only: Imagine being able to offer the new release movie for upload only @ the theatre. The movie file could be protected to prevent copying, editing, or distribution. The customer could use a theater kiosk or approach the ticket counter for the uplaod. Pricing would have to be thought about.

    4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks: The number one barrier to theater adoption is prices, Food prices, ticket prices…Encourage people to bring snacks, lower the barrier to adoption. Sure you may lose some consession sales, but you would sell more theater tickets. People already sneak food in as it is…Maybe put up microwaves and allow people to heat-up snacks for a price…

    5) Utilize Database Information to Identify Movie “Influencers” – I like the idea that someone posed on this thread, where you could keep data on customers and use it for personaliztion of services / products. I propose to take this idea 1 step further…use the data to identify “Movie Influencers” and provide the people free access to your theater. These types of people would include: Moms who take their kids to movies 2+ a month, college age kids who visit the theater 2+ a month, etc…

    These are just some initial ideas..but remember you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.” This challenge will take more than one off ideas. It’s going to take a group of creative, imaginitive folks who are driven by the challenge.

    Thanks Mark…good luck

    Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 10:26 am

78. Hey Mark,

    Two thing I love: The Mavs and movies. And yes, I am sucking up! Great challenge though. Coincidentally, I emailed your company on Friday in regards to job opportunities. Anyway, here is my idea.

    The question you posed is a good one and certainly a growing problem for studios and theater chains. How do you get people to spend money and go to the movies? I’m gonna cut to the chase here and just throw it out there. People most likely will spend money when they think they can “win” money. Look at Las Vegas. As the old adage goes, it was not a city built on winners. Also, look at the lottery. Some people spend $100 a week, money they should probably be saving for the kid’s college fund, in hopes of hitting it big. Their thinking is low risk investment, high reward. So how does this tie into the movie biz?

    When someone buys a ticket to a movie, maybe make this online purchases only, their name is submitted into a drawing to win “the Godsend lottery” for example. Give this promotion 3 weeks so your movie has some “legs” and then draw a winner. The first couple could be on your smaller budget movies and might be $25,000-$50,000 just to get the grassroots campaign in motion. As the media begins to catch wind of this and you have your winners proudly displaying a check for $25,000 there will be a public ground swell for your next movie, which will have a bigger payout. The bigger the movie’s budget for you, the more money that’s offered in the “lottery”. Now, I realize the word “lottery” might be illegal in some states so week can call it “contest”, “windfall”, sweepstakes”, whatever….It’s the like the Golden Ticket in Willy Wonka…

    It’s a win win for everyone. Quality entertainment and a chance to win big $$$ for the consumer, theater chains are packed and your company makes money and gets publicity before, during and after the movie’s release.

    Honestly Mark, this is the way to go. I have lots of little things that would go into this concept. If you’re interested in expanding this let me know.

    Thanks,
    Craig

    Comment by Craig — July 24, 2006 @ 10:27 am

79. Mark, I would say to increase more people coming to movies, make the movies more interactive. Meaning make the audience part of the movie… Think Treasure Hunter, but in a movie.. During the pre release of any movie, inform the public that they have to look for clues in the movie to solve a particular question or complete a particular task related too the movie.

    Each ticket could be pre printed with a registration code inviting the user to sign up and answer the question, (crack the case so to speak). Instant Participation. Extend the movie experience online, consumers will continue to play along with various tasks. For example, for those of us who have seen the Pirates of the Carribean, we know how it ends, but wouldn’t it be cool if you could go online and contine the quest for Jack Sparrow?

    The studio could feed the consumers trivia and clues to his whereabouts encouraging them to “find” jack, the only way they find out what truly happens is by seeing the sequel!Movie goers who have played along online will be hungry to see if they won, or how smart they were… Do you see where I’m going with this?

    Get Back to me, I have a dream! Do you?

    Comment by Steffon Brown — July 24, 2006 @ 10:28 am

80. Embed your movie company in a larger company that delivers the most lucrative complements.

    Specifically, a company that:

    * delivers a public website that facilitates the production, distribution and monetization of video content

    * leverages the website and proprietary content (e.g., movies) to establish the most liquid transparent online market for the advertisement spaces on single-creator media (e.g., blogs, podcasts)

    * leverages this market to establish the most liquid online market for customized education and career services (CECS)

    Of course, the ad-space market will enable precise movie-ad buys, and otherwise create enormous buzz for your movies in the blogosphere. The CECS market is likely to be the next huge online market, not least because the CECS industry can be expected to create millions of good jobs for U.S. residents, and these job-holders can be expected to dramatically increase educational and economic opportunity for all.

    Much more about the above is online at http://landof.opportunitv.com.

    Thanks kindly for your consideration.

    Best,

    Frank Ruscica

    Comment by Frank Ruscica — July 24, 2006 @ 10:28 am

81. I’m not going into any long rant about my personal views on the subject, I’m just gonna tell you about someone already having success. The Alamo Drafthouse 3 hours south of you in Austin, TX, http://www.drafthouse.com/. This is a theatre that allows you to eat dinner and drink a beer while you watch a movie, they have very unique screenings and really enhances the movie experience, they’re Downtown Austin location is legendary. They have opened new theatres and are thriving while most Movie Theatres have just upped the price of popcorn.

    Comment by Matthew Dinan — July 24, 2006 @ 10:32 am

82. movie-going and theaters have become the expected. just as everything, at some time, becomes just another part of our complex lives, movies have done the same. there is nothing in the experience of going to the theater that attracts people anymore. only a truly hyped, one-a-year-type movie can still do that. otherwise, it’s the same experience you’ve been having your entire life. i have myself become bored with the drive to the theater, buying a ticket, sitting, watching, then leaving. and i absolutely love movies. but, now, i would rather watch at home. a place where expected is, well, expected.

    setting that stage, my suggestion for getting people to go see movies is to stop expecting the same formula to keep working. theaters don’t offer enough excitement in repetition, such as sports, to continue to bank on things.

    we need different foods. different attitudes. different layouts. different emotions from the experience. actually, it isn’t even an experience anymore. it’s a routine. that needs to break. people need to feel, not just act.

    movies are still pretty decent if you filter through all the crap. it’s the seats we sit in that don’t work anymore.

    Comment by timmothy — July 24, 2006 @ 10:33 am

83. Do not charge an admission fee to the movie. Setup the theater, so that people are forced to go through the snack bar and if they buy something, the movie will be free to them. Some people will buy the cheapest thing to see the movie for free, but you’ll make up for it in sales from the families that overindulge. Movie theaters make all of their money from the snack bar, anyway – right?

    OR

    Have theaters pay an “entry” fee into the movies and let them watch as many movies as they want. You won’t make money from the 13 year old boys that can sit through 4 movies and not spend any money, but you’ll clean-up on people willing to sit through 2 movies because they’ll inevitably get hungry and hit up the snack bar.

    Comment by Chris Brass — July 24, 2006 @ 10:34 am

84. My idea only markets one particular type of film but it benefits all films in general.

    I believe there should be seperate, smaller theatre venues that market directly to kids. Shows like Madagascar, Cars, Over the Hedge, should be taken out of that larger multiplexes and shown in these children’s only theatres.

    You could add arcades, and pizza places, or whatever you want to it, but it has to be kid friendly. At least parents will know what they are getting when they drop cash down at places like these.

    How does that benefit other theatres? Well, it takes the screaming kids out and puts them in one concentrated area where they can act like kids and not irritate older people.
    It also allows the theatre to broaden their spectrum of movies without having to waste three partially empty theatres showing Hoodwinked at 9:00pm. They can screen movies like “An Inconvienent Truth” or whatever.

    It’s definately not the norm, but I think it could work.

    dan

    Comment by dan — July 24, 2006 @ 10:37 am

85. Considering I stumbled across this posting and I don’t live anywhere near the Dallas/Mav fan area I’m only going off the top of my head hoping all them money I’m spending on this so-called education is paying off:

    * Similar to another post, forget about the movie. Just like MTV and VH1 doesn’t focus on the videos or nightclubs focus on drink specials alone (at least really successful ones). Its all about the buzz and the atmosphere created. Think of movies as a stock portfolio, you just don’t dump all your money into one stock…unless of course your rich and this is 2004 and you know there’s a Google IPO coming up.

    But your loaded so that was a moot point.

    Now I’m just typing to be typing. Damn I hate when that happens!

    But I digress. Okay…um…..

    * Target younger crowds in unique ways. Toss out some viral marketing for the movie, make a game/contest of it in collaboration with the studios. Create buzz.

    * Use alternative methods of affiliating. Utilize Facebook to target collge students (we love Facebook as much as we do MySpace).

    * At my college (Wichita State University) we have student ID’s that are stored value cards that can be used at the bookstore, vending machine, copiers and at some off campus businesses as well. Why not get in on the game. Offer a discount on tickets to students using their stored card. This might be attractive to both colleges and film studios as a way to curb illegal downloading and increase movie interest. The student gets a discount and they are more apt to be involved online which is good for you.

    Plus, the stored card is almost like a credit card so no physical money is ever seen. That works great for most businesses as the customer never connects a piece of plastic with actual money..out of sight out of mind.

    I’d go on since I could use a great paying job after I graduate next year, but I think I’m the only one actually reading this.

    Comment by Rob — July 24, 2006 @ 10:37 am

86. OK – I’m sick of IT services and outsourcing and would love to get into another business.

    On the actual movie side – invest in new, innovative ideas, not predictable “blockbuster” material. Make thoughtful movies that don’t require a huge budget. I don’t know what “Wordplay” cost to make, but it was 100X better than “Superman Returns.” Any movie that is too aggressively marketed through mainstream media raises suspicion from me, as I always know that the studio is throwing good money after bad trying to get butts in the seats of a terrible movie. Smaller well crafted pictures generate their buzz on the festival circuit and get noticed without too much money thrown behind them. The bloggers and media then catch on and pump the movie up further. I would focus on those. I don’t think the solution lies on the marketing side, I think the economics can change more readily on the production side.

    On the theater side, the experience is too generic. The popcorn and candy are the same everywhere. You could be in a theater in Detroit or Miami and they would feel exactly the same. Theaters need to raise the bar for the prices we pay. Alamo Drafthouse in Austin has it right. You can get a bottle of wine and a decent meal with a full service waitstaff. But if you don’t want to pay for all that, you can just order water and still enjoy the experience. I hate going to other theaters now because I’m used to settling in well ahead of the movie, watching the hilarious and quirky shorts they run before the show, and ordering a pinot noir and a pizza to snack on during the show. Even if there’s nothing great showing, I still like to go because it’s a true escape. Other theaters with sticky floors and the piped in popcorn stench pale in comparison. And admission to the Drafthouse is the same price as admission to Generiplex 12.

    Comment by Jon Gray — July 24, 2006 @ 10:38 am

87. The Question

    Mark Cuban: – “How do you get people out of the house to see your movie without spending a fortune.”

    The Answer

    The answer to this “Holy Grail” caliber question can be found by breaking down the question to it’s very basic element.

    First, I believe the question is posed incorrectly: It’s not about you “getting” people to do anything. It’s about understanding the process of why people choose / elect to see your product. So, the new question would read…”Why do people get out of the house to see my movie?”

    Possible answers:

    -Because the theatre is the only place to see the movie
    -Because there’s a ton of hype
    -Becasue my friend said it was good
    -Because it was rated well on Yahoo! movies
    -Because it was raining out and there was nothing else to do

    The end goal is to totally eliminate all of the top answers, you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.”

    What would make people finally start to say that about the theatre experience? I think that the process will take some time, but there are number things you can do to jump start the industry, here are a just a handful I think would work immediately:

    1) GPS Meets WI-FI – I am facinated with the idea of using cell GPS data to deliver internet relevent advertising. Example – I walk around or drive around all day. My phone records the GPS coordinates I follow through the day. i get home, hop on the computer..now my cell phone links to the net via wi-fi, all of the gps coordinates are comminicated toan advertising network…maybe “Ad Maverick”…ads begin to display in banners and in search results based on where I was that day…Now imagine the possibilities of incorporating movie trailers and info based on my daily activity.

    2) Integrate Ice Rocket with Your Database System – This is among the most innovative ideas I have. Imagine being able to rank pages on the net, possibly even MySpaces pages, based on the number / or quality of specific movie references. So I could go to ice rocket, select this new movie tab, type in a movie, and research it on ranked pages. The owners of the sites could get some sorta kick-back. This data could then be appended to database info you keep at theaters to specific customers.

    3) If individual customers could benefit from the success of a movie: I am a fan of promotions, I think if done right promotions are the most powerful form of advertising. Instead of spending 40mm advertising a movie, offer a $1-2 cash prize to a couple movie goers. Or a $10k prize awarded to each or your theatres.

    4) If tech savy folks could get an instant (time sensative) upload to IPOD-like devices @ the theatre only: Imagine being able to offer the new release movie for upload only @ the theatre. The movie file could be protected to prevent copying, editing, or distribution. The customer could use a theater kiosk or approach the ticket counter for the uplaod. Pricing would have to be thought about.

    4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks: The number one barrier to theater adoption is prices, Food prices, ticket prices…Encourage people to bring snacks, lower the barrier to adoption. Sure you may lose some consession sales, but you would sell more theater tickets. People already sneak food in as it is…Maybe put up microwaves and allow people to heat-up snacks for a price…

    5) Utilize Database Information to Identify Movie “Influencers” – I like the idea that someone posed on this thread, where you could keep data on customers and use it for personaliztion of services / products. I propose to take this idea 1 step further…use the data to identify “Movie Influencers” and provide the people free access to your theater. These types of people would include: Moms who take their kids to movies 2+ a month, college age kids who visit the theater 2+ a month, etc…

    These are just some initial ideas..but remember you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.” This challenge will take more than one off ideas. It’s going to take a group of creative, imaginitive folks who are driven by the challenge.

    Thanks Mark…good luck

    Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 10:39 am

88. With the sale of the ticket provide a password to access the movie online. The risk of piracy is already there so the additional risk of people giving passwords out to those who haven’t seen the movie isnt huge. If you’re trying to sell the “movie theater” experience, then this will entice to go to the theater because everyone likes the idea of getting something for free. Now this will inevitably curb dvd sales so maybe make this a limited time password (i.e. good for a month after having bought the ticket) with the option of renewal. The offset lack of cost for producing the DVD v. sustaining a website should help to make up the lost revenue from the loss of DVD sales and the selling/trading of passwords.

    Comment by Jason — July 24, 2006 @ 10:43 am

89. In order for any other type of marketing of a film, other than traditional types, to work successfully, the film has to be something compelling to a target audience.

    Case in point “An Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gore’s global warming seminar committed to film. This movie had virtually no advertising budget and stars someone who’s about as exciting as a Campbell’s soup can, but has now made MANY more times the cost of filming back at the box office, which, based on the number of screens that showed it, is phenomenal.

    Mark, we’re sitting right in the middle of the answer: BLOGS.

    Before “An Inconvenient Truth” was ever shown on a screen, the liberal blogs lit up like a Christmas tree promoting this movie. Without fail, they all linked to the movie’s web site for release dates, to Fandango for ticket availability, to interviews Gore gave about the film. Here’s the kicker: it didn’t cost a dime in the production or promotions budget. The target audience took the promotion of the film and ran with it.

    Any film maker has the advantage right out of the box. He/She knows the subject of the film and the target audience before casting even starts. All you need is one, maybe two people, to identify blogs and web forums that deal either with the subject matter of the film or the target audience of the film, and start the buzz in the Houses of the Interested.

    Here’s another positive offshoot of this approach. When you talk directly to the members of the ticket-buying public about a particular movie, you could very well avoid pre-production mistakes that can kill a film before a frame is shot, like casting the wrong actor or actress for the lead role, picking the wrong director or location for shooting, and on and on.

    This is not to say that you give up control of the film to the public, but if it’s clear that the target audience hates the pre-production choices of your film, no amount of flashy film making or advertising budget is going to rescue your film at the box office from a disinterested public unless the reviews compare the film to “Gone With The Wind” or “Citizen Kane”, which isn’t likely given Hollywood’s current products.

    Comment by J. P. Spencer — July 24, 2006 @ 10:45 am

90. How about different prices for different movies? This is the only business in the world where you charge the same amount regardless of the cost of production. A $150 million movie costs as much to see as a $5 million movie. That’s why $9 million for “Clerks II” is a good take but $8 million for “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” is going to get someone fired. Quit selling BMW’s for the price of VW’s.

    Comment by Tom O'Keefe — July 24, 2006 @ 10:52 am

91. The Question

    Mark Cuban: – “How do you get people out of the house to see your movie without spending a fortune.”

    The Answer

    The answer to this “Holy Grail” caliber question can be found by breaking down the question to it’s very basic element.

    First, I believe the question is posed incorrectly: It’s not about you “getting” people to do anything. It’s about understanding the process of why people choose / elect to see your product. So, the new question would read…”Why do people get out of the house to see my movie?”

    Possible answers:

    -Because the theatre is the only place to see the movie
    -Because there’s a ton of hype
    -Becasue my friend said it was good
    -Because it was rated well on Yahoo! movies
    -Because it was raining out and there was nothing else to do

    The end goal is to totally eliminate all of the top answers, you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.”

    What would make people finally start to say that about the theatre experience? I think that the process will take some time, but there are number things you can do to jump start the industry, here are a just a handful I think would work immediately:

    1) GPS Meets WI-FI – I am facinated with the idea of using cell GPS data to deliver internet relevent advertising. Example – I walk around or drive around all day. My phone records the GPS coordinates I follow through the day. i get home, hop on the computer..now my cell phone links to the net via wi-fi, all of the gps coordinates are comminicated toan advertising network…maybe “Ad Maverick”…ads begin to display in banners and in search results based on where I was that day…Now imagine the possibilities of incorporating movie trailers and info based on my daily activity.

    2) Integrate Ice Rocket with Your Database System – This is among the most innovative ideas I have. Imagine being able to rank pages on the net, possibly even MySpaces pages, based on the number / or quality of specific movie references. So I could go to ice rocket, select this new movie tab, type in a movie, and research it on ranked pages. The owners of the sites could get some sorta kick-back. This data could then be appended to database info you keep at theaters to specific customers.

    3) If individual customers could benefit from the success of a movie: I am a fan of promotions, I think if done right promotions are the most powerful form of advertising. Instead of spending 40mm advertising a movie, offer a $1-2 cash prize to a couple movie goers. Or a $10k prize awarded to each or your theatres.

    4) If tech savy folks could get an instant (time sensative) upload to IPOD-like devices @ the theatre only: Imagine being able to offer the new release movie for upload only @ the theatre. The movie file could be protected to prevent copying, editing, or distribution. The customer could use a theater kiosk or approach the ticket counter for the uplaod. Pricing would have to be thought about.

    4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks: The number one barrier to theater adoption is prices, Food prices, ticket prices…Encourage people to bring snacks, lower the barrier to adoption. Sure you may lose some consession sales, but you would sell more theater tickets. People already sneak food in as it is…Maybe put up microwaves and allow people to heat-up snacks for a price…

    5) Utilize Database Information to Identify Movie “Influencers” – I like the idea that someone posed on this thread, where you could keep data on customers and use it for personaliztion of services / products. I propose to take this idea 1 step further…use the data to identify “Movie Influencers” and provide the people free access to your theater. These types of people would include: Moms who take their kids to movies 2+ a month, college age kids who visit the theater 2+ a month, etc…

    These are just some initial ideas..but remember you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.” This challenge will take more than one off ideas. It’s going to take a group of creative, imaginitive folks who are driven by the challenge.

    Thanks Mark…good luck

    Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 10:55 am

92. Bypass the theaters.

    Comment by Peter — July 24, 2006 @ 10:58 am

93. Traditional TV ads are dead. National print ads are dying rather quickly and internet adds are not that far behind. Our attention span is damn near zero. My suggestion is not rocket science: product placement.

    We still watch our favourite shows with a passion. It’s not cheap, but getting the movie written into a script would capture the audience’s attention better than any other means currently available. Good shows always lead to water cooler talk. And talk builds to hype.

    Comment by C Smirl — July 24, 2006 @ 11:06 am

94. I took my 5 year old to see Cars on the Weekend. Not the best experience.

    1. Movie was mediocre. (Make Better Movies)
    2. I’m 44. The seating is brutal. I need a recliner. Son could barely see over the seat in front. (Provide better seating)
    3. We smuggled drinks and food because the prices at the concession are ridiculous and the food is not nutiritious for kids. Not that I can’t afford them, I just refuse to get ripped off to buy garbage. (Create a value experience instead of a rip-off experience).
    4. If you think you are paying too much to market the movie,then take my approach to the concession stand. Don’t spend as much. I doubt it makes much of a difference. Word of mouth helps movies gain an audience, so if it’s good, you should do well.
    5. Make HD a satellite station like Sirius or XM does for Quality radio content.
    6. I have a Home Theatre which is great for watching Movies and the Mavs vs. Suns. Who wants to go to the movies anyhow. Beam your movies to me at home for a reasonable price. That’s the future, not the theatre.

    Comment by Dave Edgar — July 24, 2006 @ 11:10 am

95. See my response here:

    http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView?showComments=true&entry=3331192331

    Comment by James Robertson — July 24, 2006 @ 11:13 am

96. Are there any real salespeople left in America? Or do most people expect their business to advertise, take on risks, lower their prices, and get ripe customers in the door for them. For many industries (homebuilding, automotive, movies), the marketing hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. Sure they all have websites and have tried grass roots marketing, but why not create a culture of sales and excellence in the industry. Don’t hire ticket takers in the theaters, create ticket sales agents. Depending on ability of the agent, it could be the best paying job any 20 year old could have…a commission based sales job that fosters entrepreneurial thinking and excitement. Some standard marketing will always have to take place to legitimize your product (tv ads, website, etc.), but your real volume numbers should come from your sales team. They should be the ones thinking about the target market in each area. They should be placing ads at the local restaurants (dinner and a movie crowd). At each cinema there should be a Director of Sales and Marketing (training, coaching, increasing revenue numbers.) Your sales cost will be a variable percentage of revenue, but if your movie can’t sell then your people don’t make commission. You won’t run into the high sales expenses on your lower revenue projects (Waterworld).

    If you think of all the best R.O.I. films in the past few years (Super Size Me, Napoleon Dynamite, etc.) all were grass routes, word-of-mouth type of films. Why does marketing always have to be the same exercise…maybe everyone is wrong. Give your sales people a thumb drive with a Podcast on it so that they can give it away. Instead of desserts and cocktail menus, partner with Olive Garden, TGIF, etc. to place movie cards on the tables. Have your marketing explain to people what emotions they will feel, what they will learn, why it is worth their time instead of telling them that your movie is more awesome than the next. How can your movie help the consumer escape their reality?

    Lastly, with HBO and PPV, the movie experience has to sell an experience, not just a movie. The NFL doesn’t sell out because people can see the game better, the fans love the energy. Only sign your theaters up for the best movies (don’t sell yourself short), charge premium pricing (possibly more money for center seats), and be better than everyone else. However, you must live up to the hype by providing the best projectors (HD?), the best sound, the best acoustics, and the best movies. Then make your environment different by charging your employees to sell and be attentive to every customer. There is plenty of money to be spent in entertainment (price is NOT the issue – anyone who wants cheaper tickets, you don’t want in your theater because they may pay for their ticket, but not your food). There are millions of wealthy, discerning baby-boomers coming…and they want upscale, quality items to spend their money on. Many of the products they value are due to quality, not price…Ipod, BMW, NetFlix, HDTV, etc. You have to create a culture of sales to drive that value.

    Comment by Jarod — July 24, 2006 @ 11:15 am

97. Hollywood faces 2 major challenges: 1) How movies are made and 2) How they are distributed.

    1) How movies are made:

    With regards to marketing you say, “If it’s been done before, we are doing it.” The problem with all of the marketing ideas you mention is that most of these things are done AFTER the movie is in the can. A small group puts something together and they hope like hell that it will appeal to a fair number of people so they can get their investment out of it and hopefully make a buck or two. Kind of like picking your investments by throwing darts at the Wall Street Journal stock quotes pages, eh?

    With the amazing technologies available today, why not allow people to participate in the ENTIRE movie making process? If I am made to feel like I am a part of the process, I am more likely to see the end product and will also tell more people about it. Just think about the buzz on myspace.com this could create. Initially, you can survey people online as to what movies they saw in the last several years, which ones they liked and why. Also, just as importantly, what didn’t they like. If the survey casts a wide enough net, you’ll see patterns/themes in the data that can give you some good guidelines. Then you can ask (broken out by demographic), what type of movie would they like to go see? What book have they read that they think would make a great movie? The survey serves 2 purposes: first it allows you to get inside their heads and find out what they are truly interested in and second, it achieves buy-in on the part of the participant. No production company, to my knowledge, is truly reaching out to their audiences for their opinion and guidance. Many people have stopped going to the movies because Hollywood has lost touch with many demographic segments here in the USA.

    When writing the script, it can be a completely open effort: post drafts as the storyline is developed for people to critique. If opening it up to the world is a bit too radical, then you could recruit a select number of people (a fair sized group within the targeted demographic) to participate in the review sessions, but allow everyone to see the progress. Several books have been written this way and even though all the content was posted online throughout the creative process, many of them sold very well. Robert Scoble and Seth Godin are two such authors.

    As the movie is filmed, you could post clips for viewer feedback prior to them getting to the editing room. Should this love scene be cut? Which ending would they prefer? Allow them to determine what is important and what is not. Kind of like American Idol, movie style.

    I can already hear the cries from Hollywood about losing creative control and how films will lose their artistic qualities. Maybe they are right… but I think if they had to choose between a solid hit, or an artistic bust, they’d choose the hit.

    2) How movies are distributed:

    Sadly, I’m convinced the theater will slowly go the route of the buggy whip maker. I don’t think they will completely go out of business, but their numbers will decrease dramatically over the next 10 years due to technology. Tivo, 60” HD TVs, Netflix… they are collectively chipping away box office revenue and will continue to do so at an increasing pace. And why not? Over the next few years, the number of homes that will have “personal theaters” will dramatically increase. Why pay 8 to 10 bucks a head to watch a movie that I have to drive 20 minutes to see (particularly when gas is $3/gallon)? Once there, I have to buy overpriced popcorn and soda, sit in a room with a sticky floor and listen to that annoying Roger Ebert wannabe 2 rows behind me that comments on every scene. No thanks. I’ll gladly wait 6 months and rent the DVD, sit in the comfort of my living room with my family, pop my microwave popcorn and sit in my home theater chair 10 feet from the large screen TV where I can rewind if I missed a line, pause for bio breaks or fast forward through scenes I deem inappropriate for my kids.

    As digital movie technology is widely adapted, there is no reason movies can’t be directly sent to my home. Movie theaters will have to come up with value-added features to get me to make the trek. And no, scanning me with a hand held metal detector isn’t what I have in mind…

    Comment by Mark Vay — July 24, 2006 @ 11:19 am

98. to JMedeiros, re 4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks:

    Movie theatres make almost all of their money by concession sales. The vast majority of theatres only keep 5-30% of the ticket price. So they would have to sell a phenomenal amount of tickets to make up for what they lose in popcorn sales.

    Comment by futureoffilm — July 24, 2006 @ 11:21 am

99. The problem has nothing to do with the movies or the marketing, it’s that the theater experience isn’t worth what you pay for it, and it’s not much better than what you can do at home.

    I know Cuban is working on the distribution problem already, and I think that if the studios are really subsidizing digital projection installations, that cost is well on its way to being reduced. There’s some “found” money in the long term.

    But when I show up at a theater, I want some value in the experience. Give me value. Give me real dinner food, a glass of wine or beer, fewer ads (previews are OK). That value proposition right now is that I pay my ten bucks and get to see a movie on a big screen from a scratched up print. Respect the value of my time and dollars, and I’ll spend every week.

    Theaters were on the right track a decade ago when they started building stadium seating. It improved the experience. Beyond that, the focus shifted to squeezing out every dollar from you in popcorn and soda. The truth is, I’m OK with spending more on food if it doesn’t suck. It’s why I’ll pig out at a Disney park.

    You don’t have to spend a ton on marketing the movies, you need to give us reasons to go to the theater. Create value in the experience with the food, beverage and environment. Ask customers what they want! Why is that so hard to figure out?

    One side note, it would help if Hollywood would reverse its blockbuster-only movement. Nearly every film fills some niche. I’d go see a nature doc with a couple dozen other people if that previously mentioned experience was still top notch.

    Comment by Jeff — July 24, 2006 @ 11:22 am

100. Change 2929 Entertainment and Magnolia Pictures websites into interactive, fan-inclusive sites. Release information about projects that are being considered and encourage discussions of these projects and the cast and crew that movie fans would like to see involved in the project. As progress is made, release information about it. Release early renderings of posters or other advertising materials, early film clips or even audition clips. You could consider allowing a small part be cast by a vote of the fans. Give the fans a feel of ownership and they will have a vested interest in seeing the movie when it is released.

     Comment by Steven T. Cameron — July 24, 2006 @ 11:23 am

101. as you said before getting people to go the the theatere is a chellenge itslef. once you get them there, of the money they’re paying to see the movie the studio is only getting about $4 of it. my idea is not so much a solution for marketing but rather a solutuon as to how the movie is delivered to people. with iptv we have all sorts of ways to deliver media content right to the home. so let’s say you charge anywhere from 15-20 dollars for a pay per view type viewing of a new movie release. let’s say 3-4 people watch the movie on the same TV so although that’s half of what 4 people would be paying to go see a movie in a theater it’s the same ammount of profit for the studio because they’re not paying the theater. we have the technology to deiver this content quickly and securely so that the studios don’t have to worry about pirating and such. this obviously doesn’t solve the marketing problem however, i think you would have to market much less to convince people to push a few buttons on their remote to view a new release. as apposed to convincing them to get in their car, drive to the theater, wait in line and spend $10 a pop to see a movie in a crowded room with a bunch of strangers. just a though and kind of an inderect answer to your queston but a reponse no he less.

     Comment by john smith — July 24, 2006 @ 11:24 am

102. Here’s the solution. Gas stations charge the bare minimum over the cost of gas to get people to go to their station. They make their bucks on sodas, hot dogs, beer, candy, etc. Movie theaters should cut entrance prices dramatically, cut out the excessive previews that bug the crap out of people, and jack up the price of popcorn, sodas, etc. bundled in a “value pack” to force consumers to buy more than they intended. Theaters who do these simple things will lure unknowing consumers with the cheap entrance fee and then zap them at the snack bar. Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask for more ideas. I’m a retired fire captain with a host of good ideas. Frank

     Comment by Frank Morales — July 24, 2006 @ 11:24 am

103. Mark, I have a couple of ideas:

     1.Free Promotional DVD’s at your Mavs games. Including trailers not seen on TV.
     2.Movies need a TV hook. Blair witch did that to me. One day I’m watching some documentary about Blair witch, at this point I didn’t know it was fiction, the TV show made it look like some real strange phenom, so the next day I went to the movie.
     3. Cell phone interaction, promos, special deals…etc text messaged to customers. Maybe have a voting system where people rank whether they like the movie and it text messages their friends with similar interests.

     Comment by Jason Bennett — July 24, 2006 @ 11:27 am

104. I don’t know about most movies until they’re suddenly thrown in my face weeks before arrival and at that point they usually tell me too much of the story.

     It doesn’t seem like there’s one answer to the problem. Marketing (like most things) needs to be less linear. You need to identify your audience, commit to them, figure out how to reach them, and then do it. Then start over with the next movie.

     Most movies are mass marketed and that makes little sense given that each movie should be it’s own experience, with it’s own audience. Even the movies that speak to everyone (and some art does try) does it for different reasons.

     I realize that’s not the quick fix magic answer we’re looking for but I don’t think a business (that should be) based in creativity and artistic vision should expect cookie cutter solutions.

     Comment by Nick — July 24, 2006 @ 11:30 am

105. Mark, I have a couple of ideas:

     1.Free Promotional DVD’s at your Mavs games. Including trailers not seen on TV.
     2.Movies need a TV hook. Blair witch did that to me. One day I’m watching some documentary about Blair witch, at this point I didn’t know it was fiction, the TV show made it look like some real strange phenom, so the next day I went to the movie.
     3. Cell phone interaction, promos, special deals…etc text messaged to customers. Maybe have a voting system where people rank whether they like the movie and it text messages their friends with similar interests.

     Comment by Jason Bennett — July 24, 2006 @ 11:31 am

106. The Question

     Mark Cuban: – “How do you get people out of the house to see your movie without spending a fortune.”

     The Answer

     The answer to this “Holy Grail” caliber question can be found by breaking down the question to it’s very basic element.

     First, I believe the question is posed incorrectly: It’s not about you “getting” people to do anything. It’s about understanding the process of why people choose / elect to see your product. So, the new question would read…”Why do people get out of the house to see my movie?”

     Possible answers:

     -Because the theatre is the only place to see the movie
     -Because there’s a ton of hype
     -Becasue my friend said it was good
     -Because it was rated well on Yahoo! movies
     -Because it was raining out and there was nothing else to do

     The end goal is to totally eliminate all of the top answers, you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.”

     What would make people finally start to say that about the theatre experience? I think that the process will take some time, but there are number things you can do to jump start the industry, here are a just a handful I think would work immediately:

     1) GPS Meets WI-FI – I am facinated with the idea of using cell GPS data to deliver internet relevent advertising. Example – I walk around or drive around all day. My phone records the GPS coordinates I follow through the day. i get home, hop on the computer..now my cell phone links to the net via wi-fi, all of the gps coordinates are comminicated toan advertising network…maybe “Ad Maverick”…ads begin to display in banners and in search results based on where I was that day…Now imagine the possibilities of incorporating movie trailers and info based on my daily activity.

     2) Integrate Ice Rocket with Your Database System – This is among the most innovative ideas I have. Imagine being able to rank pages on the net, possibly even MySpaces pages, based on the number / or quality of specific movie references. So I could go to ice rocket, select this new movie tab, type in a movie, and research it on ranked pages. The owners of the sites could get some sorta kick-back. This data could then be appended to database info you keep at theaters to specific customers.

     3) If individual customers could benefit from the success of a movie: I am a fan of promotions, I think if done right promotions are the most powerful form of advertising. Instead of spending 40mm advertising a movie, offer a $1-2 cash prize to a couple movie goers. Or a $10k prize awarded to each or your theatres.

     4) If tech savy folks could get an instant (time sensative) upload to IPOD-like devices @ the theatre only: Imagine being able to offer the new release movie for upload only @ the theatre. The movie file could be protected to prevent copying, editing, or distribution. The customer could use a theater kiosk or approach the ticket counter for the uplaod. Pricing would have to be thought about.

     4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks: The number one barrier to theater adoption is prices, Food prices, ticket prices…Encourage people to bring snacks, lower the barrier to adoption. Sure you may lose some consession sales, but you would sell more theater tickets. People already sneak food in as it is…Maybe put up microwaves and allow people to heat-up snacks for a price…

     5) Utilize Database Information to Identify Movie “Influencers” – I like the idea that someone posed on this thread, where you could keep data on customers and use it for personaliztion of services / products. I propose to take this idea 1 step further…use the data to identify “Movie Influencers” and provide the people free access to your theater. These types of people would include: Moms who take their kids to movies 2+ a month, college age kids who visit the theater 2+ a month, etc…

     These are just some initial ideas..but remember you want people to say, “I went to the movie because I needed to see the movie and it’s what I wanted to do.” This challenge will take more than one off ideas. It’s going to take a group of creative, imaginitive folks who are driven by the challenge.

     Thanks Mark…good luck

     Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 11:31 am

107. There’s obviously no easy “solution” to this, but looking at the demands of the general public these days, everything is about convenience. People multitask on their Blackberries and Qs. Kids watch movies, listen to music, and play games on their cell phones and UMPCs. Therefore, movie companies need to get off their high horses in assuming that they are so mighty and glorious that the people will come to them–they need to bring their product to the people.
     Take as a prime example the Lexus commercial in which the many waiters line up in front of the SUV, showing off their goods for the folks in the car to decide upon. This is how consumers work these days.
     While I can’t necessarily give specifics on how to capitalize on this idea (maybe hire me first and let me in on what’s in the pipeline), but I sense a revolution is imminent. I haven’t seen a new movie theatre built in years, but millions of Americans are buying TiVos and other television recorders. I believe that these are your new pipeline to Americans. Most are already connected to their cable or sattelite providers, so the issue then becomes how to use that connection to make first-run movies “InDemand” (for those of us in TimeWarner land). People will pay the same money as they would to go to a theatre (say, charge them $15 to hedge the bets that there are likely multiple people watching a TV), but you cut down on the middle-men (making you more money).
     People will still go to the theatres, the allure of the big screen will never die, but Americans will appreciate the convenience offered by being able to view movies on their own screen and on their own time. Plus, if you run ads on these InDemand stations when people haven’t yet ordered the movie, you get free advertising.
     I understand that this means a big change, restructured alliances, and a lot of unhappy movie theatres, but it’s bound to happen sooner or later, and the first people to jump on the idea will reap the most benefit.

     Comment by Ty White — July 24, 2006 @ 11:31 am

108. How about different prices for different movies? This is the only business in the world where you charge the same amount regardless of the cost of production. A $150 million movie costs as much to see as a $5 million movie. That’s why $9 million for “Clerks II” is a good take but $8 million for “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” is going to get someone fired. Quit selling BMW’s for the price of VW’s.

     Comment by Tom O'Keefe — July 24, 2006 @ 11:32 am

109. Read the I-R-O-N-Y email Mark.

     Comment by Aaron — July 24, 2006 @ 11:35 am

110. re 4) If you encouraged People to Bring Their Own snacks:

     Here’s the thing. Look at magazines and radio advertising sales, their based on listenerbase and readership.

     Yes, allowing people to bring their own snacks decreases concession sales a bit (They bring their own snacks anyhow…I’m sure everyone on this thread has), but the amount you can make on advertising, based on the additional eyes would make it worthit…but beyond that, the general idea should be how do we rethink the theatre experience…allowing people to bring food in…would make people feel more at home and it would certainly create a new “feeling” among folks when they think about theaters.

     Image is a huge part of success, I truely think people think of the movie industry in the same shade as used car salesmen. The don’t trust the high prices, rigid format, etc…we need to create a sense of trust and comfort.

     Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 11:39 am

111. In reading your blog entry, I think you are looking for 2 solutions…solutions that appeal to the two Mark Cubans. Mark Cuban the producer who wants to make money on his movies and Mark Cuban the theater owner who wants to make money at his theaters. Both solutions need to resolve the same problem, how to get butts in the seats while spending the least amount of marketing money.

     I will post a few of my ideas and if you’re interested you can email me for the rest of my ideas.

     **Stop showing the whole movie in the trailer. There’s nothing worse than watching what is supposed to be a teaser and having the sinking feeling that you’re either seeing every good action scene or every joke in a movie that’s not coming out for another few months. With every subsequent viewing of that trailer, any piece of me that might have wanted to see the movie dies until I would rather watch Gigli again than see the movie in question.

     **Use the ticket stub as marketing for local merchants. For example, bring in your ticket stub for Pirates of the Caribbean to Red Lobster and get a free appetizer.

     **Eliminate the 2 week movie restriction on passes. My husband and I are thrifty with our money. We often will go to the movies with passes that usually come with the standard restriction of not being able to see a movie unless it’s been out for at least 2 weeks. If we want to watch a new movie, we will often get a ticket for another movie and just sneak over to the movie we want to see. Dishonest? Yes. But I’m sure it happens a lot more than movie studios want to admit. They’re really just shooting themselves in the foot with these restrictions. Remove the restrictions and revenue will go up for new releases.

     **Offer an annual advanced screening membership similar to preview subscriptions offered by local theater companies. There would be a schedule of movies that members could see ahead of the release date if they purchased the membership. By seeing movies ahead of time, your word of mouth buzz increases.

     Not necessarily related to movie marketing, but as a theater owner, this might appeal to you:
     **Offer viewing rooms that would be more like home theaters. These could be rented out like skyboxes at sporting events. Offer premium food, drink and seating.

     Comment by Kim Przytulski — July 24, 2006 @ 2:27 pm

112. I don’t want to “go to the movies”. I want to WATCH a movie.

     Going to the movies means sitting in a dirty, uncomfortable seat. Drinking a $6 pepsi, eating $9 nachos. The kid behind me kicking me in the back of the head; the idiot in front of me with the cell phone that won’t stop ringing. If I have to use the restroom, I can’t pause the movie; if that $6 pepsi is empty, I miss more movie to go refill it (for another $6).

     After all that, my wife & I leave the movie, look at each other, and say “Hm”. Then talk about something else.

     I would pay twice the normal DVD price to have that new release DVD in my hand on “opening day”. Then I can sit back on my couch, pop the movie up on my big screen, drink a 49 cent pepsi, this time with some rum in it, and pause the movie if I need to.

     “Going to the movies” is dead, as dead as buying CDs in a retail store is. Overpriced concessions, rude people, and mediocre product have killed it.

     Comment by Steve Luzynski — July 24, 2006 @ 2:28 pm

113. Our site, prizebook.com is an incentivized traffic venue. We would love to partner up with you guys. We could push anywhere from 500k to 1 million ticket purchases. Is your affiliate program setup and ready to go? I’d like to discuss with this in detail with you.

     Comment by Leo — July 24, 2006 @ 2:32 pm

114. Create an interactive opportunity and tie in prizes on both the local and national level

     For instance on the national level, after watching the movie, visit the website, enter in your ticket stub number or whatever, allow them to make some comments or take a short survey, they are eligible for some cash.

     Or on a more small scale or local level, make it a point that someone in the audience can win $50 bucks in gas or live rent/mortgage free for a month. Guess the killer or a certain outcome, text the answers, those that answer correctly are eligible to win. Or have the audience answer flier questions before the start of the movie about their predictions – balloting stops once the previews start to run

     Comment by Keith — July 24, 2006 @ 2:34 pm

115. Create an interactive opportunity and tie in prizes on both the local and national level

     For instance on the national level, after watching the movie, visit the website, enter in your ticket stub number or whatever, allow them to make some comments or take a short survey, they are eligible for some cash.

     Or on a more small scale or local level, make it a point that someone in the audience can win $50 bucks in gas or live rent/mortgage free for a month. Guess the killer or a certain outcome, text the answers, those that answer correctly are eligible to win. Or have the audience answer flier questions before the start of the movie about their predictions – balloting stops once the previews start to run

     Comment by Keith — July 24, 2006 @ 2:38 pm

116. Build a chain of movie theaters that have a deal with a studio ie (Paramount, 20th Century Fox) and have these movie theaters only show movies by that studio. It will make those movies exclusive to that chain of movie theaters. Sell a season subscriber pass for the theater, like $200 for the year or $300, whatever. You can also jack up the price for a single admission ticket because it will make the public more inclined to purchase a season subscription. Most people probably will not cover the amount of movies they paid for on the subscription. This gives you a bigger profit than the current way.

     Comment by Ed — July 24, 2006 @ 2:44 pm

117. Too many of the posts say “the movies suck” and “if the movies were better people would see it”. I say thanks for that bit of wisdom to those that posted such comments. It is like saying the Production companies set out to make a bad product. That is where marketing comes in to get people to THINK they want to see the movie.

     Solution

     Market to a wider audience by:

     1. Alternate endings or scenes per scheduled times or ratings Ex. During the matinee an R Rated film may cut some scenes or language to attain a PG-13 rating. This would allow some one to take his family to see something like Saving Private Ryan or Braveheart when they may not normally have done so because of the rating/content. I think there is a large demographic that would say I’d see that but I can’t take my kids becase of the language, or sex, violence.

     To sum it up
     Market the features of the change and their benifits,as much as the movie itself. Why? because features TELL and benifits SELL

     Comment by Jon Vestal — July 24, 2006 @ 2:46 pm

118. When coming up with a genuine/successfully selling idea or product, one becomes wrapped up in the details and fails to see the big picture. In this case we’re still talking about getting people the theatres. No matter how you package the idea of going to the movies through marketing, the end result is going to the movies. If one can find a way to change the experience of going to theatres, then you might have something going. Let at a few ideas that have change the development of their origin. The ipod for example, on the surface it’s a mp3 player but has created “iculture” in recent years. People buy the damn thing to experience this culture. There are books published breaking the culture down. Another example is what I like to call power family destinations are places like the Big Event. The have bowling, pool, and arcade games, stuff you can find at your nearest mall or shopping center. Places such as Big event throw all this in a big ass building and they create this virtual “new experience of playing pool, and bowling and charge extra for the experience.” My last example relates to the simple act of going to the bar. Well most people expect to walk into a bar and throw back a few brews and walk out spending maybe $20 tops. Now you have these “power bars” as I like to call them scattered across the country. Take Ghost Bar at the W for example, you have people wanting to pay $300 to be thrown on a waiting list. You have waiting lists for waiting lists. Why? It’s the allure of the damn bar. It is a bad ass bar, but there are awesome bars in the DFW area. The end result is you’ll be going to a bar, getting drunk, maybe get lucky that night and return carrying on with your life the next day. Nothing has changed except your balance in your credit or debit account. You might run into a celebrity but chances are they won’t be at your backyard barbeque next week. You just bought into the “experience”. I guess to sum all this is up is that you have to change or create a novel allure to going to the movies where it’s no longer going to the movies. It’s all about the experience.

     Comment by Charles T — July 24, 2006 @ 2:47 pm

119. Move Business Challenge

     The Ultimate Raffle:

     The Movie producers organize a contest to raffle a purchased movie ticket; with the winner getting a speaking role in your next film. All marketing material (ads, trailer, etc) will contain this unique promotion, which will be picked up by major media outlets, kind of like the buzz that Golden Palace.com gets for overpaying for some weird item on Ebay.

     The desire for the average American to get “discovered” as witnessed by the Reality TV craze will have a positive effect on the Box Office. In my experience, I will only go to the theatre if a movie has had great reviews, and someone I trust recommends it. The quality of the trailer has little impact on me, nor does being bombarded with zillions of ads. This contest will at least portray that there is something in it for the average moviegoer.

     Why not give people extra chances to win by giving them more ballots if they have a proof of purchase from the concession stand, if they buy the DVD, or order from PPV, etc, depending on the profitability of each? As teenagers and young adults will be most likely to be lured by such a promo, this can also bring strong gains at the concession stands as these groups are well known as the popcorn audience.

     The give-away of course must be legitimate and well publicized. Again, much of the publicity will be free due to the novelty of the idea. Imagine the success of future ticket sales if the winner of the original contest gets a noticeable role with amazing visibility?

     The beauty is that there are many famous actors that have never had any formal acting training; therefore there will be no reason for the average fan to think that it can’t happen to them…in contrast with American Idol where you actually have to know how to sing to have any chance of winning.

     In my humble opinion, this idea can result in:

     Lower marking costs & Higher box office sales

     Let me know what you think,

     Dimitri

     Comment by Dimitri — July 24, 2006 @ 2:51 pm

120. Mark, how often do YOU go to the theater to see a movie?? Even if you have your own theater in your house, you should go yourself to see why the experience basically sucks. I rarely go now, regardless of the quality of the movie.

     Here are my reasons:

     1. I have to arrive early to get a good seat or to sit together with friends…no guarantees where you will sit.
     2. Too noisy. Movies are supposed to be an escape. Hard to “escape” with people talking and making noise.
     3. DVDs and Rentals.

     YET, I will show up at a crowded, packed stadium to see a football game without hesitation. I think if you want people to GO to movies, you have to make it more like a sporting event or a broadway show. Some ideas:

     1. Assigned seats. Solves so many problems and frustrations. You and your guests know where you will be sitting.

     2. Offer some sort of season packages/tickets. Movie buffs will appreciate knowing they have the same seats, plus you will get to know your neighors some (though that can be bad too). Anyone with season tickets to sports events knows this.

     3. Variable pricing. I have UT season tickets and must buy the whole season, but OU isnt the same price as North Texas (though they suck just as bad…hahahahahaha)!!

     4. Specialty nights/Theme nights/Theme theaters.

     5. Sell Booze (requires security too)

     6. Better food.

     7. Stereo Headphone Jacks (so you can drown out the talkers/cell phones and get the “escape” part back into the movie) Sell/Rent the headphones or BYO.

     8. Monitors above the concession stands. This is a bit extreme, but most stadiums have monitors to watch the games while getting snacks…so you dont miss the action. Could have them subtitled if a multiplex.

     Until the theater changes, i’ll wait for the DVD and watch in the comfort and quiet of my house where i can sit back, pop a cold one and enjoy a decent snack.

     People still love movies, they just hate theaters. Fix the theaters.

     Comment by Bill — July 24, 2006 @ 2:52 pm

121. I wish I could offer a better answer other than to say just ask Tyler Perry. Business Week just named him the most bankable actor in Hollywood. That’s right. Based on ROI, Tyler Perry returns more money on investment than Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and even more money than my main man Samuel L. Jackson, the hardest working man in Hollywood!

     http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jul2006/pi20060705_564966.htm

     How did he do it? Well, I am not personally privy to exactly how he did it but I can tell you the following: 1. He wrote, produced, financed and starred in a number of plays in play houses all across the major urban cities. 2. He filmed the plays and sold them at a premium in specialty stores and his own website until Wal-Mart was convinced to carry them, thereby going nation-wide with the videos and bringing him to the attention of a wider audience. 3. He now makes feature films at between $5 and $6 million dollars which gross $50 – $63 million at the box office. And then there are the DVD sales of those same movies. Tyler Perry has built up such a large following that he has even had a number one book his first time out and a pilot for a TV series that has the critics scratching there head. I, along with thousands of other Tyler Perry fans, receive monthly emails letting us know what his next project will be. And when it comes out, we are right there supporting him.

     So I guess the secret is to develop a likable actor, communicate with the public regularly (like you do with your Blog), and be original. I am tired of watching the copycat programs that network television throws out to us season after season after season.

     Regards,

     Rodney Brown

     Comment by Rodney Brown — July 24, 2006 @ 2:53 pm

122. Going to a movie is like flying SouthWest … long lines and lots of uncertainty about where I am going to sit, by whom, and if I will be able to sit with my whole family.

     Put in a seat reservation system and sell seat numbers over the Internet.

     Sell first and second class seats.

     Differentiate the pricing based upon seat value.

     Get folks to commit early to get the seats that they want.

     Comment by PodSlug (Erik Herz) — July 24, 2006 @ 2:56 pm

123. Heres my idea for the movie industry,

     Someone else posted an idea about getting movie points for every movie you go to you get a certain amount of points.

     well heres how you could do that, It would take you making a new network.

     You would have to market it to all the theatres, but once a good ammount of theatres caught on, then you could start giving out swipe cards that you’d swipe before you go in to the movie and it tally’s your points on your card.

     And if enough theatres did this, it could be a wordwide system, making the movies more fun and you get rewarded for the 15 dollars a person you just spent on the movie.

     you could give out shit like an arcade, toys for the kids, DVDs, tickets to movies, tickets for food,and the more points you get the better prizes you get.

     It would be like frequent flier miles, but for movies.

     This is a good idea on 3 fronts, 1 you could start making the machine to sell to all the theatres, 2 you could run the network,3 it would make going to the movies fun again, which would get increased audiences.

     If you use the Idea please dont forget me, atleast hit me with a little check for typing this up

     See ya later

     Raph..GO MAVS!

     Comment by Raph Terrigino — July 24, 2006 @ 3:09 pm

124. Idea: CONTESTS

     Align them with the theme of the movie. $1/ticket spent in the first month (initial release weekend experience isn’t for everyone) after release goes toward a tie-in. You could go with a decreasing scale, but that feels like unnecessary complexity.

     Anything philanthropic about the movie? There is your obvious benefactor. Would the benefactor muster their customer base? Probably.

     Maybe the audience member could choose their cause. Or, choose to put the $1 toward the purchase of the DVD or other movie paraphernalia.

     There are infinite ways this could play out.
     You get the idea – it was your contest that I responded to~

     Comment by Logan — July 24, 2006 @ 3:13 pm

125. making better movies won’t mean more money at the box office. better movies won’t solve your problems. for decades people went to see mediocre movies on the silver screen because it was a special outing.

     we need a change in where and how the movie is shown, not in the movie itself. not even really in how it’s marketed.

     some movies will be great, others so-so, others crap. it’s a nice ambition but nobody can turn out 100% greatness… and even 100% greatness doesn’t mean people will spend $10 for it. movies that have made the most money have certainly not been the highest quality.

     maybe ‘the devil wears prada’ is the best movie ever made. i heard great things about it. so i added it to my netflix queue. if i want to see a movie AND i know i can only properly experience it with state-of-the-art equipment, i see in the theatre. ‘devil’ is probably better than ’superman returns’ but because of the effects in ’superman,’ i saw it on the big screen. that happens maybe twice a year. half the time (as in the case of ’superman’) i decide i should have waited for DVD after all.

     so my family and i inhale movies from netflix.
     to go out and spend $10, i’d better get something i can’t get at home.

     some off-the-top ideas on improving the experience:

     1. put smaller (but still up-to-date technically) movie theatres in urban areas and population centers, instead of suburban sprawl megaplexes that are a half-hour away from where actual people live! advances in the technology should make it easier to show more movies on less screens, so you don’t need the expenses of a 24-screen theatre. don’t dedicate several hundred seats to only one movie for a weekend, let alone several weeks.

     2. concessions: better food at better prices. and make a cafe with kiosks in the seating area where people can select to view behind-the-scenes featurettes or other info about the movies showing there.

     3. tying in with #2: when the studio releases a movie, also release interactive materials for use in the theatres. a simple preview of the videogame is released to the theatres along with the movie. set up a playground at the theatre and let the kids pretend they’re running around in the movie they just saw. for more thought-provoking movie like ‘the smartest guys in the room,’ provide discussion tools, a kiosk with bethany mclean’s book and articles available for reading, and so on. let people know that the theatre is a centralised location of resources related to the movie.

     4. in addition to 300-seater screens, one or two private screening rooms with a very comfy setup (couches &c.) where people who can’t (yet) afford huge HD screens can watch a movie with some friends for a nice fee. great for kids’ birthdays.

     5. drive-ins, movies shown at parks, or other novelty settings, bringing some more adventure back into into movie watching.

     6. put the movies in places where people go anyway. put the first 15 minutes on a big screen in the back corner of a starbucks, or on the screen at a sports bar, and people can buy a ticket there and then to see the rest at a nearby theatre. convert the upper floors of two-storey restaurants into little theatres after the dinner rush; when folks are feeling full and lazy they take their drinks upstairs and watch a movie; $10 is added to their dinner check and they hardly even feel it. a theatre attached to the ice-skating rink or bowling alley. &c., &c., &c.

     Comment by alanna price — July 24, 2006 @ 3:13 pm

126. Another idea…instead of asking for ideas on how to get people to go to movies, ask people to tell you why they don’t go. Use your blog or another site and offer some incentives (free movie ticket, free soda). People love to tell you what’s wrong with everything (as i’m sure you’ve noticed). Use that to identify the problems, then fix them!

     Comment by Bill — July 24, 2006 @ 3:16 pm

127. You mention you are looking at affiliate programs. The way you rattle off your online efforts, I get the impression that you think just showing up is sufficient.

     It’s not. The problem is how you are approaching things with a statement like: “If its been done before, we are doing it.”

     The affiliate marketers that make things happen are not painting by numbers, they are innovating.

     So rather that searching for a magic bullet, bring in some experienced affiliate marketers.

     Comment by Shawn Collins — July 24, 2006 @ 3:27 pm

128. Maybe you’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t have a solution. Movies have gotten so expensive that only the well-off can afford to go.. and you’re not well-off unless you work so much that you don’t have time to go to the movies. It’s much easier to download the movie you want to watch, then to see it in a theatre, rent it, or even buy it on dvd. The problem is with distribution, not with marketing.

     Comment by AK — July 24, 2006 @ 3:29 pm

129. Hi Mark. I’m trying to be very brief. Not sure how much “comment space” you’ve allocated for this. My thoughts:

     I would first suggest that we need to think differently about what the “movie business” really is. My take:

     1. A mechanism by which people are demonstrating their interest/intent (for a fee)
     2. The thin edge of the wedge for selling other products and services (books, dvds, video games, soundtracks etc) at a much lower cost of acquisition.

     Let me give you an example. If i went to see Spiderman and enjoyed it, I’m more likely than the average Tobey to want to buy tickets to see Spiderman 2 when it comes out. Moreover, if i went to see Spidey and xmen and batman begins, i’m for sure want to going to see superman returns, especially if i’m male and under the age of 25. Today, the studios and theatre owners see a bunch of bricks, some popcorn and well worn synthetic seats. They need to see their business as one big pool of customer intent (data) waiting to be mined. Think how much more cost effectively can you acquire my interest if you target me effectively – you’ll be spending cents to get me, not dollars and you’ll also be fixing the major problem facing the circuit business – capacity (i can explain that later).

     Now, think of the additional opportunities – beyond the ticket sale – that are afforded once you have my expressed intent and behaviour. Movies are cultural table stakes – they are the thin edge of the wedge for so many other products and services (soundtracks, video games, books etc). If i saw both S1 and S2, perhaps I not only want to see S3, but i want to pre-order the video game or soundtrack. Anyway, you get my meaning.

     Build a mechanism by which theatre owners can gather intent. You’ll monetize that intent to lower the cost of acquisition for all films, drive additional revenue streams and more importantly, provide consumers with a much better experience overall. All for less than the cost to promote one Jennifer Aniston film.

     Good luck.

     jonathan

     Comment by jonathan e — July 24, 2006 @ 3:34 pm

130. Make people want to go to the movie. Have in-theater contests. For instance, if there is a contest in which there is one seat in the theater that is the “winning seat.” That person wins some kind of prize, be it money, props from the movie or whatever. Have them coast to coast and its like everybody seat in the theater is a lottery ticket. Make people want to win. Or if not with a seat, come up with some sort of “winning ticket” scheme. Something that makes people want to buy tickets and will ultimately fill up a theater.

     Comment by Dylan — July 24, 2006 @ 3:37 pm

131. the gentleman way up top of the list hit it on the nose. the system is dated and does not apply in this digital age. the filming, marketing, distribution to release dates, are all old and played out. ok mark listen closely, i’m only going to say this once.
     1. once you commit to a totally digital process from begining to end the marketing ideas will answer itself. there will be nothing you can’t do in the digital arena.

     2. you must concentrate on giving people a new experience when they go to the movies and that has to be investing in the process of building totally new digital theaters. things happen fast these days, download the movies if it does not happen in a certain amount of time maybe it might happen with the dvd, or just niche audiences. either way, sense its digital you can download a new movie in its place and keep it moving.

     3. don’t depend on blockbuster to sustain the industry. thats the OLD way of doing it and it does not apply anymore. read chris andersons book “the long tail”

     4. make good movies

     its a different world, lots of people have made lots of money on the old way of doing things. its time to let others make a little.

     peace.

     god

     Comment by god — July 24, 2006 @ 3:39 pm

132. Mark:
     I currently work for a leading online media company and my focus is on product development with a focus on social networking and user-generated content.

     Some of the lessons we have learned about user engagement online are very applicable to marketing movies. Basically, the more involved the customer feels in the process, the more willing they are to become your evangelist.

     I think tapping into bloggers in new and interesting ways will go farther than any traditional media buy (and cost less, too).

     Here are some of my ideas for doing that:
     1. Host blogger-only preview screenings in the top 10 (or more if possible) markets. Bloggers can submit a URL to their blog and the first 100 get to come to the event. Throw in a handful of free limo rides to some of the bloggers and you’ll score big points.

     2. Give away things at these preview events that people will want to blog about and take pictures and video of. This will get your movie on places like Flickr or You Tube in new ways. If users think the freebie is cool, then they’ll have a more favorable view of the movie.

     Nintendo did a great job with the press kit they gave out for the DS Lite. The package, when opened, had flashing lights and played music. I saw photos and video of that all over the web. It made me even more excited about buying the product (I actually bought 2 of them).

     3. Let some of the bloggers who attend the preview events attend the Hollywood premiere. That would get other bloggers to give shoutouts to the film and filmmakers for embracing user-generated content and would probably get some mainstream coverage, too.

     4. Give bloggers advance access to info during production. If bloggers can feel like they are on the inside, they will have a much more favorable view of the film. Let them do fan sites. Let them interview the director or actors. Hell, let a few of them visit the set.

     I have a good friend who wrote and directed his first feature last year. Because I knew the filmmaker and was getting some inside scoop, I felt really attached the project. I ended up referring dozens and dozens of my friends and co-workers to see the movie and buy the DVD. Many of them stop by periodically to ask about when they can see his next film.

     5. Allow bloggers to create alternate trailers for the film. Again, this is about getting people who are interested in the film to become passionate about it. If people feel you are listening or letting them contribute, they will be much more likely to promote the film. Post some clips on the web and let users compete to have their trailer used.

     6. Have the filmmakers blogging during and after the production. Another way for people to connect with the project.

     These are just a few of the ideas that came to me upon reading your post. I’m sure I can come up with more if you’re interested in hearing them.

     Thanks for your time.

     Comment by Shawn Morton — July 24, 2006 @ 3:40 pm

133. “Adult Swim”

     I breezed through the suggestions and I saw one that was kind of close to mine: sell booze. Not for the sake of drinking, but for the sake of keeping kids out.

     I refuse to go to movies on Fridays or Saturdays. Why? Because every snot nose brat has nothing to do but go to the movies and act obnoxious to try to impress their pimple faced friends. It makes watching a movie difficult to say the least.

     The best part of going to see a movie is making it a night. You go to the movie and get dinner/drinks after or vice versa. When do most people schedule this? Friday or Saturdays. If you want adults to show up who actually have money to spend, there needs to be “Adult Swim” shows.

     I’m pretty sure wine and beer permits are easy to get. Maybe a “wine show” would go well. Wine would limit the amount of bathroom breaks. Sell it in a designated theatres since now there are about 12 or so at a complex.

     I don’t want it to seem like I hate kids (I actually coach a high school sport), it’s just these kids are not there to watch movies. It is a social gathering because that’s all really kids can do at night. Lower the drinking age (but that’s another topic).

     So serving alcohol is a way if implementing the “Adult Swim” without saying “No Punk-ass Teenagers Allowed”.

     Love the Blog. I am a Sixers and a transplant Warriors fan, but enjoy reading your blog and hearing you in the Jungle with Rome.

     Comment by Mike — July 24, 2006 @ 3:41 pm

134. Answer: make going to the movies a social experience. Bars, restaurants, concerts, etc., have no problem bringing consumer dollars in. Why? Because the potential for interesting social interaction is far more compelling than a movie could ever be. Movie theatres discourage social interaction. You get shuffled into a big dark room and are immediately told “don’t talk!” I’d much rather wait for the film to be released on DVD, then pay $3.99, sit on my couch in my underwear and drink a $1 beer, as opposed to paying $12 for a ticket, $3 for a soda, and have to put pants on.

     Have the theatre exit into a bar (which is also open to the non movie-attending public). Lower the cost of the ticket, you’ll make up the difference in what you make off food and drink. Suddenly, everyone in the bar has something in common to talk about… the movie they just watched.

     Comment by Kevin — July 24, 2006 @ 3:49 pm

135. Unfortunately I had an idea and searched the post and saw that somebody else proposed it. So I’ll just put my vote in for that: paying a referral fee to people who can get others to go see the movie.

     Comment by Ryan — July 24, 2006 @ 3:51 pm

136. Given, as others are pointing out, that you’re making films that attract a niche audience, you need to think about The Long Tail. Of course the LT doesn’t fully apply since you have significant overhead costs and can’t offer lots of choices on any particular night, but the key part of LT theory that does apply is helping people find what they might like without spending an arm and a leg to do so.

     I see enough films in theaters, and specifically ones like yours, that people who like that kind of thing do ask me what I recommend. I bet if you could identify a few thousand such *influencers* and offered them cheap tickets and more importantly, advance screenings (since being able to talk about something before it’s been released is always cool, plus that way they can start telling people about the film before opening weekend), your word of mouth business would increase with a modest expense.

     Of course, this assumes the films are good. As others have pointed out, that is also important. You *have* to spend a fortune marketing a turkey, so don’t make any of those.

     And finally, that you make smaller niche films is a good thing. The payback on the huge blockbusters can never match the payback on a hit indie, when compared to the cost of the film. Why Disney has decided to make fewer movies rather than making less expensive movies is totally beyond me.

     Comment by Mike Weston — July 24, 2006 @ 3:52 pm

137. It’s this simple: Compete on price. Going to the movie is a hassle. Instead of spending the money on marketing, advertise that the movie is free this weekend. If it is a hit, full price can come the next week. Bigger movies, give them ten free tickets with ten purchased. Maybe the biggest movies would have a standby list. You could pay full price and sit first (Southwest style), or wait for available seats. That would encourage those who don’t care (you and me) or those who can’t stand not to see it to pay for tickets. The others would get a free movie, maybe, but it would be eyeballs in front of the screen and instead of paying the television stations to get them there, you would basically be paying them. Fills theaters. But more importantly, you get full price for movies that are already blockbusters; but a tremendous upside potential for movies that could be blockbusters if enough people saw them.

     Comment by Bowman — July 24, 2006 @ 3:53 pm

138. Movies are entertainment but it can be a big effort to get there, then sometime people can feel trapped – if the movie isn’t very good, they’ve already taken the effort to research options, you get in there and end up wasting two hours sitting in the dark eating crap food and getting sticky feet to boot. Classic approach is to build the experience around the market segments offering the greatest potential, then cater to their needs shamelessly and profitably. Make it fun.
     For example, young married couples with children – in the typical suburban profile, they don’t go out to the movie theatre much because of the hassle of arranging childcare, etc. and would prefer a more ‘interactive’ entertainment experience (e.g. dinner, drinks with friends, a party, dancing, whatever). Make the movie theatre more of a destination – next to or part of something bigger. Put a drive-in next to a childcare center and offer high quality babysitting for three hours at a time every evening so parents can drop off their children and pick them up a bit later (allowing time for a drink after the show). Both the movie theatre and childcare centers make more money. Recruit local musicians to play in the complex – the side show could be themed/branded or somehow related to one of the movies. Have local hotels and caterers do demonstrations in the parking lot or lobby. Stage a look-alike contest around leading characters. For teenagers: do anything that makes the movie theatre a fun place – arcade games, cell phone vendors and car dealers offering electronics gear, after-market parts and demostrations, test drives of hot cars, drawings/sweepstakes, possibly tied to the movie (or not) you name it.

     Comment by Tom Ferro — July 24, 2006 @ 3:56 pm

139. One new marketing solution that will work for all types of movies? ‘Not going to happen. Each movie is a different story and will need unique ways to market it in order to be successful.

     Comment by leechard — July 24, 2006 @ 3:57 pm

140. Here’s the problem with 99% of what people have posted in this thread…it’s all stuff that’s been done before. Blogging, changing prices, affiliate marketing, promos, myspace exploitation, ROI analysis models, blah, blah, blah

     Here’s a challenge to the whole group: Pose a brand new, creative, forward thinking idea. I posed one above:

     1) GPS Meets WI-FI – I am facinated with the idea of using cell phone GPS data to deliver internet/television relevent advertising. Example – I walk around or drive around all day. My phone records the GPS coordinates I follow through the day. Each business, landmark, and location is marked with a specific coordinate. i get home, hop on the computer..now my cell phone links to the net via wi-fi, all of the gps coordinates are comminicated to an advertising network…maybe “Ad Maverick”…ads begin to display in banners and in search results based on where I was that day…Now imagine the possibilities of incorporating movie trailers and info based on my daily activity. If I went by a ball field, maybe a get a personal ad referencing a new movie about sports…theres alot to be ironed out, but it could be the technology worth investing in.

     Let’s try to provide some cutting edge ideas.

     -josh

     Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 3:58 pm

141. Mark

     I don’t think any of the many ideas listed here are going to work. A few of them sound good in theory, but overall, the movie going experience is ruined by high ticket prices, expensive concessions, and annoying people. People have to step out of their comfort zone to come to a movie theatre (In terms of paying too much and dealing with people). If you want my opinion, I think the movie business is on a fast track to join the music industry. It’s only a matter of time before mainstream people start downloading movies by the dozens, legally or illegally. Take after what Apple has done and skip the theatres. Set up downloadable software like itunes to download movies, but include a simple way to burn the dvd to a disc. I could then download Mission Impossible 3 to my computer, for a small fee, and burn it with a DVD drive everyone has, but doesn’t use. It’s a cheap distribution model as well. No cases, no discs.

     Comment by Joah — July 24, 2006 @ 3:59 pm

142. About a month ago, everywhere I went, I saw an ad for “Little Man”. It was on billboards, posters, tv commercials, the radio, talk shows, on buses, and all over the internet. It seemed like I couldn’t go an afternoon without seeing this movie’s ads. Yet, I didn’t go see it. I saw Superman and Mission Impossible 3 instead. Which leads to my point, if I am not interested in that movie, I will not see it, no matter how many times it will bug me in my everyday life. Although advertising is necessary, it shouldn’t be excessive. All I need is to see a movie promotion a few times before I’m sold, so why bother spending large amounts of money on spreading the word on a movie I will see? And if I am not interested in a certain movie, I don’t need to hear about it 10 times a day to know I won’t see it.

     Also, make the whole expirience more enjoyable. Make the theater like a mall, hotel, or the AAC if you will. Very clean and nice. No funny smells, no sticky floors, and no pubes on the toilet seat. Either I am always really hot, or the person next to me is really cold. So turn up the AC and put in adjustable heated seats for all of the warm natured people. And I’m surprised the movie theaters haven’t jumped on the “diet” bandwagon with popcorn sans trans fat and $8 salads.

     And finally, use controversy to get my attention. You know what I mean Mark. Who doesn’t want to see Steven Speilberg jumping up in the audience and cussing out the Academy, or see Tom Hanks running on stage and throwing an award into the crowd in anger?

     Yours Truely <3,

     Proud Mavs Fan

     Comment by Eristeo — July 24, 2006 @ 3:59 pm

143. Forget the mainstream – forget the 16-25 demographic – concentrate on the older, numerically larger and richer segment who are disenfranchised by the current system.

     Make the theatres and staff more conducive to these people. Become their movie destination.

     Be a different cinema group.

     Comment by John Dodds — July 24, 2006 @ 4:00 pm

144. You can reduce costs and market more effectively… 2 ideas.

     1) Market your movies differently than everyone else by keeping information from the public. You build suspense by only divulging actors names, rating, title and maybe genre. This in itself will market itself and be first of its kind. No trailors or long advertisements etc.

     How about this as an alternative:
     2) Release a movie with different endings that randomly get chosen each time it is run. People seeing the movie in theatres at different times (or theatres) will have a different experience. People can debate which ending is better and won’t be sure which ending they will get when they go see it. Also some may see it twice or more to get all the endings if your movie is good enough. This again will market itself.

     I have no marketing experience so you may not want me.

     Comment by Steve Pearson — July 24, 2006 @ 4:02 pm

145. Mark,
     a lot of good ideas and comments, none of them are perfect…
     here’s my idea… Charity!!! yes, the movie business needs to create a better image, consumers are bitching about lousy entertainment value and high prices.. if the Movie theatres will give a portion of every ticket to Charity and allow consumer movie goers to choose their favorite charities from a list, they would create a ton of good will. The actual Charities can become a very strong Marketing partners and will spend $$$ to promote their charities involvement.
     The Charity partnership can be extended to merchandise etc.
     The Movie business does not really lose money on lower ticket $$$, because of the tax benefits etc etc

     just my .02 …
     best…bobby

     Comment by Bobby Orbach — July 24, 2006 @ 4:02 pm

146. I wasn’t about to read 118 comments in fear of posting a duplicate, so I appologize in advance if you’ve heard this already.

     Advanced media has enabled society to become much more interactive. You look at what television shows like Lost, 24, and The Office are doing to generate or maintain “the buzz” on the internet (the Lost interactive game, mini episodes of 24 and Office that tie together 2 season). The movie industry will soon be following suite. Remember what a phenominal job “The Blair Witch” project did of creating a buzz? They were posting missing person signs, releasing “documentries” on television about the three “missing” young filmmakers and getting their audience believing that, not only were these real people, but they were actually missing in the woods. When the audience went to see BWP they were completely horrified at the prospect of what happened to these people. Of course, the truth came out, but only after the movie had already grossed millions and had an ROI of around 5000%. My proposal is simple, yet complicated. Create an interactive buzz.

     1) For any unknown movie you need the right people involved and I’m not talking about actors. Get a respected director, cinematographors, and writers as the key players in your production.

     2) Create an initial buzz and let it snowball. Something like “Watch tonight’s episode of CSI to get your first clue for the new web game sweeping the nation and stay tuned for the movie due out next summer” or “Pick up this month’s issue of People Magazine. Solve the word jumble puzzle for your first clue”.

     3) The movie must be entertaining for all audiences, but put extra aspects of the movie that ONLY gameplayers will understand or notice. “Who murdered Mr. Smith? At the end of the movie the cops arrested Mr. Black, but anybody who read the police report and saw the crime photos on the internet knows that the red glove implicating Mr. Black belonged to Mrs. White. They got the wrong guy!”

     4) Another idea is to let the audience decide certain aspects of production before the movie is released. I remember seeing a show where the audience could vote and determine the outcome of some guys life. Although the show was produced poorly, the idea is genius. Who lives? Who dies? Does love conquer all or does the bad guy win in this one? What girl gets naked? What cars should the hero drive? It’s like a modern day choose your own adventure.

     If these solutions are approached correctly, you could make movie marketing history, while creating huge audiences for relatively cheap films. Don’t pay Tom Hanks $20MM to star in your picture. Pay $5MM to generate massive interactive buzz and let the audience come to you.

     Comment by Casey — July 24, 2006 @ 4:04 pm

147. If I understand the challenge correctly, you simply want to get more persons in theatre seats, and you want to do this without spending several times the box office revenue. Well, it seems to me that the easiest way to do this is to give away free movie tickets. Make going to the movies free. As long as you pay the theatre owners’ half of the admissions they’ll be fine with it. In fact, they’ll be thrilled because free movies will doubtlessly raise attendance and therefore concession sales. You just have to make sure that your later revenues from licensing and DVD sales, etc. will make up for the initial outlay. As an alternative, you could make admission to a movie free the first week it’s out and then hope positive word of mouth will drive the box office after that.

     Comment by Jerry Brito — July 24, 2006 @ 4:07 pm

148. Sell normal size candy bars.

     Tell Hollywood to stop politicizing movies.

     Make the previews of movies the same rating as the movie itself.

     Force Hollywood to toughen standards on movie ratings.

     Have our current day stars zeaolusly guard their privacy/reputation so that they become mythological like the stars of yester-year.

     Lower the price of food/drinks.

     As someone else said, allow people to bring food into the theatre.

     Comment by Mark Lecuona — July 24, 2006 @ 4:08 pm

149. I don’t just want a JOB. If I were to get into this deal, I would want an opportunity; an opportunity to change the way people are entertained. I would want to build a business that created long-term value to the owners, employees and customers.

     If you read the comments on this post at Mark’s blog, there are many people with a piece of the solution. However, in order to really solve Mark’s challenge, a team of people have to be willing to change the movie industry yet again.

     To solve a problem this complex you have to have perspective. When movies came out in the 20’s the novelty of “moving pictures” were so new people went to see the movie because of the new technology and then they fell in love with medium. As the technology advanced, movies became a primary entertainment vehicle for Americans during the 40’s and 50’s. I think even historians would agree that this time of the industry was the “Golden Years.”

     You see, during that time they were the only real game in town. Then came the television. As the television became more economical, the theater business started to change — it had to change. Movies became more “sophisticated.” During the 60’s and 70’s the movie theater business went from being a ma-pa business to a corporate-ran environment. As with most big businesses the theater atmosphere turned into a commodity. Since movie theaters (the vehicle) and movie studios (the fuel) are symbiotic ally connected to each other, the studios changed as well. Instead of making entertaining, quality movies they threw more and more money at “pitches” in hoping of hitting the 1% home runs. Commoditization for many businesses is great for consumers, but not for entertainment. If a company commodifies their entertainment products they eventually marginalize them. This marginalization is exacerbated if dumb ass people are put in critical decision making positions in these big corporate outfits.

     So, with the big screen multiplexes having to draw eighty percent of a movie’s revenue within the first two to four weeks of release, the “entertainment” experience becomes non existent. Forcing thousands of consumers into the big boxes with $10.00 popcorn and Cokes is well, simply put a SHITTY experience. This is why the theater has become a third and fourth entertainment option for most consumers.

     Now, there are many, many, many more factors that come to mind in forming my opinions. But I’m not that good of a writer, nor do I have the time to write them all down. Suffice it to say, that the movie business is on the down side of the utilization curve and there is plenty of room in the business for change.

     I believe vision at the top drives innovation from the bottom up. If I had a magic wand and someone actually listened to me I’d do the following:

     > Build a top notch studio. A studio that creates compelling, entertaining content. A studio of executives, managers and artisans who are paid well, treated with respect over the long haul and given the resources to do what they do best — entertain people. In a recent article George Lucas is quoted as saying “In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be indie movies, I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million.” I’d build a studio that understands economics 101, yet consistently delivers outstanding content.

     > Build a network, either owned or franchised, of top notch theaters across the United States and then around the world. Hire people that want to work in these theaters that want to ensure people are entertained comfortably and economically.

     >Start three cable channels — one for movies, one for series based drama and one for sports. Use content from your top notch studio to drive these channels.

     >Build a world class Internet distribution channel. Use the power of of distributive technologies to give people content when and where they want it.

     >Reward consumers for the ongoing patronage. Treat your customers with respect, give them greater value than what they are paying for, ask them what they want, listen to their complaints, solve their problems when they complain. Don’t treat customers like they are cattle. Treat each customer as if they are your only customer.

     Wow, this vision is huge. It would take years and years to get all this done. I’m not saying one individual or one company could do all of this. But what I am saying is that by using the best of the old ways along with the best new technologies, a new form of entertainment creation, distribution and management could emerge. Unfortunately, sometimes in life, change has to come from outside the box.

     Sometimes it is best to get someone who doesn’t know it can’t be done to get it done.

     This is a simple vertical integration model. In my version of this model, you don’t have to own everything, but when you are tasked with changing an old industry ingrained with old ideas, you better have a vision and the audacity to go it alone until it is successful.

     Mark, I could be useful somewhere in this jig saw puzzle. You find the spot, give me the resources, give me great leadership and I could do something cool.

     Comment by Herschel Horton — July 24, 2006 @ 4:13 pm

150. Try re-looking at the equations: Why does a movie cost so much? Where is the money going? If the up-front investment is going to the stars, then try using some equally-talented but relatively unknown artists. (Sure, you won’t have the recognition-value, but these days even Sandra Bullock doesn’t bring ‘em in.) If the money is going toward effects, then reign the directors in! All the special effects in the world won’t take the place of a decent script.

     Then, it’s time to look at the scripts. Look HARD. It’s hard to believe that there are so few good stories available that King Kong had to be made again. *Gag* Think, why do people go to the movies? ENTERTAINMENT. ESCAPISM.

     In summary, give them something new, keep the costs down, then the ticket prices can come down and people will want to come see your show. And you’ll make a bundle!

     Comment by Brian — July 24, 2006 @ 4:18 pm

151. I believe the points made about neighborhood and community are quite valid. That is why the movie complex has not gone the way of the doomed music coorperate machinery.

     Human beings from a socio-anthrological view point are social/tribal/band creatures. Hence the success of MY Space and Starbucks they helped to create some social connection We are living in very isolating circumstances now .In suburbia we drive into our housesWe drive not walk for groceries, and for other needs/wants.

     Perhaps turning amovie complex into a gather place casually elegant with sofas, tables, internet connections free coffee in the winter, warm and festive; free iced tea in the summer, cool and refreshing.A microneighborhood.

     Of course this isan upfront investment, really not too out of the box

     I believe interactions like this blog help artist, idea people “pull the taffy” to brainstorm like 20 writers bouncing ideas off each other to come up with an excellent TV series. People can interact in such a way that one idea, silliness/joke, angry comment to inspire people to come up with new, strange, laughable brilliant concepts

     In a nonjudemental, noncrital atmophere each person may have such fun they accidentally show who they really are along with the unique gifts each person has within them. That is when happy accidents” “lightning in a bottle” is created.

     Maverick has come to mean wild, untamed, enthusiastic originality. Which is what I think artists all kinds, creative people love/need to express.

     you go boy,
     kat9

     Comment by kat9 — July 24, 2006 @ 4:19 pm

152. How do you get people out of the house to see your movie without spending a fortune?

     1. Partner with the theaters. Since you have to split the revenue with the theater, share some of the advertisement cost with them. For example, you if a theater receive a certain amount of sale from a movie in the first week from their own advertisement….the theater itself would receive not only more revenue but also a bonus from you. You can also add-in a red-carpet premiere with LA style with the actors. Let the money come out your pocket.

     2. Partner with the actor’s publicist. More talk shows and events more advertisement.
     Have red-carpets pre-view and premieres in more than one city. This is a celebrity culture so feed off of it. A lot of clubs and parties advertise a celebrity is hosting the event. Maybe do more celebrity preview parties…i.e. Movie Studio Grill w/ KeKe Palmer.

     3. Seat or ticket campaign. (i.e. lottery) A certain ticket, seat, or number of person = cash or prizes…. such as free tickets, t-shirts, a dinner with the actor, etc.

     4. Blues Clues—-Find object and clues in the movie and solve a statement or what doesn’t belong.= cash and prizes. It sounds elementary but people love trivia.

     5. I have more…..

     Comment by KoCO — July 24, 2006 @ 4:23 pm

153. Hey Mark,
     why even bother to get people out of the house, shit i am not going out of the house just for a fucking movie. I have to go pick up my girlfriend, lives 10 miles = 20 minutes[on a good detroit suburban day] away from me, then drive to the movie theater, 5 miles = 10 minutes. Pay $8 with my student fucking ID, or $13 for an IMAX movie. Popcorn and Soda = min. $10, then the drive back 15 miles = 30 minutes. Do the math, i spent more time driving than watching the movie, i spent more money on gas, than the movie and popcorn. It’s not worth it.
     1.
     More and more people have big screen HD TV’s, why not have an indemand channel that streams the movie to your cable box, once. encrypt it do w/e you want with it, but i’d rather pay $20 for the movie just to be able to stay home and not fucking waste money on fucking gas.
     2.
     offer me a reason to go see your fucking movie. offfer me a buy one get one free/half off ticket, offer me a 25/50% cheaper DVD when i present my movie stub, offer me a grande starbucks chocolate chip frappuchino. Some incentive.
     3.
     Change your movie handling process, i can get the movie atleast a month before it comes out to the theatre. The less hand’s it has to touch less chance it has to leak out.

     I don’t know, i am not a movie guru, i am an EE. You are still the man.

     Comment by Ibro — July 24, 2006 @ 4:24 pm

154. I think one of the problems is that it takes a long time for people to get the message that a movie is good, and fewer people are willing to take a 10 dollar gamble on a film. Movies that have done well in my opinion are the ones that are lower budget and have great word of mouth marketing because people really liked the film and told others about it. So in the beginning you have to be producing a movie that people will actually care about and is a good quality film. Then you have to get the influentials in there for free, critics, bloggers and others. Get the word of mouth out and rolling. Paid or unpaid WOM through the targeted demographics that fit that movie is the way to go. Some branding has to happen too, but these days that’s not enough. You could get away with millions less of branding buys in exchange for some good WOM. Plus your mainstream media’s all fragmented anyway.

     Some random ideas too:

     1. Let people participate in the making of the movie as it is in production.(nothing crucial) Different endings, different scenes, storylines, clothing, weird stuff. Like snakes on a plane has demonstrated, even a crap movie can get attention if people get to contribute as a novelty. (this won’t work all the time or for every movie but for the teen demo its golden) Just don’t ask them to take video of stuff, adoption rate of that technology is too low yet.

     2. Contests to be in the movie. Yes were all egotistical bastards and we want to be in the movies ourselves. It brings out brand awareness for the movie 6 months or a year before its out too.

     3. Make movies about things other than making movies. The thing everyone forgets when they enter LA is that the rest of the country and R.O.W. doesn’t revolve around the TV & Movie business. Regardless of how much drama there is, quit making movies about making movies. There is no reality in that for the rest of us.

     4. Make fewer movies. Supply and Demand. There are too many movies and too many ways we can aquire them. If you added up the # of people watching movies on a weekend through the internet, on dvd, on netflix, in theaters and other means I think its actually up YOY. Its just that the movie companies don’t control all those distribution methods. (start buying these methods up) It does make it harder to choose though because there are 10 new movies out every weekend and none of them get good reviews or have anyone reccomending them that you actually know…so the barrier to entry is high in cost and the potential reward is low or negative. If there was one new one per week, people would go back and see one from last week they didn’t see last time.

     5. Make the theaters nicer too. A lot of people hate theaters. People are noisy, annoying and disruptive. Many people would rather sit in the comfort of their own home and watch in peace than go to a sticky floored theater any day. Well, if you’re over 25 you would rather watch at home or in an upscale place thats quiet.

     And about the affiliate program thing, you might want to have one payout for people that can sell tickets and a smaller payout for people who link traffic to the movie site. Generating brand buzz other than ticket sales is worth something too.

     Comment by theprotagonist — July 24, 2006 @ 4:26 pm

155. For me, it’s not the price that keeps me away and it’s not cost of the concessions either. It’s utter lack of privacy and silence that keeps me away. If I knew I could pay $10 and watch any movie I wanted in peace and quiet, I would. I haven’t been to a movie since last year when I watched and hated King Kong. I had kids coming in and out of the isle, parents chasing kids around and in some cases talking them through the movie. Why put up with this crap when I can wait for the DVD on watch in on my JVC LCOS? My suggestion would be something like the Cone of Silence from the show Get Smart. Some kind of chamber that you could climb into and surround yourself with theatre sounds only. No cell phone rings, no children crying, just the movie screen and me. I’d even been willing to shell out a few more bucks to get this type of service. I don’t need a waiter; I’m not at a restaurant. I just want a place to go where I can have a great theatre experience with fantastic, off the wall sound and digital screen only. No kids, no phones.

     Comment by Luis E. Giner — July 24, 2006 @ 4:28 pm

156. Again…all of these ideas are old and tired…

     Who can think of something new that could revolutionize the theatre industry?

     still waiting…

     -jOSH

     Comment by JMedeiros — July 24, 2006 @ 4:29 pm

157. For me, it’s not the price that keeps me away and it’s not cost of the concessions either. It’s utter lack of privacy and silence that keeps me away. If I knew I could pay $10 and watch any movie I wanted in peace and quiet, I would. I haven’t been to a movie since last year when I watched and hated King Kong. I had kids coming in and out of the isle, parents chasing kids around and in some cases talking them through the movie. Why put up with this crap when I can wait for the DVD on watch in on my JVC LCOS? My suggestion would be something like the Cone of Silence from the show Get Smart. Some kind of chamber that you could climb into and surround yourself with theatre sounds only. No cell phone rings, no children crying, just the movie screen and me. I’d even been willing to shell out a few more bucks to get this type of service. I don’t need a waiter; I’m not at a restaurant. I just want a place to go where I can have a great theatre experience with fantastic, off the wall sound and digital screen only. No kids, no phones.

     Comment by Luis E. Giner — July 24, 2006 @ 4:29 pm

158. Yearly pass to Theaters!

     Allow pass holders to go see any movie they like ONCE. The cost should based on 2.5 movies per month times 12 (12 month rolling calendar). Family pass should be further discounted .. probably have to conduct some studies to figure out optimum cost. The pass should also gives 10% off the concession stand to individuals and 15% to family pass… The first week of a major movie release can be excluded or promoted depending on the movie.

     The theaters make most of their money on food so more movies people see the better … and honestly there are no more than a dozen really good movies in a year. I would rather see a movie in the theater than get Netflix…

     This might take some time but I am sure it will catch on very fast.

     Comment by Bala G — July 24, 2006 @ 4:32 pm

159. Here is an idea for families.

     Set up a Movie Kids Club where parents can drop off their kids for a movie and a snack. The theater staff will supervise the children.

     Parents can then see a different movie or take care of other activities. Kids can then be picked up at the Movie Clubhouse after the show.

     Little Gym (called Parents Survial Night) and many hotel resorts offer this service. Heck even grocery stores and IKEA allow you to drop off your kids while you ’shop’.

     Comment by MC Burns — July 24, 2006 @ 4:32 pm

160. The first rule in writing is make your readers (audience) care about your characters.
     When promoting a movie, rather than the same cookie cutter actor/actress interviews, why not have the character do them? Full costume and makeup, completely in character. This will give your potential movie goers a chance to get acquainted with who will be onscreen. Let the actor/actress have some free reign and allow them to show the audience more about their character. Of course, talk about the movie, leave people hanging, wanting to know more about the character and what happens to them. Make them care beforehand.

     This came off the cuff. I’m still thinking…

     ~Nikola

     Comment by Nikola Marshall — July 24, 2006 @ 4:35 pm

161. Mark,

     Would you like *every* screen to be sold out on both Friday and Saturday nights? I can show you how. It involves family fun.

     email me.

     Comment by Kelly — July 24, 2006 @ 4:43 pm

162. At the beginning and right before the credits of every movie, have a 10-second clip that advises the moviegoers to go to http://www…..com (the movies website) to sign up for some great discounts and special things. For the registration, have them list 10 people’s phone numbers that they think would like the movie. You would then use those phone numbers to make an automated phone call to the phone numbers they gave you (I think it’d be nice if it was from one of the main actors in the movie) saying “Hey, one of your friends referred us to you because they thought you would enjoy seeing this movie… etc.” Doesn’t have to be anything long, just something to get them thinking about the movie. It might be best to wait until Thursday evening to make the phone calls (since many people start to make plans for the weekend on that day).

     Sure, some people will give random/fake numbers just so they can get some sweet deals, but it’d be worth it for the few who give accurate information. Maybe there’s a way to make sure the phone numbers are authentic before allowing the movie-goer to get access to the special deals? Sending automated telephone calls is an extremely cheap service I believe (relatively, of course).

     After the person successfully completes the sign-up, you could then offer things such as a discounted rate on the movie’s DVD once it comes out as long as they order it from such and such website… (partner up with a main website such as Amazon.com).

     Relatively cheap to start and works by the “word of mouth” process, but at a much quicker rate since mass phone calls would enable the information to be sent out literally in seconds.

     (I would just make sure there’s a disclaimer on the website stating that any legal issues that may arise from the sending of the automated response phone message are not your problems, they are the movie-goers… or something to that effect.. I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know how to word it!)

     Comment by Jeff — July 25, 2006 @ 8:08 am

163. Advertise in the most used venues anywhere. Gas Stations.

     Comment by Doug Ray — July 25, 2006 @ 4:27 pm

164. My view is this…What made people go to the movies back when everybody went? The fact that it was the only way to see it. I think it has to get back to basics. Stop selling movies once they end at the show. There is no incentive for people to want to pay $12 a ticket if they know it is coming out on PPV, DVD, VHS, etc; Why bother? Oh, bring back the drivein’s. My husband and I have gone to one of the last drivein’s in the country (Grandbury, Texas) for the atmosphere alone. We didn’t even care what was playing, even though they were brand new movies, it was the fun of it that made it so appealing. If the only way you can see a movie is by going to the show, everybody goes to the show. Then the movie prices go down. Remember those $2 matinees?

     Comment by Oteaka Saenz — July 26, 2006 @ 8:30 pm

165. arrange a “M&M effect” challenge 2006
     M – MySpace
     M – movies

     What can you do with social network power?
     We are creating an experiment to see how many people will show up in a movie theater by invite your friends from myspace network.

     1. need to think what can attract ppl (incentive, award….etc)
     2. need a lil. application for myspace users to track who’s the first one to creat M&M effect

     ———————————-
     I ain’t going for details cuz it’s just my one cent here ^^ & or u can hire me for more thought >o<

     Comment by Wayne Jiang — July 27, 2006 @ 10:33 pm

166. Let me preface in saying that I don’t believe there is any way to get around paying marketing costs. When one is in the business of sales, you must market and must pay money to market. No way around it, plain and simple in my opinion.

     But why do production companies have to pay for the marketing themselves? As a production company, you own a very valuable piece of property…the film itself. So sell it. Sell it like Harpo sold Oprah back in the 80’s. If you’re talking a $60 million production, then this is a big film. Capable of grossing twice that in the first 3 weeks. Let’s say your target gross is $100 million, and in order to reach that you’ve determined you need to spend $60 million in marketing. Sell it to GE, Viacom, HDNet,HBO whomever. They, in turn, receive the rights to play the movie AS SOON AS it is available on DVD. None of that waiting around for three years before seeing it on network TV.

     Financially, say they pay $15 million for those rights. They give another $15 million in advertising trade. Direct marketing costs are now cut in half to $30 million. Give them a cut of the gross movie theather profits (say 10%, for argument’s sake). They receive $10 million back if the movie makes $100 million, and more if it sells goes above that number(encouraging them to be creative with their advertising). They charge $800k per 30 second spot for a 3 hour movie on prime time during sweeps. That’s approximately $4 million per commercial break. At 10 commercial breaks for the 3 hour duration, they make $40 million (giving them $50 million total, far eclipsing their $30 million initial investment).

     You’ve spent $30 million in direct marketing costs (rather than 60), and made $90 million (minus the 10 you gave them). Rather than grossing $40 million, you’ve now grossed $60 million above your marketing costs. Further incentives can be added to the deal (royalties on DVD sales, etc.).

     One could also shorten the length of time movies are in the theaters…say to 6 weeks. Obviously, there will be a demographic who says “hey, this movie will be on prime time in 6 weeks, so why not wait until then.” There’s an economic reason why movie theaters would now start spending money to improve the atmosphere and experience. They’ll have to work harder to get people in the seats, and in turn spend some of their own money on marketing and improvements, which will in turn lighten the load on production companies.

     Obviously these numbers are literally picked randomly (although they are conservative in my opinion). What do you think?

     P.S. My twin brother works for the Mavs in corporate ad sales. I’m currently at IU in law school, pending a move to Dallas next summer.

     Comment by Casey Holsapple — July 31, 2006 @ 4:36 pm

167. This is a great question.
     One thought that comes to mind is finding a way to shift the economic risk for marketing a movie. Now the studios do it. I assume that’s because they have the greatest investment, but also because theaters were traditionally local operations. That’s no longer the case.
     So, if the theater takes on more of the revenue stream, but assumes more of the marketing cost, your cost would go down.

     On a $9 ticket, you make $4.50 and the theater gets $4.50. But you spend $12 advertising. If you offer the theater owner more in exchange for marketing, you might end up ahead. You could take as little as $1 a ticket, if the theater owner advertises the movie.

     For some types of films, it could make sense to have no mass marketing, but sell tickets for $5, with the theater taking $4 and you getting $1 with no marketing cost up front.

     The essential thought is to make the distributor more of a marketer/advocate for the movie instead of a venue.

     I know this would mean giving up some control of the movie packaging which has risks, but it may carry fewer risks.

     Failing that, buy some theaters.

     Comment by D Gersh — July 27, 2006 @ 10:59 pm

168. to D Gersh:

     Mark Cuban has bought some theatres. Perhaps you should research Landmark Theatres before you post any more ideas.

     Also, on a $9 ticket, the distributor makes from $6.30 – $8.10, leaving the theatre from $0.90 – $2.70 (that’s why the popcorn costs so much). Of course, since Mark owns both the distribution and the exhibition, he ultimately keeps all $9.

     Comment by futureoffilm — July 27, 2006 @ 11:20 pm

169. studios buy advertising late and end up paying higher fees for what’s left.

     like most other advertisers, they also purchase online ads like offline media – targeting content and environment. again, paying a premium to do so.

     I’d focus on using online marketing tactics. most important of which would be to use the networks for broad reach and high frequency, at a fraction of the cost. networks like ad.com, casale, burst, there are tons out there. more advertisers need to buy online media like this.

     Comment by rob — July 27, 2006 @ 11:29 pm

170. Sell out.
     That is the only way to meet mainstream america.

     Comment by Jordan Grimes — July 27, 2006 @ 11:40 pm

171. I like these 5-second power ads on TV. I mean quick look at movie title or sexy actress/actor and then the url to the movies
     website. Hit em hard and heavy one week prior to opening. Good clip on web site creating interest.

     Comment by terry farrell — July 27, 2006 @ 11:41 pm

172. My wife and I used to go to 4-6 movies a month. Sometimes even more. But when we had kids, that stopped. Now we see 2 movies a year and those are kids show. Now we just PPV from DirecTV. I prefer to see movies at the theater but it’s not cheap or easy to schedule a babysitter. What would get me back to the theaters would be free babysitting. I’d be willing to pay $15/ticket if someone would watch my kids for the duration of the movie. Both IKEA and Top Foods understand this notion and both have areas and staff dedicated to watching young kids while we shop. Why not do something similar at the theater?

     Comment by Brett Nordquist — July 28, 2006 @ 12:05 am

173. Hello Mr.Cuban,

     I’m not going to waste your time in explaining my idea in a bigilion paragraphs. I am 13 years old and my ideas may not be that great, but i was thinking if you could put flip books of the movie, with descriptions next to the scenes of the movie in little packets on people’s pillows in hotels next to the mint, or piece of chocolate. You could ask other advertising companies to write in the books and not have to pay a lot of the expenses. A lot of people travel and go to hotels , so they’ll probably see them. My other idea was hollagraphic coasters. While people enjoy their drinks they can also see 2 scenes from the movie and it wouldn’t be that expensive. And my last idea was to have advertising companies pay to have scenes and descriptions of the movie on postcards…people travel and send post cards to their friends, some all over the world, so the word gets out about the movie and it’s inexpensive!!! Also if you want people to watch movies, make it sound cool, but it actually has to be good. Well, they’re not that great but it’s a thought. I’m an A student and just wanted to put my creative mind to work…thanks for your time!

     Sincerely,
     Olivia Ursi, Your Daily
     Mavericks Fan

     P.S. Sorry this was so long!!

     Comment by Olivia Ursi — July 28, 2006 @ 12:14 am

174. As someone else said, because people can’t get to the movies for one reason or another, people are picky with the movies they see in the theatre. We classify movies as a “theatre movie” or a “pay per view” movie. We will pay more $ per person to see an amazing big-bang movie on the big screen and save the less visually exciting movies for $3.95 on TV.

     Comment by Meg — July 28, 2006 @ 12:23 am

175. I agree with many on the fundamental reason to go to the movies – to have a great time, day or night. We love to go to the drive in by us, or one of the theaters that serve dinner. Open “drive ins” where people can sit on the lawn – like some concert venues. Think of the target audience – with the prices of so many things going up (gas to the movie, babysitter, tickets, $4 for a 5 cent soda) think of how you can lower overall costs for the consumer AND increase the benefits for different target groups. Have a room with babysitters during the day (or night for older kids) for mom’s/dad’s groups to attend. Offer GREAT food in a dinner atmosphere during the movie. Re-do the interior of theatres to be more comfortable, more home like. If my husband and I can even get away for a movie, we want it to be a night to re-connect. We would go especially to a theatre that has double seats, without arm rests in between 2 seats. Turn “going to the movies” into an EXPERIENCE, return it to the social experience it once was. Offer theme nights tied to the subject of the movie – wine tasting with a romantic movie. Have teens bring in a toy or canned food for a reduced ticket fee or free soda. Think “out of the theatre” – go crazy with brainstorming and then peel back the ideas – what about an exercise class during a movie, or have a movie exercise room (screen with cardio or other machines). What about holding craft classes or workshops during movies (with scrapbooking so big that is something that could be done during a movie). Enabling parents (moms and DADS) to BRING younger – 2 and under – children to a movie without worrying about making too much noise would be a huge selling point for many… There are lots of ideas that could be leveraged… If I had this as my job, leveraging ideas I’ve used for corporate training classes could be integrated into the movie biz… What more fun could you have than getting people back to the movies?

     Comment by Meg — July 28, 2006 @ 12:28 am

176. Mr.Cuban,

     I just got another brilliant idea, how about if people go and see a movie at the theater, they put their name and number on the back of the reciet stub and put it in for a drawing for either a season pass or just tickets for a Mavericks game. It wouldn’t cost you a thing and people would be excited about the beginning and the end of the movie!!! I’m the same 13 year old girl who was comment #818. Just think about it, it wouldn’t cost you a thing…thank you again for your time!!!

     Comment by Olivia Ursi — July 28, 2006 @ 12:35 am

177. I adore the movies! It has been a lifelong passion that I proudly tout. I am just as likely to see a summer blockbuster as an Academy Award contender, given one thing – knowing I will walk away a little better for having seen the movie. Whether through a few laughs, a good cry or just a mind opening exposure to life so different from my own the movies are better than therapy for me. Why do I love the movies? I grew up on a steady diet of classic, well made movies and going to the theater has always been an event (somewhat like a basketball game has been for you.) Even now I feel fortunate I live in a city like Dallas where the variety and quality of what I can see on any given day is fabulous.

     I go to at least 2 movies a month and often 2-3 a week during the lead up to Oscars. I have no problem going alone if I really want to see something, and sometimes prefer to go alone knowing I have no one else’s tastes to take into account. I also have small children, scads of girlfriends and a willing husband all who join me depending on the subject matter. Out of all the movies I see, I can honestly say there are only a handful that really don’t provide me with entertainment I feel is worth the price of admission. I am a great mouthpiece for films I love and feel most discerning moviegoers will judge a movie more by someone they align themselves with than a big schmaltzy ad campaign. Trailers and teasers are great hooks. I am not a whining, uneducated consumer. I research what I want to see and attend most movies knowing full well what I am getting myself into.

     The only reason the greater populous ever see a movie in a theater is to “experience” the movie in the larger than life format that no home theater, short of a private H’wood screening room, will ever duplicate. The only theaters that guarantee this are quality, clean, state of the art facilities. People come to see a movie in the theater opening weekend so they can be the first to talk about it – bragging rites, dinner party chit chat.

     The homogenization of our celebrity culture and the dumbing down of what Hollywood thinks America needs has gotten the industry nowhere. Who would choose to go see a movie when most of the same faces are living much juicier lives beamed to us 24/7 via Entertainment Tonight, et al. What ever happened to the glamour and mystery of the Hollywood star? Please, there are definitely talented actors out there who won’t sell out to the National Enquirer the first time they come knocking. The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to overexposure! The “studio system” was a much better machine. Read your history.

     When handbags that teenagers carry cost upward of $800, no I am not kidding, money is not the reason your theaters are not full. Just like shrines to food that are created only to be passe within a year don’t make it, while restaurants serving consistently good food that pay attention to their customers survive and flourish all over this country, you must make products people want to experience – no cookie cutter, rubber stamp for screenplays. Why are 17 year old boys the benchmark?

     The entire world looks to America to lead in cinema. Lets face it , we have the talent, money and resources to own this industry in every way. Why do some of the best and brightest take scale to be in an indie with potential while they sheepishly promote their multi million dollar paycheck film? Let’s live up to the benchmark we set ourselves!

     I admit there are a plethora of genius marketing ideas gathering speed on this site and you would be wise to read them all and chew on a few (great strategy on your part, by the way!) Just like there is no one size fits all when it comes to taste in movies there is no one quick fix.

     Good luck, the movie industry needs your tenacious spirit and willingness to change if you are going to produce movie lovers for the future.
     Hopeful for Hollywood

     Comment by Wylly Goodson — July 28, 2006 @ 12:44 am

178. Mark,
     A good lesson can be learned from the most recent Will Farrell movie “Legend of Ricky Bobby”. You have to give Will Farrell alot of credit for pulling some outrageous stunts and being incredibly visible in promoting his new movie. Film stars should have more ownership in the promotion of the movie as this is free advertising that is priceless. I would definetly give the stars/co-stars more duties in that respect. In another reference to “Taladega Nights”, I love their angle in promoting the movie – it is very clever. I don’t think you can beat the traditional style of advertising upcoming movies, you can however advertise in a more clever style. It’s not about how much money you spend advertising – It’s how you advertise. Myself, I don’t like going to movies that give away too much of the storyline in the movie trailers. I would like to see better advertising in this respect…ala old style cliffhangers that make people eager to watch. If I were leading an advertising campaign, “less is more” would definitely be my style. Give people a small taste and they will come back for more.

     Another idea that I think has not been maximized is corporate sponsorships. American Airlines got some bigtime advertising in the NBA Championships. I’ve got many ideas that would use the sponsorship dollar to advertise. My ideas are far more visible than the typical logo on a McDonald’s cup.

     I think you are on to something great. I am a big movie buff and hate to see the business struggling when it comes to great art and indie flicks.

     Sincerely,
     RV

     Comment by RVillarreal — July 28, 2006 @ 2:55 am

179. SHORT ANSWER:
     User-gen DB of viewer sentiment along multiple criteria: enjoyability, humor, romance, action etc.

     LONG ANSWER:
     The problem is not that it’s too hard to make movies, nor that it’s too hard to market movies. Both are true, but they’re not the problem.

     The problem is that it’s too hard to CONSUME movies, i.e., it’s too hard to make an informed and confident choice.

     It’s a risky choice, PARTICULARLY for prospects who are more likely to see quality, thoughtful films that have neither the stars, the marketing budget nor the high-concept premise that typically satisfy mass-market due diligence.

     Why risky? It’s f’ing expensive to go to the theater, with parking, tix, food and babysitter. Moreso, you have less discretionary time to spend in a theater, so if the movie doesn’t click with you or your date, you’ve just shot your once-a-week lets-go-out schedule allowance. No wonder we easily tradeoff quality for lower risk. Better to be weakly satisfied with National Treasure than annoyed with Big Fat Greek Wedding or answering to a pissed-off spouse at Trainspotting. Those big budget stars and ad campaigns don’t increase upside reward (that it’s a good film); they reduce the downside risk that I will have wasted the night. And that’s all I need to get laid.

     This is also true for home viewing with more than one person. You WANT to be open-minded about seeing untouted gems, but when you settle down with a date/wife/guests, are you really willing to risk it? Or do you stick with the safe crap?

     So how to fix? Reduce the risk factor in selecting a movie to watch. The thumbs up/down or 1-5 stars isn’t the answer. It’s too one-dimensional, and low-advertised movies tend to be more nuanced and heterogenous. If someone says “it’s a great indie film,” it could be Greek Wedding, Clerks, Hotel Rwanda, Four Weddings, or Super Size Me. The categorization is meaningless and leads to many a pissed-off spouse.

     Critic’s reviews are useless for opposite reasons. Sure, film geeks will dig in and read hundreds of clever and insightful words. But most of us don’t give a crap about the critic’s unique insights and probing analysis. I just want to know if it’s a fit for me and my guest, not how the filmmaker’s premise aligns with your B- junior thesis. I like brevity; writers like column-inches. And sometimes I just want to see Chuck Norris kick some commie ass. I’d rather just know whether the action is strong, regardless of plot, character, etc. Can’t find that anywhere in a review without a long slog.

     Here’s what I want to know about any movie, especially indie-types:

     -Enjoyability (1-5)
     -Insight (Thoughtful & Provocative) (1-5)
     -Humor (1-5)
     -Romance (1-5)
     -Action (1-5)

     That solves the problem. Build a user sentiment database where users provide an overall 1-5 rating, along with ratings along the handful of criteria above.

     They MAY add 2-5 sentences, but no more than that. It’s all about the numbers: they’re aggregable and valid at a relatively low “n” count.

     So how to bootstrap? Go with the festivals. Offer the festivals an online engine to collect audience feedback. Private label for the festivals and build the database. Let people submit via SMS as they’re shuffling out of the theater, then return to the website the next day to see what the consensus was.

     Attendees tend to include opinion leaders, so when they head back home, they’ll be able to track their favs as talk them up as they gain distrib and an audience.

     So start with the indie/festival scene, then grow the thing to cover all films.

     Comment by Bill — July 28, 2006 @ 5:44 am

180. I am a movie fan and go to about 50 movies a year.

     My experience could be improved as follows:

     What to watch?

     Better websites with a poster picture, review, and synopsis on the same page along with movie times.

     Previews!!! I go to the theater and watch the inane ads on slides for lawyers, plastic surgeons, etc then commercials for Coke. Then I get see maybe 4 previews. I enjoy the movies, show me something. Allow more time for previews.

     Have a place in the theater to see previews of every movie currently playing on a TV or small screen. After the movie we stop in the room and see what we might want to watch next week.

     Promote returning. A discount if you come back on the next weekend or during the same week. A discount to stay and watch a second feature. Or a special double feature night or showing.

     I refuse to go to movies that are 90 minutes long for the same price (as a matter of principal) then the more standard 2 hours.

     A block of assigned seats might be good for opening weekend.

     I think quality food at a value price would enhance people to come. Maybe an Uno’s Pizza built in. Eat in the theater or comfortable spot then see the movie. It’s difficult sometimes to get in dinner then a movie.

     Concessions are such a rip off I think most people avoid them. Offer some value here and reasonable sizes. (My theater only sells quart bottles of water for instance) Sell some healthier items.

     My point is if I go to a movie, make me want to come back.

     Thanks

     John

     Comment by MovieJohn — July 28, 2006 @ 7:38 am

181. The movie going audience needs to be segmented. There should be season passes or subscriptions that are paid for up front like a ski lift pass. Anytime passes are more expensive than weekday evening passes which are more expensive that daytime passes. Make family passes available. People with passes pay less at the concession. People with passes get guaranteed seats. (It seems as if yield/seat management of multiplexes could be a lot better.) That’s all for now. I don’t need a job but there are many, many more things to do, aside from making better movies, to get people into theatres.

     Comment by Steve — July 28, 2006 @ 8:39 am

182. We produce a unique product called TeeBucks. These are compressed tee shirts which can be compressed into the shape of a popcorn box, movie reel or anything that may be related to your movie. Ours have a nifty little pocket that holds a gift card.

     Gift cards are growing in market share, but research has shown that consumers want to dress up their gift cards that they buy. This holiday season, retailers are going to battle to see who can dress up their gift cards the best, enticing consumers to purchase their gift card over a competitors.

     We print tees with your movie’s logo on them, compress it into some relevant shape and place the displays at retailers coast to coast, providing great exposure for your movie. We could place these TeeBucks with your movie poster printed on them for sale at major retailers, including Blockbuster. Consumers purchasing gift cards would purchase these unique TeeBucks because they add personality to the plain gift card for just an extra $3-$5. Retailers would be happy because they’re getting a product free of charge to sell for $3-5.

     On a random quantity of tees, let us print “Golden Ticket Winner” (I know, it’s like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket) and those people get to go to NY or wherever to see the premier.

     You get advertising at Blockbuster and other retailers and on the tees that people would wear. You also get the inherrent publicity for the search for the golden ticket.

     We are right around the corner @ 3116 Commerce. Come by for a visit sometime.

     Comment by Robbie Weinberg — July 28, 2006 @ 9:37 am

183. Mark,

     Imagine with me…

     I am an 18 year old college freshman. I am popular. I am outgoing. I am social. And I like movies.

     I want to go see the new Shaq/Penny movie this weekend (Blue Chips II). I don’t want to call up everyone and play mobile phone tag for the next 8 hours trying to coordinate this event. So, I login to my account at xxxxxxxxxx.com.

     I enter the movie, time, and location. I then invite all of my friends, either individually or by selecting a predefined group. BOOM! The invitation goes out. Through e-mail, text messages, IM, MySpace, FaceBook, everywhere!

     My friends login to their account at xxxxxxxxxx.com. They want to hook up with me and go. The system already has their payment information. And they all know about the bonus…

     For every four (or five, or N) people that come with me, the system will choose (randomly) one of us to go for free! I hope it’s me!

     Once a minimum threshold of people has indicated they want to go and/or a certain time is reached, then the tickets are purchased… with the system notifying everyone who the lucky person (or people) is that scored the free ticket(s)!

     The result…

     I show up at the theater. Seven of my friends have joined me. Amanda and Alicia are going for free… lucky chicks! They didn’t even know who Penny was! (But they had heard of Lil’ Penny, hmmm).

     I didn’t win the ticket, but I have a great time enjoying the movie with my friends. Maybe next time I join a movie group, I’ll be the one to go for free!

     Comment by Michael — July 28, 2006 @ 9:58 am

184. It’s the experience. That’s where the thinking and upfront $s need to go, not the latest 60mill per film of marketing tricks/ technology/ tactics.

     Assuming the product is good — (for crappy movies – use someone else’s idea) invest upfront to create the best experience possible for an audience that appreciates a great film and will gladly pay up to be part of an exclusive experience. Tap into why we all love to go to the movies in the first place — to be transported to a fantasy world, to experience the power of a story well told, in an enviroment that fuels that experrience (big comfy seats, great concessions (cobrand with Williams Sonoma, or Starbucks or some upstart sweet Kettle corn company — have you ever tasted that stuff? Man it’s good.), advance special seat reservations, opening night special access, perfect – not too loud sound, comfortable handicap seating, polite ushers that say thank you, that make older people feel at home and not intimidated by loud obnoxious kids, no preview sponsor ads, no 20 minutes of annoying loud, obnoxious movie previews, have special guest appearances by the director, actors, screenwriters, an intermission (where people can talk about the show and about the experience), huge screens where every seat is the best in the house, digital clarity, climate control, complimentary DVDs on the way out the door, special nights where you can bring your family and friends for a nite at the movies, digital specials beamed in via satellite during down calendar months, special outdoor shows (how cool would that be)… and on and on. Tap into the best experience, forget the fat part of the bell curve because for the KMArt crowd you have to pump in the 100mil pus and do all the things you’ve already mentioned.

     Why does the Apple store do so well? Aren’t they selling what COMPUSA is selling?

     Build out a prototype, see how it does and evaluate on dollars in per theater. per release, not total cost to develop. With the right upfront planning, you can jack all your other movie marketing 101 tactics into a tight ecosystem that is built from the ground up on maximizing the experience and creating happy, long term customers that talk about their good experience because it’s different/ better than anything else out there.

     How did Virgin Atalntic beat out British Air?

     Why did Google Search blow away the huge tech companies that had an 8 year head start on search?

     Why is a Mavericks experience different than going to any NBA game? Same game/ product/ refs/ players? If you interview you’re loyal fans on why they come to a Mavericks game, do you think the answer has anything to do with the latest MBA hitech marketing gimmick?

     But to create this experience, you neeed someone with vision that can define and tap into that collective nirvana, and can do it becuase they are passinate about the movies.

     Comment by Michael — July 28, 2006 @ 10:00 am

185. Mark,

     Imagine with me…

     I am an 18 year old college freshman. I am popular. I am outgoing. I am social. And I like movies.

     I want to go see the new Shaq/Penny movie this weekend (Blue Chips II). I don’t want to call up everyone and play mobile phone tag for the next 8 hours trying to coordinate this event. So, I login to my account at xxxxxxxxxx.com.

     I enter the movie, time, and location. I then invite all of my friends, either individually or by selecting a predefined group. BOOM! The invitation goes out. Through e-mail, text messages, IM, MySpace, FaceBook, everywhere!

     My friends login to their account at xxxxxxxxxx.com. They want to hook up with me and go. The system already has their payment information. And they all know about the bonus…

     For every four (or five, or N) people that come with me, the system will choose (randomly) one of us to go for free! I hope it’s me!

     Once a minimum threshold of people has indicated they want to go and/or a certain time is reached, then the tickets are purchased… with the system notifying everyone who the lucky person (or people) is that scored the free ticket(s)!

     The result…

     I show up at the theater. Seven of my friends have joined me. Amanda and Alicia are going for free… lucky chicks! They didn’t even know who Penny was! (But they had heard of Lil’ Penny, hmmm).

     I didn’t win the ticket, but I have a great time enjoying the movie with my friends. Maybe next time I join a movie group, I’ll be the one to go for free!

     Comment by Michael — July 28, 2006 @ 10:02 am

186. Well, putting the films in theaters NEAR WHERE I LIVE would help a lot.

     When you think “let’s do dinner and a movie” you don’t normally also think “let’s spend an hour and a half to get to someplace to see dinner and a movie.”

     When you’re spending 90 minutes to get to a theater, that’s not dinner and a movie, that’s “a night on the town,” which typically doesn’t include a movie.

     Personally, I’d do a lot better on this stuff if it was delivered to my house on DVD on a monthly basis (Film Movement) or if I had regular access to trailers and then a way to digitally purchase and receive the content (XBox Live Marketplace, for instance). I don’t have an HDTV yet, so I don’t subscribe to HD channels, so that distribution channel is closed to me.

     Comment by J.Goodwin — July 28, 2006 @ 10:08 am

187. Most movies market horribly because they are horrible.

     College kids can spread the word quickly… a few advanced screenings would be good. If you give vouchers for discounts or buy one-get one free at the screenings, the students could pass these along to other people.

     Competitions for prizes could work as well. Questions or trivia where the answers can only be found in the movie. People go to a site, register, answer the questions, and can get prizes.

     Another problem are the prices of movie tickets. Many people will only shell out that kind of money to see a movie they want to really see.

     A vehicle that travelled promoting the movie wouldn’t be a bad idea. The vehicle could stop at store fronts, with people signing autographs, etc. It could be similar to how many radio stations travel to different locations to broadcast. In fact, you could be there with a radio station, getting even more exposure.

     You could maybe make a television show (although I sorta hate reality shows) in which it’s the making of the movie. People could vote on the players (actors, writers…etc), what type of movie it could be, location(s), whether or not characters die, who gets together, breaks up… Would be a fine balance between not giving too much away but giving viewers ownership. If people voted on certain aspects of a movie, they’d surely be curious to see what the final product is like.

     Comment by Nathan — July 28, 2006 @ 10:19 am

188. Pardon me for not reading through the 874 comments, so hopefully this idea has not been mentioned.

     Youth sports organizations are currently some of the most undermarketed venues in the country (while at the same time very well attended). I would propose targeting some of the more widespread youth organizations as well as attacking it grass roots by identifying specific facilities that attract massive attendance figures and enter into exclusive marketing deals. The exclusivity will create an in your face atmosphere where each court, field, etc. will be dedicated to a particular message where fans are forced to sit for an hour and stare at only your message.

     Currently, my family runs a youth summer baskeball organization called Gym Rats Basketball based out of Ft. Wayne, IN. We have been around since 1994 and currently run 28 tournaments, 15 camps and 5 leagues on an annual basis. We draw teams from all over North America and just hosted a team from England that traveled to play in the USSSSA National tournament that we host. Our facility is 160,000 square ft. has 8 courts, a 5′ x 12′ LED sign, wireless internet access, an arcade, a wellness based fitness center, full service spa, etc. We estimate that over 400,000 visitors come through a year and we have about 7 million visitors to our website.

     I know of a number of other basketball facilities that draw ridiculous traffic, and soccer is a whole other story. If you are wondering about demographics: grandparents, parents (including hot moms), bothers, sisters, etc.

     When do I start? IU grad, JD/MBA 2006.

     Comment by J.R. Hensley — July 28, 2006 @ 10:44 am

189. The problem is a basic one: the theatre model of charging people money to enter a building and view films is obsolete. More and more people are choosing to rent or download movies, for a number of reasons, largely because it is less expensive than going to the theater and technology has made the home theatre a comparable experience (in the minds of most viewers, if not in reality). one thing marketers need to realize, when looking at the rising numbers related to digital piracy, is that piracy means people are still interested in purchasing your product; they are simply choosing not to for ancillary reasons such as cost, convenience, lack of quality, etc. Two things should be done concurrently. 1) the theatrical experience needs to be reimagined. the theatre would fare better as a more interactive environment in which moviegoers are encouraged to come early and stay late, hopefully discussing the films and doing other film-related activities, perhaps viewing trailers in booths or enjoying free coffee on the premises or meeting actors/directors/etc. 2) online and pay-per-view distribution needs to be invested in, and not merely in terms of rentals, but in terms of sales. DVD technology will soon go the way of CD technology, and marketers need to be at the forefront of this movement rather than lagging behind. also, the feature film model is dying. serious investment into short films, which can be easily downloaded, stored, and viewed on PDAs, cell phones, iPods, and other small items containing screens, is a great way to produce and market films that commonly cost less than $50,000 (i recently produced a crowd-pleasing, 7 min comedy short for $500) and potentially have remarkable returns and cheap distribution channels.

     Comment by Jonathan Ball — July 28, 2006 @ 11:06 am

190. The problem is a basic one: the theatre model of charging people money to enter a building and view films is obsolete. More and more people are choosing to rent or download movies, for a number of reasons, largely because it is less expensive than going to the theater and technology has made the home theatre a comparable experience (in the minds of most viewers, if not in reality). one thing marketers need to realize, when looking at the rising numbers related to digital piracy, is that piracy means people are still interested in purchasing your product; they are simply choosing not to for ancillary reasons such as cost, convenience, lack of quality, etc. Two things should be done concurrently. 1) the theatrical experience needs to be reimagined. the theatre would fare better as a more interactive environment in which moviegoers are encouraged to come early and stay late, hopefully discussing the films and doing other film-related activities, perhaps viewing trailers in booths or enjoying free coffee on the premises or meeting actors/directors/etc. 2) online and pay-per-view distribution needs to be invested in, and not merely in terms of rentals, but in terms of sales. DVD technology will soon go the way of CD technology, and marketers need to be at the forefront of this movement rather than lagging behind. also, the feature film model is dying. serious investment into short films, which can be easily downloaded, stored, and viewed on PDAs, cell phones, iPods, and other small items containing screens, is a great way to produce and market films that commonly cost less than $50,000 (i recently produced a crowd-pleasing, 7 min comedy short for $500) and potentially have remarkable returns and cheap distribution channels.

     Comment by Jonathan Ball — July 28, 2006 @ 11:09 am

191. Link up w/ Evite. A great place for people to plan parties and invite a group by email. Pay the organizer $x per head.

     Comment by Steven — July 28, 2006 @ 11:29 am

192. 1) Everyone loves getting gifts
     2) People generally enjoy going to the movies. It’s the prices that keep people away
     3) Mark could sell advertising to sponsor a portion of the movie – not free, but much less expensive
     4) The ads wouldn’t be shown, that would be annoying.
     5) Everyone would get to see the previews, movies, ad-free and enjoyable
     6) As the audience departs, they are each handed a wrapped gift box containing samples from a sponsor or multiple sponsors
     7) This is attractive to advertisers as they can match their market to the movie demographic Again, people like getting gifts and they like getting discounts

     Comment by Rich Marcia — July 28, 2006 @ 11:48 am

193. Easy soloution. You need to do 2 things. #1 Convert dollars spent into something less tangible to the general public so that you can spend less. And which can be reusable if not claimed. #2 Have other people do the advertising for you at less the cost you would spend. The way to do this is use AIR MILES. And most people dont know the cost but they are cheap, the actual cost is between 1-2 cents/mile. And you can take them from your other buisness which accrue miles buy using your credit cards. You can offer to give these miles away.. for example .. offer 100 miles to anyone buying a ticket and give them 100 miles per referal who they have see the movie. The customer must present his frequent flier number and referals frequent flier number at the counter. Assume that a large percentage of the customers will not remember their friends frequent flier number, but they are already at the movie counter, therefore they will purchase the movie ticket, as nothing else to do on their saturday night. These miles will not be collected and therefore not removed from your account.
     Call your program something catchy and cheesy like FLYING HIGH OFF CUBAN.
     The incentive for the movie and for friend referal, which is free advertising for you will be frequent flier miles, which if never used stay in your account. And these miles you probably already own, if you use your credit cards alot, especially starwood and american express cards which can transfer to any airlines. You Tell people you will give them a part of you… your own frequent flier miles.. and if you ever run low you can purchase them cheaply directly or buy making more purchase with your credit card

     Comment by Andy Brown — July 28, 2006 @ 11:55 am

194. Mark –

     What a great challenge. To answer your question directly – you take advantage of the buyer’s price sensitivities to maximize revenue through variable/dynamic ticket pricing based on ticket demand. By charging uniform price for all movies you create long lines for very popular movies and empty theaters for unknown movies – an imbalance of supply and demand. You need to lower prices for the unknown movies and inch up prices for the better know ones. I’ve completed this kind of demand based pricing analysis (and implementation) to grow both ticket volume and revenue for live entertainment events. If this approach can maximize revenue for classical music then it can also maximize revenue for filmed entertainment. Here is how it would work:

     Film Profile:
     - Low profile film: If you have a relatively unknown film that you feel has potential, lower prices to approx. $5 for the first weekend. Most people are willing to take a chance on a movie for $5 if it has some kind of hook. If the movie has merit then word of mouth will spread. As demand increases you can respond by increasing price as well. The problem with the movie business these days is that theater chains are charging $9 for relatively unknown films and as a result no one ever gets to see them because buyers can pay the same about for a better known film
     - High profile films: You could probably charge a little more for the higher profile films, especially for the opening weekend. The kind of person who wants to see a high profile film on the opening weekend would also be willing to pay more money to see it. Right now you are probably leaving money on the table by charging too little for the high profile films.

     Variable Pricing:
     - The starting price for each movie would be based on the early buzz. You don’t have to guess to measure this metric. Check out Hollywood stock Exchange and you can see how people are feeling about a movie and its stars. The higher the initial buzz, the higher the opening weekend ticket price.

     Dynamic Pricing:
     - If you have someone monitoring ticket sales you can change ticket prices in response to demand or in response to anticipated demand
     - Low profile films with increased word of mouth will actually have their prices increase over time
     - Higher profile films with their diminishing buzz will have prices lowered over time
     - This mechanism can help to maximize revenue as well as the increase the length of the run for the both types films

     - After setting prices each week (or day) you’ll have to tell people what you are charging for different films so they can make their decision – the web is the best way to accomplish this

     This is a problem that I know how to solve. Hope to work with you on this project soon.

     Comment by Anil Malhotra — July 28, 2006 @ 11:59 am

195. Mr. Cuban,

     I am an currently an intern at HDNet Films and a film student at Emerson College in Boston, Mass. I have for a long time now been interested in the debate as to the future of the medium in which I have decided to invest 140-150 thousand dollars worth of debt towards… I am very passionate for the medium of filmmaking, and the reason I chose to be an intern at HDNet Films is because I wanted to be a participant in that debate and that I feel the medium is about to enter a radical state of change.

     First, the concept of going to a theater to see the ‘moving picture show’ is a relic of the first days when cinema departed from vaudeville. This is not to say that I do not enjoy and cherish the experience that one can only get in a darkened theater, but I’m not sure in this new age of digital filmmaking, where anyone with a camera and a computer can for better or worse shoot, edit, and distribute their films themselves, whether movie theaters truly reflect the most appropriate form of exhibition anymore. Filmmaking has become or is becoming smaller, more personal. When I saw Bubble it was hard to miss the artistic ideas and the cinematic potential being displayed both in its form and in its content. Anyone can make a “Bubble” and anyone who wants to should. For me, that’s what the movie was about.

     Movie making is becoming more and more like what novel writing became 100-150 years ago, when the voices being heard diversified and fell more so into the hands of the populous. The literature world flourished with ideas from talented writers from every pocket of the world. For evidence of this trend in cinema, one only has to look at how well independent cinema played this year at the Oscars.

     Of course, there is a problem with this trend. When you step into a Barnes n’ Noble you’re surrounded by a million books that be may be great, may even be brilliant, but in all likelyhood could potentially be terrible. It’s overwhelming.

     And, to renforce the problem, Hollywood, the one consolidated, age old source of cinema in America, has become so top heavy and disconnected that the films they make cannot be trusted, especially at $10 dollars a head. It makes perfect sense that a family of four would hold out on the wallet breaking trip to the theater to wait until a movie comes out on DVD to see it. The risk of not being satisfied is not worth the cost.

     This trend, being instigated by financial circumstances works in the favor of independant cinema. If the main venue for film goes from being a multiplex to being a video store, or an OnDemand cable service, or even the internet, then the playing cards change. Now independance cinema can compete, and work produced outside of the detatched studio system can now take center stage.

     I don’t think it is honest to say that now, since the spark behind these trends has been lit, whether it will ever be reversed. Now that these new venues are here, they’re not going away. The culture of cinema is changing; culture in general is changing. If the companies that have been with us since the beginning want to be a player years down the road, they must either adapt or get out of the way, because other companies like what HDNet Films could potentially be (so much potential!!) will continue to grow and steal the spotlight.

     It is delusional to think that there is some solution out there that will make everyone who loves movies (and people still absolutely love movies, it is our generations text, we know it, read it, and love it better than anything) go back to making and watching movies the way they did before camcorders, before affordable editing software, before DVDs, before the internet, before BitTorrent, before YouTube, before iPods, and before laptops.

     Filmmaking as a medium is changing. If theater chains want to stay in business (which all businesses do), they must change with it. They must act as a participant in the debate, they must act as propogators of new ideas, concepts, and artist. They simply will not survive if they remain attatched to the idea that things will go back to the way they used to be.

     I love going to the theater to see movies. I will never stop going to the movies. But, it must be understood that theaters are not the only venue anymore… Lets explore what that means for moviemaking and not purely reject it!

     -Drew Mintz
     A lowly, unpaid intern at HDNet Films

     Comment by Drew Mintz — July 28, 2006 @ 12:16 pm

196. Hello Mark,

     Are there differences between the movie theater and Netflix (or TiVo)? (rhetorical question)

     Should there be differences? No. That’s where you begin. (Potentially including a subscription system).

     Another is the buzz/preview/feedback/petition system popularized recently with Snakes on a Plane. Community, communication, innovation, collaboration and input can be powerful marketing tools. This is not the same thing as social networking.

     Thanks,

     Fletch

     Comment by Fletch — July 28, 2006 @ 12:18 pm

197. Hi Mark -

     The fact is, I haven’t been to a movie in a movie theater in more than three years. I’m 34 years old, I love movies, I love HD, I’m into the SOUND and the PICTURE and the STORY.

     But I may never go to a theater again.

     I don’t like the person near me talking, I don’t like them crunching their popcorn and rattling their Twizzler bag ever five seconds, and I don’t like missing something when I run for a refill or for the bathroom.

     What would it take to get me back to the theater? It certainly isn’t about the price. Let me go to the movies for $3 and I wouldn’t go. I’ve gone to a half price theater about once in my life. It isn’t about the picture or the sound… I love real movie theather picturs and sound as they are today. I prefer it over my home, of course, despite the 62″ HDTV and surround sound I have set up. It is about the quality of the experience (see talking guy eating a barrel of popcorn referenced above) and the feeling of getting something of value for the TIME I’ve invested in getting to the theater and sitting there in the dark.

     To get me back to the theater (I’d have to think that at my early-to-mid-30s, I’m near your target market), I want you to give me a reason to get up and out. Give me a way to separate myself from my fellow patrons through some sort of barrier or something that blocks out their noise and need to comment as if they were sitting on the couch with their mother watching a soap opera. Headphones? Legalized puching and kicking? I”m not sure how you do it but it’s the #1 reason that I don’t go to the movies.

     Secondly, look at the airlines, credit cards, lunch-time punch cards.. people love to be rewarded for loyalty. Frequent flier miles.. People will travel out of their way to stay on their home airline. They’ll walk and extra three blocks to get their free Subway footlong. This idea goes directly to the feeling of value for my time spent. Give me a swipe card that’s like my frequent flier card. Give me points for every movie I attend at your theater. When I get enough points, I can redeem it for free drinks, popcorn, tickets, or if I bank more points, even better/larger prizes. Hell, it could be for movie posters, t-shirts, hats, etc… all of which cost theaters and movie companies very little but have a big return to the feeling of loyalty. Don’t give the stuff away for free -trade it for the points so they’ve EARNED it. And then everyone wins, especially with the swag. Movie companies get free promotions from people who WANT to wear the swag because they EARNED it.

     Just my two cents… My best of luck to you in your endeavours.

     Matt

     Comment by Matt — July 28, 2006 @ 12:39 pm

198. Movie Markteting: Outdated Distribution

     In this day and age, the grail that is the “movie theatre” and more specifically distribution methods are outdated.

     I dabble in music promotion and like the movie business, it is searching for ways to meet changing consumers and technology. However it is actually adapting and trying new ideas, whereas movies are using the same old method of heavy PR/advertising with a “grand movie theatre” release.

     With that being said, the marketing of movies will change only when ideas for distribution change. Imagine being able to download new releases on myspace, your i-pod and your DirectTV.

     Movie CEOS may argue that people will just invite a whole crowd of people into their home to watch a movie (the same argument music CEOs said about the idea of CD burning, MP3 exchange ect). For whatever reason, that doesn’t happen on as large of a scale as predicted.

     A new idea springing up in music is the idea of common people being able to sell music with their own on-line stores (Burn Lounge, SNOCAP). This allows any individual to sell music on their myspace, personnal website ect. while recieving a portion of the sale.

     This can work in movies and cut marketing costs dramatically, as people, while in their own self-serving interests of making a buck, are promoting the movie using various methods.

     So for example, here’s a situation:

     A new movie is being released. The distributor of that movie can allow a certain number of people to become “liscensed distributors.” There are various methods you can use to choose who should be a distributor. Perhaps they have to “bid” on an upcoming release or there can be a set price (e.g. $150 will let you sell this movie on your online store.)

     Either way there has to be a limit on liscensed distributors. Eventually, companies will spring up who start bidding to become distributors, competing against each other, while in turn, putting more $$ in the pockets of the movie people.

     Those liscensed distributors then will sell the movie at a predetermined price (say $8 per download with $1-2 going to the distributor).

     Movie companies will generate revenue through people buying distribution rights, those with distribution rights selling their movie, and of course people will still flock to theatres.

     There could be a plethora of partnerships with this idea (e.g. I-Tunes has exclusive rights to a movie). They will promote the hell out of it trying to make money as a “liscensed distributor). With the sheer # of people just going to I-Tunes, the movie will reach millions of viewers per day.

     In conclusion, if distribution changes, marketing changes. If it stays the same, it’ll stay the same. New ideas breed new ideas.

     Thanks.

     Comment by Brent — July 28, 2006 @ 1:12 pm

199. What’s one needs is this: “Mr. Movie-Fan” must spread the word to his less-frequently movie-going pals. Importantly, while these pals look to him for recommendations, that is not the basis for their relationship. In real life and on forums or blogs, one finds people who’s primary social-circle has nothing to do with movies; instead, it is children-based, Christian-based, politics-based, music/hobby based. Within each of these non-movie groups, there are some “movie-fans”, telling others about the movies they should and should not see. The same thing happens in the flesh-and-blood world, e.g. with “water cooler talk”.

     “Mr. Movie-Fan” already knows the names and gist of new releases. Buzz and good reviews at movie-related sites are the bedrock on which he builds his opinion. That addresses the question of getting Mr. Movie-Fan to see your movie. The questions are: how to entice him even more? how to get him to tell his less-frequently movie-going friends about the good ones. The steps to take are:

     1.Identify the real movie-fans; particularly, the ones who spread movie-WOM
     2. Provide incentives to these regular goers to spread WOM. Free and discounted tickets for the next movie if they post a review (even if they post a negative review), discounted tickets that they can give to their pals, the normal internet-affiliate links if they have their own blogs, and so on

     In essence, cultivate a culture of “micro movie-critics”. Of course, the above two things are easier said than done. OTOH it’s not rocket-science, but would take detailed leg-work.

     Comment by Software Nerd — July 28, 2006 @ 1:16 pm

200. Mark,

     Revamp the product being offered–to a certain extent. Let the movie audience interact with the movie and determine how their movie ends.

     Remember choose-your-own-adventure books? Why can’t movies be offered in that style? Every genre has pivotal points of the movie where the main characters make a decision: sometimes predictable while other times unexpected. My vision: Upon reaching one of those critical points in the movie, pause and let the audience select one of two (or a few choices) for what action the character should take. A short preview of each choice is showed, followed by, “What should happen next? Choose choice A or B and help decide.” Audience majority decides how the movie progresses.

     With three two-choice branching audience decisions, there are alrady eight different possible endings for the movie–also a great way to create value in repeat-viewing.

     Granted this would increase the time and costs of production, but it would provide a fresh take on a declining business.

     Matt

     Comment by Matt J — July 28, 2006 @ 1:41 pm

201. I did not read through all of the 800-odd comments (and I offer both kudos and patience), but we at Press-On Pictures are creating a small NYC-based film company. And in simplest terms, we plan on replicating, on purpose, the whole “Snakes on a (m.f.) Plane” writing-development-marketing phenomenon – for socially conscious docs, and nonfiction and original features. That is not meant to detract in any way from the abundance of superb ideas offered herein by Mr. Cuban’s readers. Cheers.

     Comment by holly hodder — July 28, 2006 @ 1:46 pm

202. Movie Marketing: Distribution (POST #850)

     What I want to make clear, that didn’t come across so well in post 850 is that the marketing costs are virtually eliminated by competeing distributors.

     For example: If you say I-Tunes, cnn.com and myspace.com are all distributors for a movie, they will be competeting against each other and marketing the movie, taking a huge portion of marketing costs away from the movie production company.

     The idea relies on capitalism, which seems to work, most of the time.

     Comment by Brent — July 28, 2006 @ 1:54 pm

203. Mark,

     If Pearl Jam was coming to Dallas for a set of concerts, but played three times a day for a month straight, and the same set list every time…..would you get excited about going?

     Change the way a movie is released to the public, create demand for tickets, and give the audience an experience that they could never receive at home or in the theater. Some more specifics include:

     1. Create a traveling ‘concert’ tour to show the movie. Build/buy the biggest digital screen in the world. Bring along a sound system that will blow people away (Sony/Samsung sponsors?). Perform limited engagements in cities (6 nights in LA, 3 nights in Dallas) to create ticket demand.
     2. Show the movie in unique spaces, from State/Palace theater venues, to outdoor ampitheaters and stadiums/arenas.
     3. Have a different product than the ‘theater’ version, show the director cut, or extended version, or alternate ending…a version that will only be shown on this tour.
     4. Make it a unique event, not just a movie:
     - On one night, have the director do a live Q&A with the audience
     - Have the actors show up for an autograph session or live Q&A
     - Chris Rock is in the movie? Have him do a live standup as an opening act
     - Pearl Jam is on the soundtrack? Have them do a an opening act.

     I think you get the idea. By presenting the movie on a technology platform (sound and sight) that is unmatched, showing a unique product, and creating a concert tour-type event, I believe you can change the way movies are released and the press and marketing will naturally follow.

     Comment by Matt Chapman — July 28, 2006 @ 1:54 pm

204. M. Night Shyamalan recently said something to the affect of “if they don’t release movies in theaters anymore, he’ll quit… and his movie will be the last shown in the theater.” Or something very close to that.

     There’s something about the theater experience that makes the movie better. Come on. What’s better? Going to see the Rolling Stones, sitting front row? OR Listening to a live Rolling Stones CD really loud at home? The answer’s obvious. It’s the same with films. It’s just better in the theater.

     So, I offer a couple of opinions on the matter. First, start releasing cutting edge material with a strong voice that breaks tradition and reinvents the medium. Release great films, and people will go to the theater. I can name about 50 movies that had a budget of under $1 million dollars, that made tons of money in the theater, and were actually really good films. A couple examples are EASY RIDER, CLERKS, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT…

     Second, STOP WORRYING SO MUCH ABOUT IT!!! Everything comes back around. People aren’t going to the theaters as much as they were ten years ago, or twenty years ago, but they will come back… hopefully. The problem is you are competing with another type of movie that doesn’t cost anything to make, is very entertaining, and leaves you with a present at the end. Yes, you guessed it. PORNOS. If these degenerates would get off their lazy, fat asses for anything except to get food or clean-up their gooey mess, then they would probably seek another type of enjoyment and pleasure… the SILVER screen (not the BLUE).

     There’s a documentary on HBO right now called BOFFO, about Hollywood blockbusters and bombs. The common denominator to all the movies they speak of is THEY DON’T KNOW ANYTHING about what will be a hit. Although there are great films that don’t have a theater audience (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, SWINGERS), most good films make their money back in the theater… and then some.

     SO

     1. Make good films.
     2. Have patience – people will come… back to the theater.
     3. Have confidence in your product.
     4. Sign smaller deals (not 8 pictures with Soderbergh – maybe three or four)
     5. Make great films.

     And thank you.

     Comment by Brian — July 28, 2006 @ 2:02 pm

205. Good stuff here. Most of it completely subjective and almost impossible to implement in a cost efeective way…but still food for thought!

     You can translate many of the techniques you use for the Mavs live game experience to your theatres. Order ahead tickets. Ability to pick seats. Order ahead food. Private boxes. This next one I can’t beleive hasn’t been done yet. Have aisle vendors BEFORE the movie for soda/candy/popcorn.

     Keep commercials before the lights dim. Trailers only after.

     I can see where your frustration comes from. You are trying to quantify a subjective experience. This is why you hit the wall. It’s impossible. That’s why all “the make better movies” line is stupid. I love Seinfeld. My mother hates it. It just so happens that I am in the majority and my mom is in the minority, nothing more. Money can be made from both Seinfeld lovers AND haters.

     No big ideas here. You just need to simplify. Identify a demographic that attends movies (or doesn’t attend movies) and exploit them. The problem is that one movie theater can’t be all things to all demographics. Movie plexes don’t work. It just dilutes to the middle which no one likes.

     Clean Theater
     Simplify concensions. What sells keep. Don’t offer more. If you have the BEST popcorn, people will come for that.
     Offer Coke AND Pepsi.
     HAVE to figure out a way to seperate Teens from Adults from Families. Each group annoys the other.
     The above will solve the talking/cell phone problems.
     Teens want to group and socialize.
     Adults want quiet to date and watch and appreciate a movie in peace.
     Familys want an affordable easy experience (with booster chairs!)

     As it stands now Teens dominate and Adults/Familys stay away. You know why. They can stay home and watch 50″ HDTV with a recliner, good popcorn and own bathroom. You cant’ fight that very well. You have to turn that to your advantage. I have a baby. My friend has 4 kids. These people will almost NEVER go to the theater. However, we want to see the movies too. Offer PPV, DVD, and ipod the same day. Trust me. it is about choice for the customer, not how you want us to experience the movie (sorry directors!)

     Last, if you can’t split out the 3 groups. Please offer head phone jacks and or wireless/bluetooth headphones so I can block out the jackasses around me!

     Thats all I got in 5 minutes. Good Luck!

     Comment by me — July 28, 2006 @ 2:04 pm

206. Maybe one way to look at it is, instead of looking to reduce the number of dollars spent per person marketing your movie, try to make those dollars go farther. Instead of having a separate marketing campaign for the DVD and the movie, just have one, and release the DVD and the movie simultaneously. I’m not really that familiar with the financials of DVD sales, but at least the theaters don’t get have the sales, as they do with theater tickets. (Perhaps resellers, such as Walmart keep some of that cash, but you can also attempt to increase direct sales by encouraging consumers to pre-order the DVDs in your trailer. Promise opening day delivery of the DVD to their home.)

     I don’t think this is a completely new idea. But I’m not sure why it hasn’t been done yet (except with that one Soderbergh movie.)

     Good luck!

     Comment by Ameer Youssef — July 28, 2006 @ 2:13 pm

207. 1) Let us use technology to our advantage! Create micro-theaters that seat anywhere from 4 to 100 people. Additionally charge for the room with custom show times and shows. Prices can vary according to supply and demand. Screens can vary from 8′ to 30′ across.

     2) In the HUGE theaters, drop prices; the first third of the tickets are $5 each and the second third are $8 each. Keep the last third for walk ins only at $9 each. Like an airplane, an empty theater is a waste of resources, so keeping them full is to your advantage.

     3) Allow for subscriptions. For $20 a month let me see as many movies as I want. For $30 a month let me in FIRST or give me a reserved section. For $40 a month let me bring a guest.

     4) Allow for batch purchases. For $25 up front let me in to any four movies, any time I want.

     5) Create a family/group discount program; for a $15 ticket let me bring 4 people in. For $25 let me bring in six people.

     Comment by Louis Wang — July 28, 2006 @ 2:25 pm

208. Most movies target a spicific audience, but spends way too much money mass marketing. Example: “The Devil Wears Prada” would have been very easily marketed at a girls night out party – “bring 5 friends and you get in free” – “Dress in Prada & buy one ticket & get one ticket free”. Market this months out on shopping bags in both high end and low end retailers. Tie in with a restaurant chain and offer 50% off meals with a ticket stubb & do table tents a month out. Offer free tickets or a premeir to the staff at the restaurant to make sure the word of mouth kicks in.

     A sports related movie should plaster posters over all the stadiums & do contest to win tickets at the games. Show trailers on the screens

     As a mother of two – I would create two versions of some movies and sell them both of DVD. There are many movies I would like my kids to see with a few changes – even PG13 can
     be pretty bad for kids – but the movie itself is good!

     As a past marketing consultant for radio – I know they will do a great job to promote movies, espically if they are given a great idea tie-in & prize to offer one of “their own clients”. A National movie is a hot ticket for local retailers with lot’s of customers.

     Movies need to be made to meet the needs of people with lot’s of expendable cash & the time to go : grandparents & aging baby boomers. 60% of all weath comes from people over the age of 60. They will go, I’ve seen it!

     Comment by Kim Stiles — July 28, 2006 @ 2:46 pm

209. here’s an off-the-wall movie theater experiment i’ve been thinking about.

     design a destination where in addition to traditional theaters with huge screens and huge audiences you also create a number of smaller, more intimate spaces that small groups of 6-20 or so could “rent” to watch a movie.

     These aren’t those tiny crappy rooms you get when you go to watch that random indie film and they shove it into the tiny room with crappy sound and video with weird seats.

     These screening rooms should be comfortable, classy and funky–tables to put your drinks and food on, couches, love seats or just something that doesn’t look like a movie theater for seating. Basically make this like a super home theater where people will feel comfortable hanging out and being social.

     Why do this when a lot more people have nice home theaters? First, the number of people with truly nice home theaters is still pretty small. Second, these are NEW movies that aren’t available yet to bring home. Forget simultaneous DVD releases, give people the convenience and enjoyment of the home theater while still getting them out to pay for the movies! Third, these micro-theaters can still have a much bigger screen (at least 2x-3x your biggest 60″ plasma or whatever), better sound, etc. than a home theater. Also, people don’t have to clean up afterwards or worry about the distractions of home. But it retains the more intimate setting of a home theater and gets rid of the annoyances of strangers, like their damn cell phones.

     People should be able to buy nice/gourmet food from a restaurant to bring into their theater room. Beer/wine (and maybe cocktails as well) should also be sold and allowed into the theater. People should also be allowed to bring their own food in. Sure theaters make tons of $ on vending but people will be happier that they have the freedom to bring food and don’t have to hide it, and a good number will choose to pay for the nice food at the place anyway, just like tons of people download songs or video through p2p but still buy CDs, iTunes songs etc. Plus you’ll be making good margins on the beer/wine, which won’t be allowed in, or requires a “corkage” like in any restaurant.

     More ideas–give users control. Rent the spaces out for ~3 hours for a 2 hour movie. let people come early to eat and hang out. let them control the lighting, climate etc. don’t show commercials. or maybe give people the choice of watching some pre-movie shorts (tv shows, previews, games, or something, which could also include commercials). But give them a remote control and let them make their own decisions–this is basically an on demand service that people can play with if they want. Don’t make the movie officially start at one time–allow people to start it when they are ready. You could even allow people to pause the movie for food and bathroom breaks. everyone will know each other, so it’s not a big deal. You could even let people bring their own DVDs or sell DVDs at the theater and just rent the space out for a slight discount.

     anyway, these are just some brief thoughts. whether it’s economically feasible or desirable, i’m not sure. The idea though is to retain the experience of going out, experiencing the film on a big (enough) screen with great sound etc., but adapting to the feeling that people want control over their experiences, they want to avoid the annoyances of other people and they are willing to pay for quality if the experience is worthwhile enough. the idea is to narrowcast and target intelligent consumers that have or aspire to a certain lifestyle.

     this may not be a solution for the industry as a whole, but it could allow theaters to capture a higher-end demographic that has started to disappear. People might pay more for a more personalized, controllable experience.

     Mark, hope you read this far. I’ve got a lot of respect for what you are doing in the media world.

     Comment by eric — July 28, 2006 @ 2:54 pm

210. Yes, make better movies. Make lots of them for cheaper. Make them about people not things. Let people who’ve experienced life–not 18-25 year olds right out of college or some beneficiary of nepotism–write them.

     AND, offer a full ticket REFUND for ANYONE who doesn’t like the product.

     Consumers are able to return almost any product they buy at other retailors, but not at movie theaters.

     If movie producers stood by their products–like Lee Iacocca once did–then, more people might be willing to go to the theater!

     Comment by Russ Barnes — July 28, 2006 @ 3:09 pm

211. The reason people are not going to movies any more is because of several things.

     1) Paying 10 dollars a person to see a movie that might suck is not worth it. Also, having to sit through 20 minutes of previews and commercials is getting a bit ridiculous. If they are advertising that much before a movie starts, then ticket prices should be reduced.

     2) Hollywood is producing stale content (we don’t need more remakes of older movies. No matter who you get to play in the new movie)

     3) Sequels of some movies are great but it seems that every movie that makes a big profit gets a sequel. Do we really need that many sequels that are bound to be plotless copies of the original.

     Instead of trying to get more people into the theaters, just get into their homes. High definition movies on demand that show the same movies that are at theaters. Or release the dvds at the same time as movie launch. You tried this with Bubble, but try it with a more mainstream movie. See how that works. I would be willing to pay to watch a new movie from the comfort of my home.

     If you can just remember these 2 points:
     1) Quality of the Content
     2) Price

     Comment by Colin C. — July 28, 2006 @ 3:14 pm

212. Do first runs for internet writers that have a popular blog/column (e.g., Bill Simmons on ESPN). Let them review your movies to their wide audience. The cost is not free as they can kill your movie with their audience when they don’t like it. On the other hand, have you seen how many people show up for a Bill Simmons chat?

     Comment by George Hykal — July 28, 2006 @ 3:21 pm

213. Movies can be a difficult “product” to market. It all depends on the movie.

     As it is, people determine very quickly if they want to spend the money to see a movie in the theaters, based on the trailer or the premise. Studios spend so much to just give a film visibility, though even they can’t keep people from waiting it out for the DVD release.

     Every studio wants films to generate as much attention as “Blair Witch Project”, “Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Passion of Christ”. But these kinds of occurrences are way too rare to count on.

     Movies like “Spiderman 3″ will be easier to market because the audience for it enjoyed the previous 2.

     2929 Entertainment doesn’t make movies like Spiderman 3, at least not yet. From a look at the website, it looks like 2929 has a lot of niche films.

     Marketing niche films have always been hard. Every indie film out there is trying to do it, and some find an audience, though most just disappear.

     One of the problems with marketing niche films, is that it may be hard for even the marketing people to be into the film enough know how to market it.

     So it’s important to have a marketing team with diverse interests, so there can be different ideas presented when it comes time to market a hard to categorize film.

     I think it also helps to have input from the filmmakers. Their unique insight of their works is always beneficial from a marketing aspect.

     There are tons of suggestions on how to entice people to get into theaters to see movies and most of them are great. But unless all of 2929 Entertainment’s films are only playing in Landmark Theaters, I think it will be hard to get all the other theaters to cooperate with these incentives.

     So in order to get 5 million people to show up consistently, 2929 Entertainment has to emerge as a brand that is known for a certain quality of film.

     This is what Pixar has done. Before Pixar, any animated film, was thought to be a Disney film, just because of the perception that only Disney made animated films. Even though Pixar got help from Disney, they proved they can create a better film than Disney, and the rest is history.

     There is a built in audience for a Pixar film. I believe even if they kept their marketing to a minimum, there would be people who go out of their way to find out when the next Pixar film will be released and let other people know.

     In the same way, 2929 Entertainment needs to become a brand that appeals to a certain audience. This audience will the fan base that will help get the word out. The more passionate the fan base, the farther the word travels I believe.

     Brand loyalty is probably the only way to get 5 million people to show up to see a film, without spending $50 million in marketing.

     Comment by Thomas Mathai — July 28, 2006 @ 3:21 pm

214. Sell liquor/beer/wine, improve the food (move to decent sandwiches, garlic fries- food found at a decent ball park), increase entertainment options (expand arcades, have a bar, maybe live music), and restrict the hours that under 18 year olds can be in the movie theater (curfew them at 10:30 p.m.), and add a smoking area. Oh and add valet parking.

     Comment by KGC — July 28, 2006 @ 3:31 pm

215. 1. I still think the marketing costs are out of control because you are blasting advertising to everyone rather than just the people who would like that film. Know your demographics better and advertise in a more targeted approach to them. Big spend branding adveritisng for a nitche movie is a complete waste of money. Its not about more marketing its about smart marketing.

     2. And unfortunatley its about time. It takes time for word of mouth to travel. In fact that time after a movie is out of theaters and not yet available on DVD is probably a crucial time, because some less connected people are just hearing about it then, and they look it up on the internet only to find that it’s gone and the dvd won’t be out for 6-12 months. So they’re immediatley lost. (at least get their email so you can ping them when it is available)Finding a way to bridge that gap and do the theater & dvd push all in one push rather than twice (once for the theaters and once for the dvd sales) would cut on marketing costs and keep the buzz going longer. Would they release dvds when movies are in theaters? Or soon after they’re out? I think some experimenting here would be interesting.

     Comment by theprotagonist — July 28, 2006 @ 3:35 pm

216. One big frustration I have with movie releases are the ads. They start way too early (months before the release date). I can see an ad once and be excited about the movie, but after a month of saturation my desire to see the movie has already waned, all before the release.

     I see a movie nearly every weekend and during the week I’m planning what movie to see that Saturday, not several weeks in the future. I need to know what’s out now, not what will be out at Thanksgiving.

     Plus, the ads often give away (or seem to give away) enough of the plot that I don’t feel like I need to see the movie. Ads should tell you the genre, cast, crew, and basic plot of the movie. I don’t want to see every funny scene in the movie in the ad. I don’t want the end given away in the ad.

     Another frustration is release window. Some movies are gone before I have a chance to see them. I’d prefer that movies stay in the theatres longer. I’ve enjoyed many movies which were well into their second or third month of release. And, I’ve missed many movies that were showing for only a few weeks. Maybe with digital distribution you can create more interesting release schedules. For example, one screen could show a rotating selection of two or three related movies.

     Finally, when I lived in Boston I went to a rivival theatre all the time (The Brattle). I think it would be interesting if normal theatres carried some revival movies. I’m probably going to go see Blade Runner when it is re-released next year. I saw all the Star Wars in the theatre for the special editions. I would love to see some of the big hits from the past on the big screen. Why not pair Superman with Superman Returns as a double feature? Or, even a recent release like Saw with the new movie Descent. Schizopolis with Bubble!

     Comment by Fletcher Sandbeck — July 28, 2006 @ 3:36 pm

217. This may seem counter-intuitive, but my answer is show fewer movies…now bear with me. With digital projectors in a huge number of theaters now and more on the way, start using them to show other things than movies.

     Show big season openers and cliffhangers for shows with huge followings like Lost and event shows like American Idle. Show the Superbowl with appropriate food and flare. Make the events that are sucking people away from the theaters the very thing that brings in more business. During the middle of the day when you have maybe a dozen people in each theater at a 14 screen multiplex, just cut down which movies are playing to the more popular ones and add things like spongbob, or even one of my personal favorites a theater set up to split the screen into a dozen views and play multiplayer Doom.

     To make theatres and thus movies more profitable, first get more people to the theater, that will get you second less stress on ever growing ticket price, which will third make people more interested in going where they go many days in the week, the good old fasioned movies.

     Comment by Mick Darling — July 28, 2006 @ 3:37 pm

218. I’ve been out of the movie going group for maybe 20 years, possibly more. Let me list the reasons I’ve not gone, and later talk about what it would take to get me back.

     I won’t say most movies are bad, just that they don’t appeal because of *excessive violence*. Hollywood is using ‘action’ (read violence) as a substitute for a real plot and good dialog.

     I suspect but cannot prove that the screen violence provides both a bad example and reduces aversion to violence in kids, though it is only one factor.

     But worse than that, it makes most of the plots seem the same. This is the most critical item on this subject. If the viewers can’t tell the plots apart, why would they come back?

     Plots apart, there are all too many movies that count on horror or fear to attract an audience. Dumb. I see enough of that in real life – I don’t consider it entertainment but torture.

     Another problem in the movies is the use of very expensive ‘name’ actors in almost every major movie, as a supposed draw. Two pproblems – it drives up costs and overexposes the actors to the point where you don’t want to see the same faces again, different role or not.

     Finally on movie problems, there are simply too many ‘me too’ movies, poor takes on what might have been a good idea, once. Boring.

     Now let’s move on to a list of theater problems:
     1. Outrageous snack prices.
     2. Excessive sound volume in the movie.
     3. Forced viewing of advertisements *after* you paid how much?!
     4. Short shows, typical 90 minutes rather than 120 or more. It’s difficult to do a good movie that short.
     5. Talking loudly and on cell phones during a movie. Not to mention stranger things happening.

     Finally, let’s talk about the few remaining positives:
     In the last two years, I have seen two films – “Serenity” and “What the Bleep.” I would have seen “An Inconvenient Truth,” but I have been researching Global Warming for 18 months and already knew how it came out. :-}

     Note that neither of these was a major film with the usual actors. They were original and surprising. I both enjoyed and learned from the movies. And I won’t be going for anything less.

     How to fix the problems?
     1. Use better source. There are many good writers out there and good books, but the producers need to take off their blinders, erase their preconceptions about what sells, and (gasp) take a little content risk.

     2. Also, don’t rewrite a successful book story unless you are a writer of comparable talent. Ultimately, it is the **story** that is important – the actors portray it and the producers focus it, but producers are not writers and should be very careful about redesigning the story line.

     3. Get away from using violence, especially the grossly overdone car chases, gun fights, phoney falls, building explosions *unless* they are *essential* to the story. Damn few are.

     4. More realism. Most of the actors are not representative of the public, both in race and form. They are too good looking, and though subtle, that detracts from the realism. Movies should strive to look ‘real’, even if enhanced.

     I’m not sure anyone will read this far. I could go on, but my fingers are getting tired. :-}
     However, there are more issues to explore and change for a much improved experience, and much improved attendence.

     BillN

     Comment by Bill Nicholls — July 28, 2006 @ 3:47 pm

219. Increase the time between movie release and movie going to video to one year at the least.
     By making movies that drop in theaters and Blockbusters on the same day you’ve taken the “special” out of going to the theatre. There’s nothing special anymore. Premiers are special that’s about it.
     2. Digital theater projection would be nice as well. Since my 55 inch SED (2008) Blue Ray movie will look great. A ratty 3 week old movie print isn’t going to cut it. The experience has to be better.
     Once people taste quality they start demanding it.
     But really all it takes is cutting back the release dates a year. Scarcity creates desire. Desire creates demand.
     Good luck

     Comment by MCLOKI — July 28, 2006 @ 3:50 pm

220. A couple of suggestions:

     1) Most people complain that they can buy the DVD for the cost of going to the actual theatre with their spouse — so why not provide some kind of incentive for going to the theatre that actually applies towards purchase of a DVD? For example, place serial numbers on all ticket stubs and with that, a patron who really likes a movie can get a $n credit ($5?) towards buying the DVD when it comes out?

     2) I for one hate going to a popular movie on a weekend evening only to find the only available seats are the first row or off to the side. Stadium style seating takes care of that somewhat, but there are still some rather undesirable seats not to mention it might be difficult to find a place where you can sit together with your friend(s). Like airplane tickets that are bought online, it should be the case that one can reserve seats ahead of time perhaps for a nominal fee? I for one would not mind spending a couple of extra bucks in order to make sure that my date and I get good seats! This might be difficult to enforce across an entire theatre, so maybe there are some reserved, premium sections? Kind of like the balconies at operas or business class on airplaines. First in first out (FIFO) seating is for economy style experiences like Southwest Airlines. I’m not saying do away with it entirely, but there should be room for differentiation if desired.

     Comment by Jimmy Hong — July 31, 2006 @ 6:12 pm

221. Bounce-backs are always good incentives. Maybe this could work on a national level. If someone brings in their ticket stub for said movie, they get a discount at another business. The businesses usually end up getting poeple they wouldn’t otherwise and in turn cross promote the movie. It’s an incentive the movie does’t have to take a cut for.

     Comment by Hans — July 31, 2006 @ 6:15 pm

222. What an interesting challenge. I started putting my thoughts out on paper, but it got way too long for a comment here. It’s a list of challenges as I understand them, and nine or so recommendations for overcoming them. If you find a moment, I hope you will read my blog entry called “For Mark Cuban. How to get more people to the movies.” Posted on my blog. If I understand the way this comment system works, you should be able to click my name to read the blog entry.
     Thanks!

     Comment by Mike DelGaudio — July 31, 2006 @ 6:24 pm

223. Mark,
     I’m a huge Mavs fan and live in uptown near the AAC. I have been doing business in Dallas since I graduated from Texas State in 1999. I was responsible for financing 40% of the condos at The Terrace near The W. I have decided to take an entrepreneurial risk and go to work for myself. My company, PartyHD.com, is going to promote parties, film weddings and events in HD. I have an extensive network of clients financed and friends from all over the country. I would love an opportunity to discuss your movie challenge position. Thank you for your time and attention.

     Best regards,

     Ben Neupert
     PartyHD.com
     ben@partyhd.com

     Comment by Ben Neupert — July 31, 2006 @ 6:59 pm

224. I have a job. It’s simple to get someone like myself to return who hasn’t been in a movie theater in a year. STOP SHOWING COMMERCIALS BEFORE THE PICTURE BEGINS! I wait for the DVD release because I refuse to sit and watch an ad. I paid to have a movie experience and not sit through commercials. If a theatre wants to show advertisements to me, then there should be no fee at the door.

     Comment by earwitness — July 31, 2006 @ 7:43 pm

225. Please note I am admiting up-front that I did not bother reading 99% of the comments, since by the time I got here, there was already 995 comments posted already. So, I beg your pardon if this has already been suggested.

     Blogs are so common and widely read today. How about seeking out the high traffic blog sites and negotiate advertizement? Seek out those that gets massive traffic. Majority of the bloggers do not have advertizers that I am guessing you can probably negotiate an appealing flat fee that would be a fraction of a full-on advertizement campaign. You reach high numbers of people and depending on your research on the blogs you’re negotiating with, you could be targetting your demographic by being selective with the blogs you work with. This idea works well with what you’re already doing utilizing the Internet.

     Comment by jt — July 31, 2006 @ 9:30 pm

226. Mr. Cuban,

     Utilize what you have to get results.

     1. Have a link added on to all of your existing promotional ads and sites that allows consumers to register with your site to recieve free movie trailers, free ringtones of the soundtrack and discounts directly to their cell phone or pda.

     Benefits – Consumers automatically receives updates,trailers, they will sign on for the free ringtones (you can use the publicity of ringtone to bargin with the music artist), and discount tickets.

     2. You will be able to use the list created in step one for all your future movies without any additional cost.

     3. When consumers access movie fone or any search engine the will automatically be directed to your movie site so the adding the link will be of minimal expense.

     Comment by Tina Harrison — July 31, 2006 @ 9:37 pm

227. As I am sure you already know and have been told numerous times cost is a big issue. How do you make it affordable for a family of 4 to go to the movies. My wife and I have 2 daughters and plan to have a third child. We are locky in that we have family to leave the kids with for free if we decide to go to a movie. thank God for grandparents! It would be nice not to burden them with the kids, although I am sure they do not mind, and take them with us. We do not always want to see the G rated movie and they are not old enough to watch a movie alone with us in another theater. So, I suggest free child care. Section off a small area of the theater to leave the kids, between a certain age of course. Have a security feature in place so the correct people pick up their kids after their movie. Have fun things for the kids to do such as games, cartoons, ect. Start off with one kid per adult movie ticket purchase. sure ticket prices might have to increase say 50 cents per person to cover the cost. Then once the family has the kids there I am sure they will buy food, which will also increase revenue. Bennigan’s, at least the local one, has kids eat free on Tuesdays. You get one free child’s meal with the purchase of an adults. The best thing is they block off a section of the restaurant for the kids to play in with all kinds of games, coloring, and videos. We like so much we are going to have our daughter’s birthday there. It is a good idea and they get LOTS of business on Tuesday nights.

     Comment by David P — July 31, 2006 @ 10:54 pm

228. Loyalty program.
     Sign up for an HDNet rewards card that gets swiped everytime you go to the theater for an HDNet movie. Reaching certain levels triggers discounts with partners, which could range from refreshment discounts to product discounts to VIP status at clubs.

     Comment by JJ — July 31, 2006 @ 11:28 pm

229. Mark,

     Have you considered selling a “season ticket” package to the movies? This concept could be taken directly to companies and offered through the HR department as an employee benefit, much the way some cell phone providers and banks visit the workplace. You could sell directly to the employees on their breaks or at employee meetings. Once the interest is really hyped, you might even be able to sell companies on buying the season passes for their employees as a part of their full benefits package.
     Thanks for helping make our Mavs great!
     Chad

     Comment by Chad Johnston — August 1, 2006 @ 12:22 am

230. Mark,

     Have you considered selling a “season ticket” package to the movies? This concept could be taken directly to companies and offered through the HR department as an employee benefit, much the way some cell phone providers and banks visit the workplace. You could sell directly to the employees on their breaks or at employee meetings. Once the interest is really hyped, you might even be able to sell companies on buying the season passes for their employees as a part of their full benefits package.
     Thanks for helping make our Mavs great!
     Chad

     Comment by Chad Johnston — August 1, 2006 @ 12:23 am

231. that is a new way to earn money!

     Comment by wholesale art — August 1, 2006 @ 3:28 am

232. that is a new way to earn money!

     Comment by wholesale art — August 1, 2006 @ 3:33 am

233. WE CAN FIX THE MOVIES
     Why can I spend $15-30 on meal and feel it’s a good value?
     Why can I spend $3 on a cup of coffee?
     Why do I visit my local bookstore when I can buy online for cheaper?
     Why will I spend $100/person for a day at the amusement park?

     Good Service.
     Good Products.
     Good Atmosphere.
     AND MOST IMPORTANTLY a Perception that I can’t equal these any place else.

     What’s broken about the movies is that lack of perceived value.
     $20 for a ticket, a cola, and a few handfuls of popcorn at a theater with poorly reproduced sound and picture quality. Hell, I can do better than that at home.

     SO, HOW DO WE FIX IT?
     We make it an experience you can’t get at home, one that seems such a good value that people want to do it again next week.

     First, the prerequisites.
     1. Realize that theater is a community experience, at least it should be, if we want auditoriums filled. The electricity of a packed house minutes before the trailers begin cannot be recreated at home. Neither can screams or laughter of a crowd. Embracing and respecting that community is the beginning to winning their love.

     2. Provide a better presentation than can be found at home. Big screens, bright pictures, ample surround sound, and a comfortable environment are all required. But that’s not all…

     3. We must also embrace Digital Projection and the amazing transformation it can bring to cinema. DLP is not only a way to produce superior presentations but it frees cinema from the constraints of film. Projectors can be used for live events, sports, independent features, local productions, short films, education, plays, teleconferencing, the list goes on…

     4.THE THEATER MUST BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
     Right now, most theaters provide nothing more than a first look at a film that will probably play better on my home theater 6 months from now. They need to become a place that embraces film lovers and provides them with a unique experience. Sneak previews, special one night shows, re-releases, these could all be incentives to start gaining trust and with digital projection they could all become feasable.
     New hardware and software is making it possible for almost anyone to start producing content. To help foster development for new and local artists the local theater should provide a venue to show, share and learn. Not only will it bring in business, but it will nurture our future filmmakers. It will also be a scoutting place for new talent and possible further ditribution whether it be the internet or other digital theaters. Anyone can put their film on the web. The hurdle is getting people to see it. The local theater should become a trusted place and a place to socialize and information source of future movies. (Advertisements are fine, but not when they are pushed down peolple’s throats)

     5. Find other sources of revenue instead of just tickets and concessions. Consumers are having a hard time justifying the prices. The idea is to provide a place that can be enjoyed as a night out (regardless how good the feature was). People should regret not going there on a Friday Night.

     IF I COULD BUILD MY OWN THEATER
     It starts with a state of the art multiplex, but expands to include other services that are also social gathering places. These other services include bars and restaurants that also have their own screens. These auxiliary screens will not show first run features but will instead cater to very specific niche audiences. The goal of each is provide a experience that cannot be found elsewhere. And the screens create an opportunity to experiment with new ideas, in case some parts of the plan works better than others

     FOOD
     A casual upper middle class (Cheesecake Factory like) restaurant designed to be the premiere place to dine before or after your showtime. Above the dining area would be a 360 screen showing silent clips of films that could spark movie conversations or air any special events.

     A cheaper food court like restaurant could provide an alternative for quicker meals. Still the goal is quality and profit. Both place should make money, while providing service and goods that make people feel their money is well spent.

     COFFEE and DESSERT
     A separate shop will provide coffee, pastries, and other desserts. It will have a screen and stage area and provide a venue for short films, local filmmakers, and other artists. The goal is to provide a local forum for emerging talent to show their work and the preferred format will be short, so the socializing will be encouraged.

     BAR
     One area will be devoted to movies, similar to the coffee house but a little less intellectual. I see short format comedies, possibly more R rated stuff, and audience participation encouraged.
     The other area will be a sports bar. Housing many smaller screens, but it’s primary screen will be the largest digital projection of the whatever the major sporting event of the day is.

     NIGHTCLUB
     Finally, the nightclub. Again surrounded with screens, this time providing a venue for talented DJ’s and VJ’s to remix music, movies, and other media while patrons groove on the dancefloor. This would also be an excellent venue for projected concert events. Allowing everyone to dance is a key missing ingredient from current concert films.

     One final note, I think having screens everywhere will keep the entire multiplex flexible and fresh. New content equals new reason to stop in. Ideas that don’t work can easily be changed. With the support of people like Mr. Cuban we will be able to discover a new golden age of cinema.

     Thank you this opportunity to provide input. I haven’t had a chance to read the other responses, but I’m very interested in everyone elses thoughts. Thanks for sharing. I went to print a hard copy of the comments until I saw it would be 500+ pages long. That tells me there is a passion for movies and with some ingenuity we can not only fix this business, but we can grow it into something bigger than it ever was before.

     Comment by JohnR — August 1, 2006 @ 4:47 am

234. 15 penis enlargement devices, 10 penis enlargement patches.

     Comment by sizegenetics — August 1, 2006 @ 9:46 am

235. Please note I am admiting up-front that I did not bother reading 99% of the comments, since by the time I got here, there was already over a thousand comments posted already. So, I beg your pardon if this has already been suggested.

     Blogs are so common and widely read today. How about seeking out the high traffic blog sites and negotiate advertizement? Seek out those that gets massive traffic. Majority of the bloggers do not have advertizers that I am guessing you can probably negotiate an appealing flat fee that would be a fraction of a full-on advertizement campaign. You reach high numbers of people and depending on your research on the blogs you’re negotiating with, you could be targetting your demographic by being selective with the blogs you work with. This idea works well with what you’re already doing utilizing the Internet.

     Comment by jt — August 1, 2006 @ 10:43 am

236. 8. Leverage back-catalog & re-release established movies. I’ve seen both Wizard of Oz and My Fair Lady as re-releases (along with the Star Wars trilogy re-relases). Go back through the catalog, and find films which haven’t been seen in 10-30 years but are still remembered. Great date movies, primal action flicks & SFX extravaganzas. Would you rather see Lady in the Water or Gone with the Wind?

     Comment by Eric Ball — August 1, 2006 @ 11:26 am

237. My 2 Cents:
     First, re-read Jayson Bales’ entry. Second, remember that each film has to be treated as its own business from the very beginning. If at all possible start the marketing machine before the film goes into production. How about arranging a webcam on set to feature clips from production for your fans to see then put it on youtube.com. Third, if you are producing films and then distributing them start saving money by adjusting your above-the-line budget. Get those costs DOWN. Actors are ripping us off. They are not selling tickets the way they used to. Granted you need some star power to put butts in seats BUT there is plenty of recognizable talent out there ready to be seen. Turn your head to the music industry, artists are no longer getting the deals they used to but there are plenty of artists who still want to make music and it sells.

     If you’re acquiring independent films KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE and try not to pay too much for the film. Look at Sony Pictures Classics, they are famous for not paying a lot for films AND they have a reputation for having the best deals for filmmakers. Also, take a look at how Focus distributes their films and I mean the actual distribution not the marketing. Focus has the best guy in the industry, he knows when and how to release a film. Next, watch Picturehouse, they have the best name in marketing. He is a guru! Seriously.

     Finally, don’t be afraid to take chances with a film that may be too challenging or controversial for an audience. Don’t dumb us down, we can handle it. Remember this too, you will make mistakes and you’re going to miss a money-making film or two but if you are doing this because you love film more than the money (because honestly, there is no quick buck to be made in this industry) you will hit some home runs.

     Good luck!

     Comment by D O'Malley — August 1, 2006 @ 11:33 am

238. There is no silver bullet. Period. Since the dawn of Nickelodeons distributors have been looking for the holy grail to film marketing. Unlike other industries where the products are static, the products in the film industry are dynamic and require a dynamic marketing approach. What is effective in marketing one film will not work for every film or even a slate of films. It’s short sighted to think that one great idea is going to fix the problem. You will end up spending less money on an idea that will work for a few films, but will later require more and more money until you are right back were you started.

     What you need is one great marketing team. Marketing of the film needs to start with acquisition of the project. You start by only acquiring films that are going to get people in the seats. Then you build the marketing plan around the film. Assemble pieces and parts that will get the message out to the largest number of people for the smallest amount of money. For each film, you are using different and varying strategies that are geared toward maximizing the exposure of the individual film.

     This view of marketing requires integration of the entire business model. This is about rethinking the entire matrix of theatrical film distribution. And it will require taking risks in all facets of the business. It will be a painful process for those people who believe that “this is the way we do because this is how we always did it”. This is a revolution in the process of theatrical film distribution and marketing that will not only lower the cost of marketing but help to revitalize the theatrical industry.

     Comment by Rob Hogan — August 1, 2006 @ 11:34 am

239. As I sat in the airport on my way to Las Vegas this weekend i thought about your question. Where are there a mass of people, the airports across the country. Millions of people spend hours at a time in the airport. So there is the answer to your question, electronic bill boards. Post electronic bill boards through the countries airports, malls, gorcery stores, hotels, fitness centers and public transportation stations. Anywhere there are a massive number of people. These bill boards can be program from a remote site to change the message or preview of the upcoming movie. With wireless technology this can be done. Another way to get reach millions is to have regular text or video messages sent to cell phone carriers/subscribers. I get text messages about my account etc. These are my suggestions, let’s make it happen! When do I start?

     Comment by Alondra K. Poindexter — August 1, 2006 @ 11:52 am

240. Haven’t read all the comments so if what I say has been said, then ignore.

     You were talking about having kids themed movie theaters where they could buy the movie and toys afterward, do a theater where when they pay $8 for a movie and if they like it and want to buy it then instead of buying the dvd for $20 (at bestbuy, circuit city, etc.) you give it to them for $12. Similar to being able to buy movies after you rent them from blockbuster.

     Comment by Mark D. — August 1, 2006 @ 11:53 am

241. I would give each person who buys a movie theater ticket and watches the movie the option to buy the DVD of the movie for a special price right after they watch the movie. (Maybe only during opening weekend. And maybe only a special limited edition.)

     It’s impulse shopping. I would have bought 3 to 5 copies of Akeelah and the Bee right after I saw it because I LOVED IT and I immediately thought of people who would also love to see the film, but who never go to movie theaters or who would might miss the theatrical run. Now, that the ‘impluse’ is gone, I’ll probably just buy one copy when it comes out on DVD.

     I’ve already bought 2 copies of the soundtrack, and gifted one, because I could.

     I’ve always been able to sell copies of my films to audience members right after the audience has seen the film. I also give out postcards with purchase info and a 1-800# and ask audience members to mail them to their friends. This brings in lots of sales. And the audience who loves the film makes the best sales force. But, I’m working on the festival circuit, not theatrical.

     Comment by Yvonne Welbon — August 1, 2006 @ 12:04 pm

242. Much of the popularity of reality TV, MySpace, YouTube, etc. is the potential fame that goes with being discovered. To the extent that you can capitalize on that you could bring some success back to the movie theater experience. At least for certain demographics. I think there are several ways you can do this.

     First, you could incorporate user-generated content into one of your films. The idea of “helping” to create a movie (without having to do the whole thing) will likely hold a ton of appeal to people. By allowing people to create certain “unfinished” portions of a movie you can pique interest and spark demand. Obviously, it will involve some screening and anything that wins will need to be made more professional, but the marketing end of things could be cheap. How much of an impact you let these scenes have on your movie is up to you, but I would think that these would be more or less inconsequential to the story.

     Second, you could turn it into a reality TV show. Have people work with an existing script and put their interpretation on it. Advertisers would essentially pay for the development and create buzz so when the final movie is released you already have a captive audience. You would just have to time the release and the show so it doesn’t get stale.

     Finally, you could take a page from the children’s book industry and implement some sort of “Choose Your Own Adventure” aspect for the movies. You could create two endings of the same movie and adjust ticket prices so that people get to see both movies for $10 (or so) instead of $7 for each. Production costs would certainly be higher, but marketing buzz would also be high due to the unique nature of the film. Again, targeting the right demographic would be key. Once people saw both movies they could go online to vote for the best one, etc. You could release trailers that lead up to key decision points in the movie and build buzz around what will happen.

     Perhaps the reality show mentioned above could release the final two contestants’ movies in theaters and have the winner decided by revenues over the first two weeks or so.

     Food for thought…

     Comment by Rob — August 1, 2006 @ 1:57 pm

243. The problem is not in marketing movies. I usually have no trouble finding a movie I want to see.

     The problem is making the “going out to a movie” experience equal to or better than renting the DVD and sitting in my living room experience. Not much has changed with going out to a movie (save stadium seating), but a lot has changed with the options available to us to see that movie.

     I believe people want to get out. They just want a good experience — just seeing the movie doesn’t cut it anymore.

     I live in Baltimore and am lucky to have three very nice arthouse theaters to choose from — one is especially in tune with the “experience” with food and drink steps from the theater lobby. Trailers are minimal and you can bet that adolescent hormones are kept in check. This is the kind of place that’s nice to hang out at even when you’re not seeing a movie — imagine that!

     I’ll venture to the burbs, to the chains, every so often, but every time I leave asking the same thing: why? Why did I just spend all that money for shit service, a movie that started 40 minutes later than the start time, overpriced bad food, and a group of kids being kids sitting behind me yelling back and forth to each other for the entire show. Hell yes I’d rather sit in my living room and watch that movie — MONTHS LATER. And it’ll be months before I’ll want to go back to that theater.

     I think the young adult market (under 25) is what it is — you’ll always have those numbers and they’ll typically reside in your burb chain theaters. Growth is in the cities. The 25 and up crowd dating or out with friends for an interesting evening. They want an experience, a hangout.

     One more thing:
     A pricing model I’ve never understood is that you can see this movie later FOR LESS. Doesn’t make sense to give the consumer an incentive to wait. Instead, opening weekend should be discounted — heavily — (this may be easier when digital projectors are more the norm and costs to operate the theater are lower, or at least can be spent in better areas than projection prints) — the idea is to get people talking early on — not only about the great movie they saw Friday night, but about the dinner they had before and the drinks they had after — all right there.

     These ideas are synonymous with the overall experience that will lure me from my living room and to the theater.

     Comment by Rhett — August 1, 2006 @ 3:01 pm

244. With respect to the participants that have submitted entries, I may repeat some ideas already posted since I have not reviewed their responses for fear of having my own ideas influenced. That said, here goes:

     1. The JetBlue Cross-Marketing Approach: Offer the first 30 minutes for free on a website and if they want to continue to watch, viewers must pay and can then add the movie to their collection. By doing this, you bring people to a venue, the website, that offers them other products and can collect their e-mail info for future promotions and offers.

     2. The Material: My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Napoleon Dynamite have proven that star names aren’t needed to score big profits, only good material that transcends backgrounds and captures the things that the audience can relate to. These days studios have forgotten to ask the public what it wants and force-feeds re-makes of movies that the audience might not have enjoyed the first time around. Give the people what they want. For example, Casablanca; released at a time of international relations uncertainty, the film showed the importance and the possibility of allies against tyranny, “Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

     3. Freebies: Blockbusters depend on major marketing campaigns to bring in a $100 million dollar opening weekend, imagine the possibilities and buzz if the first three showings of that weekend were offered for free? The chaos alone would instigate media coverage and force free publicity.

     4. Importance Gimmick: Imagine sitting in an auditorium for a movie you paid to see and watching a preview saying, “A film so ahead of it’s time, so important to our way of life we’re offering it to you for free!” Offer a 2-for-1 special that requires an effort on the consumers part; i.e. a paid stub for two entitles the customer to a refund check for the price of one ticket. Two things will happen here, first, most people will be too lazy to complete the task and second, by collecting their information we can solicit them with discounts to upcoming movies, concession stands, DVD offers, etc. Once we establish someone as a customer, we maintain them as a lifelong client.

     5. “This Is Your Movie”: Hire established writers with the ability to produce material based on others’ suggestions. Offer moviegoers the once in a lifetime opportunity to custom make their own movie. The overhead of this campaign will be minimal as we direct people to website where they select pre-arranged options of what they want their film to include. Who wouldn’t pay to see a movie they help put together?

     6. Getting Away With Something: People love the feeling of getting more than they should for their money. To introduce a new film cross venture it with merchandising and offer free viewings of the film with the purchase of the film’s namesake T-Shirt or memorable quote, remember Napoleon Dynamite’s “Vote For Pedro” shirt?

     7. Update The Drive-In: The drive-ins of yesteryear gave people an opportunity to center their entire night around the movie. These days with so many other options, going to the movies has lost it’s glamorous allure. Every summer NYC’s Bryant Park Film Festival screens classic movies every Monday evening for free allowing people to congregate on the lawn for hours before and after the film. This forces participants to plan their entire night around the movie. Give people other venue options where regardless of the film’s quality, the doing of watching the screen becomes the event. Some examples: 50,000 basketball fans packed inside Madison Square Garden watching Hoosiers together; 60,000 college football fans watching Rudy at Giant Stadium; 70,000 boxing fans at the Philadelphia Spectrum watching the forthcoming Rocky 6; 80,000 heavy metal fans watching Spinal Tap on the sound stage with a pyrotechnics accompaniment together on Randall’s Island. The possibilities are limitless.

     I have more ideas but my allotted 3 minute lunch hour is over.

     Comment by Shevy Gutierrez — August 1, 2006 @ 3:05 pm

245. A friend of mine told me about this challenge and I remember thinking WOW the responses for this are going to be really interesting. Living in NYC and being a movie fan is not easy or cheap! I ask myself just about every weekend what exactly makes me return to the movies and plunk down another $10 for a movie that is basically a toss up? I think this is the question people should ask themselves in response to the challenge.

     Below are my ideas:

     1. Incentives- Considering that the cost of movies is not going down anytime soon we need to give people a reason to come back to the theatres. I think it’s obvious corporate sponsorship and product placement has become a huge factor in the entertainment industry.

     Hold that thought…
     Another big money maker in the US is the lottery. People spend millions of dollars in NY just to get a shot at the big jackpot.

     Now let’s think of the lottery on a smaller scale. What if we got got corporations to sponsor certain shows by offering door prizes. Obviously tech gadgets would be the biggest pull cell phones, mp3 players, PDA’s, video game systems.

     I know the idea sounds like it could potentially be costly but when you take into consideration the advertising that the product receives there is a cost share on the part of the corporation.

     This can also work on a smaller scale like with local business around the area of the movie theatre. I am thinking like restaurants or clothing stores that are willing to offer either gift certificates or discounts as part of the door prize.

     I think my idea comes from an experience I recently had a movie screening. The line was ridiculously long and it was hot but people were waiting at least an hour to see Nacho Libre. A local radio station sponsored the event and sort of amped up the crowd with little give aways and that seemed to put people in good spirits. I also noticed how many more people were buying snacks (the movie was free so I guess that makes sense.) Anyway, althought the gifts weren’t on a MP3 level they did manage to give away concert tickets.

     This brings me to my second idea:

     2. Combining different Media Markets: Music has become a major part of the movie business. There are few movies released that don’t have soundtracks. I don’t know the numbers on those sales but I think that recording companies could definitely benefit through marketing the album with purchase of tickets. Perhaps offering a discount on the album with the stub from the movie ticket. ( I don’t know if this will bring more people to the theares but figured I would throw it out there.)

     3. Targeted Audiences- This idea has already been somewhat approcahed here in NYC. There are certain theatres that have “Mommy and me showings” that allow moms/parents to bring their kids to the movies and NOT have to worry about looks of death from other moviegoers. I have seen other theatres sponsor single nights usually with a little cocktail hour before the movie. This made me think that maybe we should be trying to group levels of the movie theatre accordingly. Maybe have a level that is strictly for parents and children it could also have a small arcade. A level that shows independent films and has a small cafe. Another level for people 21 and over, maybe even consider having a teen section targeting youth 12-18. I always wondered how you could put Hostel next to a movie like Ice Age…you couldn’t be any more different!!

     I know that this sounds like a very segregated outlook but improving the overall movie experience is a large part of bringing people back to the theatre. We know we can’t control the content of movies, but we can attempt to change people’s behaviors, such as the latecomers. If we offered the door prizes 15 minutes before the movie then perhaps people would show up on time, hey maybe even come early?? Speaking of coming early this leads me to my final idea.

     4. Extending showtimes- Living in the city that never sleeps I have always wondered why movie thestres didn’t have earlier or later showings. People work on very different schedules and early evening or afternoon aren’t always the most convenient times to see a movie. I have always wondered how a 24 hour movie theatre would do in NY??

     I know alot of people will think my ideas are focused primarily on big city theatres and probably can’t be applicable to middle america. But I disagree, I believe that by taking your market into account and scaling back some of the ideas you can still be successful in drawing people back to the theatres!!

     Well that’s my take on the movie business challenge. Feel free to respond I would love fedback. Best of luck…

     Comment by Mina — August 1, 2006 @ 3:29 pm

246. A friend of mine told me about this challenge and I remember thinking WOW the responses for this are going to be really interesting. Living in NYC and being a movie fan is not easy or cheap! I ask myself just about every weekend what exactly makes me return to the movies and plunk down another $10 for a movie that is basically a toss up? I think this is the question people should ask themselves in response to the challenge.

     Below are my ideas:

     1. Incentives- Considering that the cost of movies is not going down anytime soon we need to give people a reason to come back to the theatres. I think it’s obvious corporate sponsorship and product placement has become a huge factor in the entertainment industry.

     Hold that thought…
     Another big money maker in the US is the lottery. People spend millions of dollars in NY just to get a shot at the big jackpot.

     Now let’s think of the lottery on a smaller scale. What if we got got corporations to sponsor certain shows by offering door prizes. Obviously tech gadgets would be the biggest pull cell phones, mp3 players, PDA’s, video game systems.

     I know the idea sounds like it could potentially be costly but when you take into consideration the advertising that the product receives there is a cost share on the part of the corporation.

     This can also work on a smaller scale like with local business around the area of the movie theatre. I am thinking like restaurants or clothing stores that are willing to offer either gift certificates or discounts as part of the door prize.

     I think my idea comes from an experience I recently had a movie screening. The line was ridiculously long and it was hot but people were waiting at least an hour to see Nacho Libre. A local radio station sponsored the event and sort of amped up the crowd with little give aways and that seemed to put people in good spirits. I also noticed how many more people were buying snacks (the movie was free so I guess that makes sense.) Anyway, althought the gifts weren’t on a MP3 level they did manage to give away concert tickets.

     This brings me to my second idea:

     2. Combining different Media Markets: Music has become a major part of the movie business. There are few movies released that don’t have soundtracks. I don’t know the numbers on those sales but I think that recording companies could definitely benefit through marketing the album with purchase of tickets. Perhaps offering a discount on the album with the stub from the movie ticket. ( I don’t know if this will bring more people to the theares but figured I would throw it out there.)

     3. Targeted Audiences- This idea has already been somewhat approcahed here in NYC. There are certain theatres that have “Mommy and me showings” that allow moms/parents to bring their kids to the movies and NOT have to worry about looks of death from other moviegoers. I have seen other theatres sponsor single nights usually with a little cocktail hour before the movie. This made me think that maybe we should be trying to group levels of the movie theatre accordingly. Maybe have a level that is strictly for parents and children it could also have a small arcade. A level that shows independent films and has a small cafe. Another level for people 21 and over, maybe even consider having a teen section targeting youth 12-18. I always wondered how you could put Hostel next to a movie like Ice Age…you couldn’t be any more different!!

     I know that this sounds like a very segregated outlook but improving the overall movie experience is a large part of bringing people back to the theatre. We know we can’t control the content of movies, but we can attempt to change people’s behaviors, such as the latecomers. If we offered the door prizes 15 minutes before the movie then perhaps people would show up on time, hey maybe even come early?? Speaking of coming early this leads me to my final idea.

     4. Extending showtimes- Living in the city that never sleeps I have always wondered why movie thestres didn’t have earlier or later showings. People work on very different schedules and early evening or afternoon aren’t always the most convenient times to see a movie. I have always wondered how a 24 hour movie theatre would do in NY??

     I know alot of people will think my ideas are focused primarily on big city theatres and probably can’t be applicable to middle america. But I disagree, I believe that by taking your market into account and scaling back some of the ideas you can still be successful in drawing people back to the theatres!!

     Well that’s my take on the movie business challenge. Feel free to respond I would love fedback. Best of luck…

     Comment by Mina — August 1, 2006 @ 3:44 pm

247. Develop a theater that makes you feel like you are part of the movie. Seats that rumble, air that hits you in the face when a plane goes by, rain or mist, smell, develop 3-D without the stupid glasses. More speakers and closer to the seats. Maybe individual speakers for each chair. Make it more lifelike.
     I don’t like leaving during the movie or a ballgame. Bring the vendors into the movie to sell but put them on a low seated cart so they don’t stand up and block views of everybody. Make an extra isle in the middle for easier access to people.
     Valet parking.
     Special giveaways before the movie for certain seats like $50 gift card to Chili’s, Target, Victoria’s Secret, free movies for a year, etc.
     Instead of the stupid movie trivia while we are waiting on the show to start, show old Cheers reruns or some other comedy flick that lasts 20 minutes or so with no commercials.
     Give people the option to buy the movie when they leave for $20-$30 but make them show their ticket. Anybody they show the movie to are the people that will wait for it to come out at the movie store anyway.
     Put a few lazyboy recliners in the place and sell that ticket for double the price. If it always sells out, add more lazyboys, it shouldn’t be long before you pair for the chair.
     Easy access. How about a quick pass like you can get at some of these amusement parks that you can buy ahead of time, and walk through by scanning your own ticket or card.

     Comment by Tommy Davis — August 1, 2006 @ 9:44 pm

248. Economics: Change the price of films according to supply and demand

     Why can’t movies (both theater tix and perhaps to a lesser extent DVDs) be priced like stocks, according to supply and demand? I realize I’m over-generalizing here, but essentially, people pay what they think a stock is worth, not necessarily what it’s actually worth or how good the company is. And they either buy or sell that stock accordingly, depending upon what they believe other people will pay for that stock. People only got to buy Enron for pennies once everyone believed it wasn’t worth anything. Until then, people overpaid. Plain and simple. In terms of movies, why let someone pay $9 to go see DEAD MAN’S CHEST when they’ll pay $15-20 to see it on opening weekend?

     An economist friend of mine and I had this idea for a bar, where the price for a particular drink (vodka-red bull on Friday nights, mint juleps on the Sat of the Derby) would be based on the appropriate demand for it. Simple concept; everyone wants it, you pay more. Nobody wants it, it’s a good deal for you. You’d be surprised how drunk somebody’ll get on $0.25 MGDS or the kind of buzz you get (pun intended) for a $30 mojito. Why can’t movies be priced in the same way?

     While most viewers will not pay $9 for an opening weekend, evening screening of say, WAIST DEEP, there are more movie goers and fans of gangsta films who will go see that film at half or a third of that price, esp. if their first choice for that weekend is sold out; or, as I’m suggesting, “overpriced” at 2x or 3x the normal cost.

     Now, I know you’d have to work with distributors and theaters to execute something like this. But I also know, if we could ever get to something like this, it’d be a helluva lot of fun to go see a movie, and for the same reason the stock market is so much fun for so many Wall St adreline junkies who also happen to be pretty smart. Imagine the scene out in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater, Spider Man 3, opening weekend- and there’s a guy w/ a green jacket (like those you see on the NYSE trading floor) standing out amidst the masses trying to get in. 15 min before the film is set to screen, he places a call order for 30 at $300/seat and the guy in the ticket booth yells, SOLD!! People rip up in applause and the buyers follow the guy to the ticket booth where they walk past all the other shmucks who were too cheap (or apathetic) to buy at a price that would get them in. Trying to tell me that’s not going to create demand? Plus, this would work regionally. The amount someone pays in LA or NYC would of course exceed what someone would pay in Omaha, Nebraska or Birmingham, AL.

     For non-event films, of course the spectacle would be far less, but still perhaps more profitable. Pricing a film like JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE in this manner might allow studios might earn $3/ticket at 50% capacity over the first weekend when otherwise they wouldn’t have done so much as 15% at $9/ticket. And you never know when the next Big Fat Greek Napoleon Blair Witch blows up and all of a sudden, the buzz creates a demand beyond studio/prodcos/distribs’ wildest dreams and people are overpaying like crazy just to get a part of the action. It happened in the 90s w/ tech stocks- widows buying long on dot.coms when they didn’t even know how to spell PC- and I just don’t see why people wouldn’t also overpay for movies, esp. those in high demand.

     My $0.02. Personally, I don’t buy into the whole “there’s no silver bullet”, “make better movies” generalizations that many posters have offered up. And frankly, I doubt you made it to where you are with an over-simplified, defeatest attitude like that. So thanks for posting this challenge. Go Avery, JT, Josh Howard, Dirk, and even David Hasselhoff. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK aside, I still think the Manu Flop is still one of your finest productions. Good luck finding your next new idea.

     Comment by Cyr — August 1, 2006 @ 9:48 pm

249. Economics: Change the price of films according to supply and demand

     Why can’t movies (both theater tix and perhaps to a lesser extent DVDs) be priced like stocks, according to supply and demand? I realize I’m over-generalizing here, but essentially, people pay what they think a stock is worth, not necessarily what it’s actually worth or how good the company is. And they either buy or sell that stock accordingly, depending upon what they believe other people will pay for that stock. People only got to buy Enron for pennies once everyone believed it wasn’t worth anything. Until then, people overpaid. Plain and simple. In terms of movies, why let someone pay $9 to go see DEAD MAN’S CHEST when they’ll pay $15-20 to see it on opening weekend?

     An economist friend of mine and I had this idea for a bar, where the price for a particular drink (vodka-red bull on Friday nights, mint juleps on the Sat of the Derby) would be based on the appropriate demand for it. Simple concept; everyone wants it, you pay more. Nobody wants it, it’s a good deal for you. You’d be surprised how drunk somebody’ll get on $0.25 MGDS or the kind of buzz you get (pun intended) for a $30 mojito. Why can’t movies be priced in the same way?

     While most viewers will not pay $9 for an opening weekend, evening screening of say, WAIST DEEP, there are more movie goers and fans of gangsta films who will go see that film at half or a third of that price, esp. if their first choice for that weekend is sold out; or, as I’m suggesting, “overpriced” at 2x or 3x the normal cost.

     Now, I know you’d have to work with distributors and theaters to execute something like this. But I also know, if we could ever get to something like this, it’d be a helluva lot of fun to go see a movie, and for the same reason the stock market is so much fun for so many Wall St adreline junkies who also happen to be pretty smart. Imagine the scene out in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater, Spider Man 3, opening weekend- and there’s a guy w/ a green jacket (like those you see on the NYSE trading floor) standing out amidst the masses trying to get in. 15 min before the film is set to screen, he places a call order for 30 at $300/seat and the guy in the ticket booth yells, SOLD!! People rip up in applause and the buyers follow the guy to the ticket booth where they walk past all the other shmucks who were too cheap (or apathetic) to buy at a price that would get them in. Trying to tell me that’s not going to create demand? Plus, this would work regionally. The amount someone pays in LA or NYC would of course exceed what someone would pay in Omaha, Nebraska or Birmingham, AL.

     For non-event films, of course the spectacle would be far less, but still perhaps more profitable. Pricing a film like JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE in this manner might allow studios might earn $3/ticket at 50% capacity over the first weekend when otherwise they wouldn’t have done so much as 15% at $9/ticket. And you never know when the next Big Fat Greek Napoleon Blair Witch blows up and all of a sudden, the buzz creates a demand beyond studio/prodcos/distribs’ wildest dreams and people are overpaying like crazy just to get a part of the action. It happened in the 90s w/ tech stocks- widows buying long on dot.coms when they didn’t even know how to spell PC- and I just don’t see why people wouldn’t also overpay for movies, esp. those in high demand.

     My $0.02. Personally, I don’t buy into the whole “there’s no silver bullet”, “make better movies” generalizations that many posters have offered up. And frankly, I doubt you made it to where you are with an over-simplified, defeatest attitude like that. So thanks for posting this challenge. Go Avery, JT, Josh Howard, Dirk, and even David Hasselhoff. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK aside, I still think the Manu Flop is still one of your finest productions. Good luck finding your next new idea.

     Comment by Cyr — August 1, 2006 @ 10:25 pm

250. The HDNet MovPass Card!

     Enhances the current movie theater member-pass process and the idea of simultaneous releasings of DVD, Theater, and Net Downloads to a new Hybrid idea…

     After paying a yearly subscription to the “HDNet MovPass”, you receive the card. The idea is that after you have bought a ticket for that movie at your local participating theater with the card, you can purchase the films’ dvd (one dvd per ticket, no more until additional tickets are bought). The dvd will be released in the HDNet MovPass store the same day as the theaterical release and prior to general public sales, discounted and with exclusive production extras to HDNet. You can not purchase the exclusive HDNet MovPass dvd until you have purchased the theatrical ticket.
     The HDNet MovPass card can also carry an online subscription (extra fee if wanted) that allows the viewer to download the film to their computer for the online price the same day or whenever wanted.
     Another addition to be added to the card may be the option to obtain points per ticket stub purchased to go toward prizes such as mentioned by others on this board, tickets to MAVS games (or other teams), local concerts/events, cars, i.e. typical prizes. This would encourage the frequent viewing of movies in theater.
     Teaming up with Apple on the iPod could bring a partnership using the HDNet MovPass to expand the growth of the handheld movie players and show HDNet programming on the iPod and use the iTunes service.

     Comment by Corey Frey — August 1, 2006 @ 10:49 pm

251. EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY
     If you want people in theaters, you have to do two things:
     1) modify the theater experience to meet or beat the competition (which is “DVDs at Home”)
     2) promote the theaters themselves, not just the movies.

     A VERY short analysis:

     The first obvious need is to identify the product we are trying to sell, which is NOT “Movies.” I think we will all agree that based on DVD rental and purchase statistics, the public is paying to watch more movies than ever. (We would want to understand that growth rate in order to set realistic growth targets for in-theater viewing.)

     However, all the increased viewing is taking place at home; the advent of the DVD and high-quality home theaters has made home viewing a preferable experience. So the real product we are trying to sell is “Movies at the movie theater.” To make an analogy, folks are buying plenty of steak, but we want to get them out of the kitchen and into our restaurants.

     Right away we can see we have a disconnect between the Promotions and the Product we want to sell. When was the last time you saw movie studios promoting theaters? Five years? Ten years? Never? (What ever happened to the jingle “Lets go out to the movies…”) Today, all the promotions are for the films. They successfully convince us that we want to see the new Superman, but not that we want to see it at the theater. Even the theaters do not promote themselves… they promote the movies they are showing. That is like Burger King promoting Coca Cola instead of the local Burger King.

     So, we clearly need to develop a movie theater promotion plan. The plan has to address the obvious reasons folks like to watch movies at home, and the core competencies of movie theaters (what do theaters have that is really hard reproduce at home?)

     Not only do we need to address these relative strengths in the Promotion campaign, we need to address them in our Product. Wherever we can, we need to change the Movie Theater experience to meet the same needs that are met when watching at home. How can we provide the comfort and convenience of DVDs at home, while retaining the fun of joining others to watch a film on the big screen? (Just like the fun of going out to eat… yes, its the food, but the crowd and the atmosphere are AT least half of the attraction.)

     Comment by Scott Walker — August 2, 2006 @ 12:49 am

252. Thank you for asking the people that really matter, the audience.

     1- Look what SAG did with “Crash”– that was a great marketing strategy- do the same with the movies that matter. Movies that matter are the ones that make you cry, think, believe.

     2- Attach a great indy short to the beginning of each movie- a different one each time. One- you are giving the underdog great exposure = the people will love you for that, not to mention the underdog.

     3- When you do sell DVDS of the big budget movies, include a gift= an indy movie comes along with it- again you’re giving something that didn’t break you, but helped someone make another movie because of it. People love people that help people. Just for that you will be viewed in a different light, loyalty =rewards.

     4- Make the Movie stars own the movie till the end. Movie stars are busy people, they get paid big money– have them work a bit more for it. They need to talk to the people directly. The trailer does it, but nothing does it like a movie star from the movie itself. But not on the big TV show, or at the big gala award ceremony…. unexpectedly show up, greet, meet, talk….. ie: be real. Show the people that the movie star actually cares for them to watch their movie.

     5- Give something back to the audience.
     Make one day of the week family night out= discounted tickets.
     Make one day of the week- anyone under 9 in one family has free admission.
     Make one day of the week-Girls night out- if girlfriends show up to watch a “girlie” movie= they enter the name in a basket in the entrance of the movie to win a copy of the movie–
     None of these will break the bank.

     Give and thou shall receive. Isn’t that what “He” said?

     Be Generous and we shall be Generous with you.

     People love to hang around richer people, but quickly the jealousy kicks in and gossip arises, killing the moment, making the little person angry and removed, thus losing a customer. BUT when you hang out with a rich person you admire because of his qualities as a human being, because YOU KNOW first hand what he does for you and everyone — then it’s different, completely different, we want to love and give more to that person.

     Mark Cuban- you need to become that person that gives, then you shall receive.

     PS Today is my birthday. 8-2-65
     Send me a birthday wish– that would mean the world to me. BUT it has to be from you….at least make me think it did. That will make you special in my book. That will make me go to one of your movies because you would have personally touched me…. get it?? Give and thou shall receive.

     Kim Sky

     I made my first movie “Just another romantic wrestling comedy”
     http://www.justanotherromanticwrestlingcomedy.com

     I plan on making care packages for the troops and sending them out to them. That’s my “give”. I can’t afford much, but I’ll definitely give to those who need some comic relief in their life. Who will know I’m doing this? Them, me and God. The people that matter.

     Comment by Kim Sky — August 2, 2006 @ 6:58 am

253. If great movies are made with different actors, more opportunities for the newcomers with talent, the budgets won’t be so blown out.
     It’s the same movie stars in every movie.
     Give other actors a chance.
     Have one movie star carry the movie and the rest are great new faces.
     That’ll cut the price of the movie, give the new face a name- make the people fall in love with what the movie did for the new face.
     http://www.uczkowski.com

     it all starts in pre-production.

     Comment by Dariusz Uczkowski — August 2, 2006 @ 7:07 am

254. I am certainly no spokesperson for telling you what to do with movies as I have not gone to see one in 7 years or so but let me offer you this.

     I hate the movie theatre. Hate the lines, the food is terrible (besides the popcorn), hate having nowhere to put my food and drink once I get in so that when some 350 pound dude comes walking down my aisle, I either gotta move it or he’s gonna lose it for me. I hate going to the late showing on Friday night to have a baby bottle rool all the way down the theatre from the back and then listen to some baby cry as his daddy searches under everyones chair for the bottle. I paid how much for this???

     The only other thing I can realte going to being stuck for a few hours watching something with a crowd is a sporting event. The best sporting events I have ever been to are the ones that seemingly have endless choices of food and drink, the seats are super confmy and roomy, and I feel like I have my own space to enjoy whichever parts of the game I want to enjoy.

     I don’t know how you could do that in movie theatre but I’d start with having a bar with a bartender somewhere just outside the actual movie area and have a full menu of foods I can bring back into the theatre. Why have dinner and then go to a movie, make them both accessible at the same place. Also, maybe even creating sound proof rooms for different groups of people. You could have a quiet room, you could have a teenager room and you could have an “over 21 we came here instead of the bar to mingle” room to serve more people purpose.

     In my opinion, your argument is not about how to advertise better. Without going to a movie in years, I know that Ricky Bobby thinks he’s on fire and stabs himself with a knife becuase he thinks he’s lost feeling in his legs becuase I have seen the same commercials on this AT LEAST 500 times (and I read books FAR more then I watch television)!!! The focus needs to change as to how to make a movie theatre a better experience for all involved as the people carrying on a conversation and don’t give a damn about the people next to them trying to watch the film are the only ones who enjoy the show.

     Comment by Malcolm — August 2, 2006 @ 8:19 am

255. I think the first response is the correct one. Give Karma614 the job. You are not asking what you are really asking. It is either: 1) How do we save the movie-going experience? (You can’t.) or 2) How do we make more money on any given film? (You can.) Packing people into theatres is some kind of marketing koan you’ve constructed. What is the sound of one fan napping? I’m a little drunk. This makes more sense now than it will later. The movie-going experience has been infiltrated by people who believe they are in their living rooms anyway. Why shouldn’t I be in my living room with my big screen and surround sound too? I should. I am. You can’t save the theatre-going experience unless you are willing to police it, and no one is willing to do this. Rather you suggest we bow to this antithetical theatre experience with some kind of “rock n roll” Rocky Horror mosh cinema. This will go the way of the roller rink. The base has spoken and is speaking. We’ll watch in the comfort of our homes on our big screens and surround sounds. The theatres aren’t interested in preserving the experience. What is the experience? People going to a movie to actually WATCH THE MOVIE! Want to save this experience? RAISE ticket prices. But it won’t work. Theatre is on its way out, except for arthouses and a few select first-run multiplexes. But money can be made. This is your real question, yes? Karma614 has it right, almost. Better movies? I don’t know what that is. Make movies people want to see. They may be better, they may be worse (Snakes on a Plane anyone?) But they’ve got “something.” My advice: Take some spare change, say $10 million. Make 10 films annually for $1 million apiece, all costs inlcuded, yes, marketing included. There is a huge untapped resource of filmmaking talent out there waiting for the right entreprenurial free-thinking outsider to harness it, select it, produce it, market it. Give it to Karma614. I don’t know who that is, but they’ve got it right. I’ll be drinking, waiting for that next super low budget film to break out, and it will. Here’s a recipe for my favorite drink:

     1-1/2 ounces light rum
     1/4 ounce Maraschino liqueur
     1/2 ounce grapefruit juice
     3/4 ounce Simple Syrup
     3/4 lime juice

     shake well with ice. strain into chilled rocks glass.

     Enjoy!

     Comment by Hencher — August 2, 2006 @ 8:51 am

256. Make movies that people want to see. A majority of Americans have children and, whether they like it or not, the parents’ lives revolve around the children.

     Very successful movies in recent history were well made family friendly movies. Advertising is not the issue. Home theaters are not the issue. The issue is the values portrayed in the movie. People don’t want to be told how to think, they want to relate to the characters. The politics of the character is not what attracts people to a movie. Integrity of the character does, the inner struggle and conquering of the internal/external demon.

     Comment by Matt Sciba — August 2, 2006 @ 10:00 am

257. Dear Mark,

     Despite all the technology, the speed of the editing process and all the new ways to get films made and out there, most filmmakers working today, especially younger filmmakers, leave an important element out of filmmaking–taking time to write a solid script, and then taking more time to reflect and make changes on that script. Time is (of) the essence in the process.

     One of the main reasons people are staying away from theaters is that most films simply don’t deliver the kind of emotional payoff that viewers need to generate word of mouth. It’s word of mouth that creates excitement around a film, and gets people to see a film more than once. Get back to basics and you’ll get back some of the audience lost to reality TV and video games.
     Regards,
     Ron Merk

     Comment by Ron Merk — August 2, 2006 @ 10:03 am

258. Interesting.

     I say take your Day and Date method and push it even further: When a group of 2 person go see the film in the Theater you give them a DVD of the film.

     oh and I think more diversity in the films qould be nice too. Instead of spending 60 millions on the film and 60 millions on advertising why not use that 120 million dollars to make 10 smaller films with a 12 million budget ? If talented director are given their chances I’m sure we’d be surprised at how many sleeper hits could make it big every year.

     The thing is: People love movies.

     Comment by Martin B — August 2, 2006 @ 10:59 am

259. Mark:

     I sent a rather detailed proposal to your email. it involves several layers of media and has worked in other areas of media before for me with other well known companies.

     Please let me know how best to get it to you.

     AD

     Comment by alan donnes — August 2, 2006 @ 11:04 am

260. Team Trivia concept. After movie there will be a 10-15 minute team trivia based on the movie. Winners get a prize and go into a drawing for a larger prize/recognition.

     Many people will see the movie twice to get the answers.

     It’s hard to get much attention giving away trinkets and trash or free tickets or $1off.

     Learn from the lottery or gambling. Even though the chances to get hit by lightning are greater than winning the lottery it is very popular.

     People love the chance, however remote, for the big payoff.

     Devote most of your marketing budget to a lottery. Mail in a ticket stub to enter and they must answer a profile questionaire. You get the lottery effect and also priceless movie watching profile information for your database.

     Comment by Steven — August 2, 2006 @ 11:13 am

261. Forget malls, high schools and college campuses…

     Airports / Air Passengers are the real untapped resource for the struggling US movie industry.

     -659 million people fly in the USA every year.
     -wait times for flights are on the increase
     -millions of people just sitting around waiting for there plane
     -millions of people sitting on planes waiting to take off

     Just a thought…

     Comment by Brent P — August 2, 2006 @ 11:36 am

262. You are the ultimate 800-pound gorilla.. so think like one!!!

     First, the way to get the masses is make movies about them…you are not going to fill seats when you make movies about wheat growing in Kansas.

     But when a giant dinosaur that was tearing the crap out of NYC, you get the best of both worlds- (the NYC population love to see their town on the big screen, and the West Coast love to see NYC get blown to shit!)

     Make movies about NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Denver, vacation destinations, where people live or go..

     Next gorilla move, go back in time.. think sandwich boards on the street corners, and the the Wicked Witch of the West…not only do busses and taxis have advertising, but now SUV drives are trading a month of gas for putting ads on their vehicles.. every car that’s stuck in traffic has 20-30 minutes to stare at that car…

     Wicked Witch.. in the larger cities (NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta) hire blimps.. Everybody knows about the Goodyear Blimp, the FUJI blim, the Outback blimp…

     people are VISUAL…so give them the WOW factor in front of them.. there can be inflatables on top of buildings that are low cost, but very visual… people remember a 50-foot soccer ball in the center of the town during the world cup in Germany (I went to the WC in Dallas in 94, they had some at the Cotton Bowl, definitely VERY VISUAL….

     last…

     to get people in the theatres, make it date friendly.. most of the theatres have really uncomfortable seating (with that damn bar between).. there should be a standard set, how small a seat can be, how much leg room (you must know about that?)..

     Comment by ME — August 2, 2006 @ 11:38 am

263. I see your idea of the lottery system to be a decent idea but what I would do is have a scratch off game on the back of the tickets. Let the viewers scratch off the back of their tickets for little prizes like free movie tickets, popcorn, cokes, and have a few big prizes such as cash, trips, cars, or even a small part in an upcoming movie or meeting the cast of the movie they are viewing. This is a simple solution that I believe would create some immediate interest if nothing else. It may not be a long term fix but I think it would have great success in the short term. I am a 21 one year old guy and I ran the idea by some friends and most of them said they would be more likely to go to a movie if there was some kind of game to it like this. Think Mcdonalds monopoly game. Who goes to mcdonalds except when that game is being played. Studios could just use the system on movies they need a boost on. Look forward to hearing a response. GO MAVS!

     Comment by Nathaniel Bigbie — August 2, 2006 @ 11:48 am

264. Another simple idea is have the actors in the movie just say “thanks for coming, hope you enjoy the movie” right before the film starts. This would not take them any time and it would make the viewers feel welcome and appreciated.

     Comment by Nathaniel Bigbie — August 2, 2006 @ 11:54 am

265. It seems to me that the one thing that hasn’t changed in the film industry is that people outside of it (i.e. the general public) remain fascinated by the moving making process. Why not give movie goers the opportunity to get an inside glimpse of the biz via a contest? Sumbit your ticket stub and enter to win a day on the set of Magnolia’s next feature, a chance to be an extra, an opportunity to meet one of the film’s actors or …

     Seems almost too simple to work and I haven’t a clue if it has been either suggested or tried already, but it certainly wouldn’t cost very much to implement (relatively speaking, that is).

     Comment by Jennifer — August 2, 2006 @ 12:45 pm

266. Bring the main character to life. People interact with him. They get to know him. They attach and think he’s real.

     Give him a blog, myspace, freidnster, youtube, LinkedIn, a resume on monster.com, hotjobs.com and careerbuilder.com.

     Use the blog to preface the story. Build viral momemntum by having the character interact with those he meets on the social networks. No one knows that he’s not real.

     We are doing it for ‘Straight To Voicemail’ and Charlie Assaf.

     His Blog:
     http://whatwouldwilliedo.typepad.com/straight_to_voicemail/

     His Myspace:
     http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=87697790&MyToken=35cbf87b-2568-4ffe-8bb5-c4bbc6276dfc

     Comment by Matt Martone — August 2, 2006 @ 1:04 pm

267. Bring the main character to life. People interact with him. They get to know him. They attach and think he’s real.

     Give him a blog, myspace, freidnster, youtube, LinkedIn, a resume on monster.com, hotjobs.com and careerbuilder.com.

     Use the blog to preface the story. Build viral momemntum by having the character interact with those he meets on the social networks. No one knows that he’s not real.

     We are doing it for ‘Straight To Voicemail’ and Charlie Assaf.

     His Blog:
     http://whatwouldwilliedo.typepad.com/straight_to_voicemail/

     His Myspace:
     http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=87697790&MyToken=35cbf87b-2568-4ffe-8bb5-c4bbc6276dfc

     Comment by Matt Martone — August 2, 2006 @ 1:07 pm

268. I just saw your interview on g4, so I looked you up on the web and came across this challenge. There are a few things about the movies that I don’t enjoy. That if were changed would make a difference. One is the price of movies that you pay then the movie it self just sucks. You feel like you have just been ripped off. I mean for my wife and I to go to a movie You spend almost twenty bucks on the ticket, money for popcorn, drinks what ever , I could have spent anywhere from 2 bucks to 4 bucks for movie rental or cable pay preview. The other things is comfort in the the theater most of the seats are to close together, and uncomfortable. People are messy and the kids that work in the theaters are just there to get a paycheck may not care enough to clean the area. You spoke about your are selling fun when you took over the basketball team. I think that in the same manner you could change the theater going experience. Create an atmosphere that is enjoyable. I have an idea that would be a evening out. To make it worth your while even if you did not like the movie.
     You could have real food, change it to less seating like a show in vegas. You serve a dinner, drinks have a menu, comfortable seating, space to have private moments with your date. Fun, enjoyable and if you left with the thought the movie wasn’t that good, but I would come back because the experiance was great. That of course is just a rough idea. Just with my thoughts. Good luck, I enjoyed your interview on the tv.

     Comment by james roberts — August 2, 2006 @ 1:49 pm

269. Simple. I work in the movie biz and must admit. Its just too dam expensive to take a family of 4 to see a film in the theater. $40 for the film, plus treats, you’re looking at $70. Are you kidding? That is a staggering number. What is happening is soon the average income family will not be able to attend a movie. It will be out of their budget range. The mass audience will soon go away and all you’ll be left with is a overpriced theme park. I have read a lot about the history of cinema. It is a shame its gotten to this point. 30 years ago, the studios were amazed that a film could make 100 million in a summer, now they are depressed if it doesnt do 100 mil in 2 days. If Bush can send $300 to each family, then the studios can send a few free tickets to the public. Makes sense. Show thta you care. And Cuban, I have been following the 2929 projects. I know you’re trying…..Just stop releasing on DVD and cable simo. Let people see it at the moviehouses. Oh and Cuban, you’re perfect for ENTOURAGE. You should give them a call.

     Comment by Mark D. — August 2, 2006 @ 2:51 pm

270. How about your the idea that you had for TV. Use live broadcast in movie theaters to make movie-going a unique event. You could move the idea of the “Movie premiere” into the digital-information age. Instead of having a movie premier be an event broadcast on TV. Have a similar event where interviews with stars and directors are broadcast at the movie theater. Or some other event related to the movie that is broadcast at the movie theaters only.

     Also, I think you’re right on the money with re-vamping the image of the movie industry. Ticket and concessions have been going up, it is now typical to sit through commercials, but the “movie theater” experience has really not improved.

     Comment by R Wang — August 2, 2006 @ 2:51 pm

271. I’ve been mulling over this for the last couple of days, and while my thoughts aren’t completly organized I’ll leave what I can.

     I’ve noticed that people will take something more seriously if they feel invested in it in some way. Meaning, if the audience members feel they have been a part of the movie making process in some way, they are FAR more likely to go see the film, and get their friends and family and co-workers and neighbors (get the point) to see it as well.

     If there could be a way to start a production company that SERIOUSLY used ideas from audience members and made them happen, without exploiting the ideas, making millions, and giving nothing back, I think there would be a positive outcome. There would have to be some kind of reimbursement be it free passes, discounted tickets to showings of the films or possibly a name in the credits, I’m not sure of that yet.

     All I know is that people who have a hand in creating something want to see it succeed and most of the time will go to great lengths to see that it happens. If they think there’s a chance they’ll see their face on the big screen, even if only for a second in a crowd shot, they will get every person they know to go see that film!

     So, basically, I guess I’m saying bring the movie making process down a notch and make it less “untouchable” and more real to the people who go and see the movies. If it’s more real to them, there’s more of a reason for them to go to the movies.

     Comment by Sarah — August 2, 2006 @ 2:58 pm

272. By the way Mark, a great idea is to have a website where you post up a story, i.e a screenplay idea or synposis, then you let the public chime in as to who they would like to see in the role. Take a story about a guy who hijacks a bus. Have a list of actors for the main character and the supporting characters. Maybe even a director. See how many people would see it if such and such were in it. And magic. You already have the audience. Say 1 million people see Tom Cruise as this character in this story. Bang. Try to get Cruise and make the movie. Promotion begins before the movie even starts. It gets people involved in the movie process. They all feel like they are part of it. People will always pay for something that makes them feel special….www.makemymovie.com…. Sounds cool right

     Mark D.
     guerrillafilm@mindspring.com

     Comment by Mark D. — August 2, 2006 @ 3:02 pm

273. Solution is simple implementation is not. Movies don’t make money till they get into the rental/Sales market. So is it feasible to produce/finance then sell direct to the consumer cutting out the studio, theater (yea I know about landmark the reality is markets are efficient and brutal), even Netflicks! Give greater “artistic control to the artists” in exchange for a real piece of the profits. The “Artist” makes a stinker the market decides what financial return they get. Take you profits from financing, direct sales, cross marketing licensing etc. Do it without using the studios for production, distribution, finance, and licensing.

     Comment by Wally Brooks — August 2, 2006 @ 3:48 pm

274. Create a series of shorter movies (maybe 60 minutes each). Make the characters and storyline extremely entertaining and universally appealing. It may be possible to take a current TV show and expand it into this concept. Shoot the movies in the new 3-D format. Do you think the producers of “South Park 3-D” or “Sopranos 3-D” would need to spend $12 per person to get people to go to the movie theater? I doubt it. Release the movies in sequence every 2-6 months to keep it current and fresh.

     Comment by Tony Martin — August 2, 2006 @ 6:56 pm

275. i wanted to tell you about four eyed monsters. i heard about it while browsing the itunes music store’s podcast directory. i watched every podcast and now i love it. but nearly a year later i still haven’t seen the movie because it has not been screened, even in my entire state. i have since gotten many of my friends around town (lexington, ky) in the podcast and we were willing to drive to either louisville, ky or cincinnatti, oh (both about an hr away) to watch this…but no screenings were there either. i think, that if you could put this movie in a theater, it would generate a lot of viewers, with very little revenue spent advertising, because the advertising is already done. all through a free podcast. these are just my thoughts, i love reading your blog…but i’ve never commented before. thanks for writing!

     Comment by r smith — July 25, 2006 @ 8:19 am

276. Make awesome movies with less computer graphics. Too many movies are too long and redundant..

     Comment by Port Orange MLS — July 25, 2006 @ 8:28 am

277. For starters it is interesting that you’ve posted this offer, and I read through most of the comments and found them to be interesting. The problem with the movie distribution industry is that at some point someone decided to make money off the concessions as well as the ticket prices. Movie budgets got bigger to absorb the cost for CGI and advanced special effects, tickets never got cheaper. The one suggestion I liked was the whole “Tivo” for movies idea, but the problem is people want to get out of their house and have the theater experience. People will go see movies that they’re interested in. Watching them at home will make you lose a lot of money. How do you stop someone from having a great home theater system and a large living room and inviting 40 people? I live in France and we have a system here, that if properly marketed would be a great benefit for you. Loewe’s already has their galazy passes, that if you buy a bunch give you a bit of a discount, but they are normally reserved for purchase by corporations. In France we have unlimited movie passes. For 18 euros, you can watch an unlimited amount of movies per month. Or you can buy a card that gives you a certain number of “places” or tickets. A 5 ticket pass is 35 euros, normally it would be about 45 euros if you went to see 5 movies. The passes expire in a month. The point is with the unlimited you sign a contract for 12 months, you pay in advance 3 times over the year, and it gets people in the theaters because who wants to waste money? This is a perfect idea for a man who owns his own chain of theaters. You would reap the benefits of 1) advanced sales, 2)concessions – people will come to the theater and because they didn’t shell out money for a ticket, psychologically they’ll think less about paying 12 bucks for a drink and some popcorn, 3)if the cards are not used, you still keep the money anyway. If you’re interested in seeing the business model and more details contact me. I will introduce you to the reasons why the French public is so dedicated to its cinema – something that does not exist in the US. In fact, statistically speaking on any free night you could ask 10 French people what they’re going to do and 8 of them would say they are going to the movies. Could you say that in the US?

     Comment by anne-marie — July 25, 2006 @ 8:36 am

278. Mr. Cuban,

     The solution for promoting / marketing movies in an efficient and productive way; is the antithesis of what many would believe. Less is more. Develop shorter trailers leaving the customer unsatisfied until they finally see the movie. This along with personal appearences (which should be covered by the actor/actresses salary) by all the top actors & actresses within the movie would create a serious buzz considering the mystery surrounding the movie. That is not to say that the plot would not be revealed; and is only to say that the best lines (especially in comedies) would be left our of the trailer and the eventual ending would not be presented either. Too much has been thrown at the consumer these days and people are more inclined to see a movie they do not know what will happen; or have not yet seen the funniest parts of the movie prior to setting foot in the theater.

     Comment by Michael Cain — July 25, 2006 @ 8:55 am

279. Last Sunday, I took my wife and baby to the movie theatre in town (8 miles away). The movie theatre in Hondo, TX only shows one movie at a time and the showtimes are always the same. The ticket price for the movie is $3 per person. The theatre only accepts cash.

     My family and I enjoy going to the movies – I think the theatre’s formula is something related to ‘Keep it simple’.

     “A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.” – Ben Franklin

     Comment by Ben Adams — July 25, 2006 @ 8:57 am

280. Oh I’m just saying what others have said… I don’t go to movies, almost never. Theaters are dirty, noisy, I get cold or wet going out, I’m in the parking lot alone, its just a pain in the a** .

     I’d love to see more first run movies, right when they come out, but I want to see them at home, with friends, wine, my sofa. Don’t make me go to a movie theatre! Its not about money to me although it may be to some but its about comfort and I’m not sitting in a smelly theater to see a movie that I can get on pay per view in 6 months.

     Susan Kelly

     Comment by susan kelly — July 25, 2006 @ 9:07 am

281. 1) Facebook, facebook, facebook. More details to come in a non-publicized arena.
     2) Buy two comedy scripts I’ve written: movies people WILL like.

     Email me at: JasonWStein@gmail.com

     Comment by Jason Stein — July 25, 2006 @ 9:11 am

282. I think a lot of people want to see more movies than they actually do. I know that’s the case for me. I’ll see a trailer on TV and think “Hey! I want to see that!” but I never get around to it, and before I know it it’s not in the theaters any more (and then I think “Hey! I need to rent that DVD!” and I usually don’t do that either).

     The main problem is inertia. My tendency is to stay at home. It’s kind of a hassle to look what’s playing where and when, and then set up plans with my friends or significant other to go and actually see the movie. It usually requires some spur-of-the-moment planning, which is always more difficult. Either that or it’s so low-key (”Hey, we could see a movie tonight.” “Yeah, we could do that.” “Let’s look into it” and we both go back to watching TV) so we end up wasting time until it’s 9:00 and the only movies left won’t end till after midnight.

     On the other hand, if I’m planning something for next week, it’s easy to look things up and get it all set up. But if it’s 7:30 and I’m looking for a movie between now and 9:00 within 10 miles of me, I’ve got to scrounge around for the paper or navigate different websites and see what’s going on. No thanks. But planning my movie nights a week in advance is ridiculous too. Nobody does that. And therein lies the opportunity: Give people a way to do just that, and I think they will.

     My idea is simple: Sell subscriptions. Every week, the same time, the same place, there will be a movie to watch that is tailored to my preferences. I’ll buy the tickets as a package for 10 weeks in a row and say to my significant other, “Thursday night at 7:00PM is now Movie Night and we’re going for the next 10 weeks.” All in one package, X number of movies, at the same time, same location, every week or every two weeks or every month. The key is just to have a regular schedule, and give people a slight discount and convince them that the films will be something they want to see. Maybe it’s a mix of old films and new films. Maybe they all share a theme or a genre. Maybe each week there’s actually several choices (sell it as a “Marital Bliss Pack”: each week there’s a guy action movie, a goofy comedy, a girly romantic comedy, and a high-concept drama to choose from, so the guy gets his pick one week, and the woman gets her pick the next) — but all the movies start at the same time and are being shown in the same multiplex, week after week after week. Maybe even have post-film coffee and discussions so that people with the same subscriptions can get to know each other over time, so it becomes a social event as well.

     Comment by Brock — July 25, 2006 @ 9:21 am

283. Your problem is getting bigger everyday. The ubiquitous marketing for poorly done movies is really quite obnoxious and is something that drives me away from seeing a films in theaters. I wait until I get the word of mouth that the film is something I want to see. I live in Boston, so I see ads thousands of times a day and generally, not one of those ads make me want to see a movie in a theater.

     You are asking for unique ideas to get a great movie into the heads and evening plans of a lot of people AND their friends, family, coworkers, clients. To me, great movies are to be filled with unique ideas, characters, stories and an element of fantasy. These are the things that make me take time to call around to find a friend, check the schedule, and leave my house for a new experience.

     Recently, I had the experience of travelling to New York’s East Village with my roommate to see a film called Four Eyed Monsters directed by Arin Crumley and Susan Buice. It’s possible you may have heard of it. They’ve done a brilliant job getting their film into people’s heads and igniting almost a passion among their demographic (teens to early thirtysomethings, artists, other filmmakers, creative people looking for something provoking and challenging) to see this film through and get it into theaters. I didn’t just walk to the theater and buy a ticket. I went to New York City to see their film as part of a festival. It was actually incredible to travel 5 hours on a bus in sweltering humidity to show up that night in NY not quite knowing what I was really going to see, but I felt a part of something. I felt the passion and the fever as people in front of me were talking about the film, watching the podcasts on their ipods, being filmed for a future podcast, talking to the directors. Everyone was excited. I’ve never felt or seen this going to a regular movie.

     Going to the theater and buying a ticket, walking by the concessions, having my ticket ripped and the person in the vest saying ‘Enjoy the show’ like a robot to every person walking by…all of that is really mundane. The only thing that really gets an emotion out of me is the bottle of water I purchase for 4 dollars. And that emotion is not quite the same fever and passion described above…

     Like I said, I’ve rarely had an experience like this with a movie in a chain theater. Seeing screenings at festivals and seeing two night only midnight showings of whatever cult/fun movie at a non profit theater…these are the experiences that stick out. These were the times when planning to get the theater, getting a few friends together, and waiting in line were just as exciting as when I walked out.

     This is what you need to do. You need to create some excitement through some exclusivity. Don’t just shove down our throats commericals and posters and giant newspaper ads and billboards and post cards and flyers and myspace profiles and contests and AND AND! That’s buzz marketing, but it’s not GOOD buzz marketing. It works for some, but barely creates the exclusive word of mouth connection Four Eyed Monsters has.

     The way I found out about Four Eyed Monsters was through an unusual medium. One of the directors, Arin, friended me on myspace and wrote me about their film and their video podcast project. It felt earnest and seemed interesting, so I checked it out. What they’ve done is chronicled the making of their film in short episodic podcasts. You subscribe to their myspace blog- you get an update whenever they have a new video. You subscribe through iTunes- you get the video automatically downloaded when it is posted. It’s fucking brilliant. The podcasts are like short films themselves, and, when put together, make a coherent documentary on the process of creating a film and distributing it. The idea and the podcasts were so compelling, I wanted to see this film after watching the first podcast last October.

     This idea is a breakthrough in creative and artistic media as well as marketing and creating a buzz. I scanned through some of the ideas above and saw someone mentioning advance screenings. This is a good idea. I can read a review and watch a commercial, but I can’t know if I like the movie until someone I know has already seen it and I trust their opinion. So, this is how you do it. You have a great film…something unique, exciting, something people are really going to be talking about. You get the myspace account going and you offer exclusive interviews, making-ofs, short narratives about the creation process…Things that would be ‘dvd features’ and you offer them in podcasts. Then, you set up advance screenings in cities by myspace invite. And you will have full theaters and those people will tell and tell and tell. This is Arin and Susan’s homegrown marketing plan. And it has worked. And it’s still working.

     Your chain shows indie films. I have been to your Kendall Sq. theater in Cambridge even though it is more than a half hour on the train. If there’s something I want to see, I go. But I have to want to see it. If you put Four Eyed Monsters at the Kendall (and your other more indie venues), I guarantee you would have people in those seats. But you can’t just show a trailer and hang a poster and hope people show up. You have to make it an event. Launch the film at each theater with an event. Make it interactive! Have the start time a half hour early with an iPod showing the podcasts. Find a way to have a Q&A with the directors/actors even if they aren’t there. You can be so much more creative than you are right now.

     Like Arin and Susan have, you can get people involved with the movie as so much more than a viewer.

     Comment by Meghan McFarland — July 25, 2006 @ 9:28 am

284. Too many antisocial comments! People LOVE watching movies in a crowd. There is nothing more thrilling than being in a packed house where everyone is going insane for a movie, play or performance. Everyone laughs together, gasps together, is scared together. How about making some advertising that points this out? ‘It’s more fun together’ or something like that, as contrasted with whatever terrified solipsist misanthrope who is such a wuss that he doesn’t want to see a few kids, or a bit of popcorn on the floor. Remind people that it is FUN to go to the movies.

     Comment by Maria — July 25, 2006 @ 9:29 am

285. Movies have become inconvenient for the masses. Going to the movies on opening weekend is a hassle and an annoyance for most adults. I think if a new movie theatre concept were to open–one that was marketed towards adults only with a 21 year old + focus–this could be genius. For example, have a theatre (let’s use the Angelika as an example) that has a restaurant/bar attached. You can make reservations via telephone or on line and included in the restaurant/bar visit, you have 2 free movie tickets either pre or post dinner. Complement that with full bar service during the movies and it’s an adult night out without kids and teenagers and the general annoyances the keep people from seeing ‘going to the movies’ as a treat. I personally avoid the movies for that reason. In addition, if I’m going out to do something on a weekend, I don’t want to take multiple trips to dinner, the movies, and a bar. Package the whole thing together and market it as a new and unique concept (maybe live music/bands beforehand, a patio for dining and drinks) and you have a new and UNIQUE concept for adults.

     Comment by Aimee M. Pingenot — July 25, 2006 @ 9:39 am

286. Dear Mark,

     I created the New Orleans Filmmakers (now 100+ filmmakers) in February 2006 and we have been having successful screenings with very little or even no money. We use myspace invitations, facebook flyers (40$) at area colleges, and we also put flyers listing our screenings in area coffee shops and WTUL, the Tulane Radio station works with us by announcing our screenings on the radio stations. We also work with the local public access television stations and with Timecode NOLA, a tv show watched by New Orleanians, to market ourselves. By accessing multiple non-profit channels and spending less money by marketing online to our target audience, young people 20-30, we have averaged about 75 people per screening thus far. We have only been established since February, and the quality of some of our films is good, but not all of our films are up to par. Another way we help is that we show a series of short films by local filmmakers and we highlight one longer film as the headline film. When filmmakers have a stake in these screenings they will market the hell out of the screenings and do a lot of the marketing leg work for you. But what we’re doing basically is continuously doing a series, like New Orleans Filmmakers screening 1, 2, 3…. etc. We just change the highlighted film and we change the short films. By including short films prior to the screenings, you can really gain more of an audience. It’s almost like bands, when you have half the audience there for the opening act, the other half for the headliner. Include short films by the local filmmaking body to give them a stake in it. Bridge the gap to the local filmmaking community and let us help you get the audience there. The myspace idea you talked about seems a little too pyramid, I think it would turn people off. Reach out to the underground film community and let them help you. You’ll probably find some really talented filmmakers in the process. Set up a national filmmakers network that’s free to join and paid for by advertisers. Offer chances of funding and production money to the filmmakers as a national community. These are my suggestions.

     Good luck Mark,

     Sincerely,

     Christopher Brown
     New Orleans Filmmaker

     “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

     “A film is never any good unless the camera is the eye of a poet.”
     -Orson Welles.

     Comment by Christopher C Brown — July 25, 2006 @ 9:41 am

287. Mr. Cuban,

     Everybody here has good ideas but what I know from experience just for about anything you want to promote is word of mouth. That is the fastest and most economical way.

     That is why network marketing works. Take for example Stream in the Dallas Market Hall. They started the company 15 months ago and use Ignite, the marketing arm of Stream, to have friends and family switch electricity. They went from number 79 retail electric provider to number 5 in about 10 months!!

     The company saves so much more money by paying independent associates that are fractions of what normal marketing costs. This means movie goers can buy movie tickets way below the 7 and 8 dollar per person (maybe even pennies), you get movie a wider exposure fast, and you, the marketer, wouold save millions in marketing cost that you would normally pay.

     Even Donald Trump has been quoted that he would be involved with network marketing if he hadn’t gone into real estate. Robert Kiyosaki,a New York Times Best Seller of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, endorses network marketing.

     I know there are many people reading this and may say this or that. I’m just providing a solution that deals with word of mouth. Best of luck finding the best solution. Have a great one!

     Comment by Cuong Le — July 25, 2006 @ 9:49 am

288. Mr. Cuban,

     Everybody here has good ideas but what I know from experience just for about anything you want to promote is word of mouth. That is the fastest and most economical way.

     That is why network marketing works. Take for example Stream in the Dallas Market Hall. They started the company 15 months ago and use Ignite, the marketing arm of Stream, to have friends and family switch electricity. They went from number 79 retail electric provider to number 5 in about 10 months!!

     The company saves so much more money by paying independent associates that are fractions of what normal marketing costs. This means movie goers can buy movie tickets way below the 7 and 8 dollar per person (maybe even pennies), you get movie a wider exposure fast, and you, the marketer, wouold save millions in marketing cost that you would normally pay.

     Even Donald Trump has been quoted that he would be involved with network marketing if he hadn’t gone into real estate. Robert Kiyosaki,a New York Times Best Seller of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, endorses network marketing.

     I know there are many people reading this and may say this or that. I’m just providing a solution that deals with word of mouth. Best of luck finding the best solution. Have a great one!

     Comment by Cuong Le — July 25, 2006 @ 9:51 am

289. Ways to motivate people to go the movie theater to see YOUR MOVIE–

     Create the
     FREE RIDE/MARK CUBAN MOVIE MARKETING PROGRAM:

     1) Make something convenient 2) give them an opportunity to save money 3) other perks

     Get people to the theaters and have a subway/metro transit company sponsor the transportation–Creating sponsorship opportunities and programs with local companies (and other) near where your movies are being shown would mean that they are picking up costs and helping you physically get people to the theaters.

     *EXAMPLE*:
     In major cities, pitch the MTA/T/SEPTA to partner with you in the following way– Provide a free subway ticket (round-trip or on the way home)to and from the movie theater (upon proof of purchase or online Fandango receipt from MARK CUBAN movie-) Movie ticket must be for the same date as free subway ride. Subway stops near movie theaters that should your movie would (only) qualify. Also, ask a local restaurant near these theaters to give a 10% discount on all post-movie goers that provide a movie ticket from YOUR FILM. (Think: Save money for families & give perks, and still make your money.) My guess is that local restaurants might be interested in this to bring in extra business to complete with well known restaurant chains.

     It’s a start as a way to get high numbers of people to the theaters.

     Include the subway logo and restaurant name on movie ticket. If the movie theater won’t do that, then subway company and restaurant can run at ad at the theater.

     Or offer the sponsors free product placements on YOUR MOVIE. Or offer to mention the name of these companies to press when your being interviewed and talking about the movie (or basketball). That amount of brand building for them would be worth a lot to them in terms of exposure.

     This would be a great way for families to save money on transportation and dinner, which is always a motivating factor and good so you get higher turnout.

     To get the word out- I need to think about this more, but maybe advertise on Fandango, or use your press office (which you already pay for, so there would be no extra cost in the PR area to spread the word) to contact the press about it to get free editorial plugs on your FREE RIDE/MARK CUBAN MOVIE MARKETING PROGRAM and to mention the sponsors involved in the PROGRAM-

     This additional brand building (from press mentions) for any sponsor would be very enticing– and is what will probably seal the deal for sponsors. You already have the name recognition (which is difficult to achieve), so there will be an extremely high press interest in what you are working on. Pitch the following press- entertainment, lifestyle, family, kids, perhaps calendar listings, advertising/pr newspapers and magazine, e-zines, online blogs, online newspapers, etc. And if the program goes well, word-of-mouth is one way (and the cheapest way) to spread the word.

     Start with the free subway ride and restaurant discount for a limited time only— to motivate people to take advantage of these savings and give them a rush to get out there. For example—Call it “SUMMER MOVIE TRAVEL DAZE WITH MARK CUBAN MOVIE” or “HOLIDAY MOVIE TRAVEL DAYS WITH MARK CUBAN MOVIE”

     Start with it marketed as a limited time only, with an internal plan to extend it if it’s a success…Test market several times after it hits to see if it’s a success…

     If you really want to seem like a good guy– donate a portion of tickets sales to a charity (10 cents or $1 per ticket sale)- Toys for Tots, Hurricane Katrina Victims, etc. Sponsors would love the positive image/branding of doing something good for their community.

     It would also be a great opportunity for you to give money to charity (and not just for getting fined!)

     FREE RIDE/MARK CUBAN MOVIE MARKETING PROGRAM was created by All-Star.

     With Respect,
     All-Star

     Comment by All-Star — July 25, 2006 @ 9:58 am

290. There’s some incorrect assumptions floating around out there.

     1. Assumption: it’s hard to get people to the theater.

     While it’s true attendance is down (and ticket prices are up), Americans still spend about 8 billion dollars a year at the box office. Some one is still going to movies.

     And It’s way easier to convince people that already
     see movies in the theater to see your movie, than it is to find new movie goers. The focus of advertising should be on convincing people to see Good Night and Good Luck instead of Syriana

     2. Assumption: Good movies market themselves.

     If that were true, Mr. and Mrs. Smith ($186 million) was more than twice as good as Brokeback Mountain ($86 million). That movie was still 3 times better than Mark’s movie- Good Night, and Good Luck ($31 million). The best movie of last year by that standard was Star Wars Episode III ($380 million).

     Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a budget almost 8 times bigger than either Brokeback or Good Night and Good Luck. And with 110 million dollars, you can buy a whole lot of really effective advertising. The question is how Good Night and Good Luck does the same thing with a 7 million dollar budget.

     This is an efficiency problem. And so far, my space hasn’t done the trick.

     What’s “the tipping point” for a movie?

     Comment by Kyle Warneck — July 25, 2006 @ 10:07 am

291. Mr. Cuban,
     You’re really talking about revolutionizing the movie business and the movie-going experience, not just new marketing tactics. You have to alter many pieces of the puzzle for it all to fit into place. This includes ticket prices, theaters, production costs and the quality of your film product. We’re talking about the big picture here, so why not go big?
     The most key marketing tool any business has is its brand, and the challenge lies in building that brand. A company with strong brand equity has loyal customers and can build a formidable customer base. Focus Features (regrettably owned by GE and NBCUniversal), has put out very quality movies in the last few years (Eternal Sunshine, Brokeback Moutain among many others) that have generated buzz and brought the Focus brand into the spotlight.

     Here’s my proposal:
     Let’s create a brand known for providing the most quality movie-going experience in the whole industry. We need to provide excellent customer service and communicate extremely well with our base. We can strike deals with exhibitors for lower prices. Use any leverage we have in the business to talk to actors, directors, producers about our vision. Get Hollywood talking about our brand and watching for its movies coming out.

     And of course we’ll need as much cross-promotion as possible. We’ll have movie clips on the jumbotron at Mav’s games. HDNet will feature “making-of” documentaries in stunning HD picture. Subscribers to HDNet will get exclusive deals on ticket prices.

     Finally the internet is absolutely crucial to the success of this brand. We need trailers on iTunes, and a way to integrate the internet with mobile phone promotion. I liked the idea of a choose-your-own-adventure game, and I believe that Disney has begun some of that with the new Pirates movie. And, as you’ve seen with this blog, people respond when you reach out and offer them something more than just free tickets or a chance to win money. Let’s keep offering people a chance to make it in Hollywood. Let’s find great directors, writers, actors, all begging for a chance to show what they’ve got. This will help build buzz on our brand as well.

     In summary, we’ll use every means possible to build a brand who’s movies are demanded for in the marketplace. We’ll communicate with the consumer in ways that the major studios don’t even want to try. We’ll cross promote through vertically integrated outlets. We’ll partner with other brands who want to be associated with our business. We’re not just talking about marketing here, we’re talking about a business model with vision and with balls.

     So, Mr. Cuban, when you’re ready to build this brand, drop me a line and we’ll get to work.

     Comment by Sam Orleans — July 25, 2006 @ 10:07 am

292. Mark, the strategy and recipe is old fashion marketing. When you begin the process of convincing an athlete to sign, don’t you have to persuade others involved; like the agent and family members? The target is not the family that spends 8,10,12 dollars per person and swipes his card for flyer miles. The target should be the employer who signs his or her paycheck. Create a Family Pass Card that swipes. You need a Salesman with a briefcase who can close like an oncoming freight train and will sell the pants off of corporate. Corporate is the key. Sell the employers and the employees will break for the movies cause its “free and loaded with incentive.”

     Mike Jones

     Comment by Mike Jones — July 25, 2006 @ 10:09 am

293. Why not embrace the underground market for pirated DVD’s to promote movies?

     Since 2929 doesn’t add copyright protection to the dvd’s it distributes I’m going to assume that piracy is not of a concern with 2929.

     Why not embrace that open culture and distribute self-made ‘pirated’ copies before openings to build a buzz. Distribute dvd’s to underground markets in the us and oversees to build fanfare and ’street credibility’.

     The people who have access to the underground, black market for pirated dvd’s are usually the trendsetters or movie aficionados who can build word of mouth. It will also give a movie a hip street credibility to it.

     Comment by Jimmy — July 25, 2006 @ 10:12 am

294. Why do people go to concerts when they can buy a cd, or even a live album? Because of the diversity of the experience, the feeling of actually being part of the performance, and the chance of something unexpected happening. People who go to movies in the theater want to be entertained, and in a way that is different than being entertained on the couch at home. Start with the movie itself. Make something that could conceivably be different depending on when/where you watch, in response to movie viewer submissions (via blackberry directly after the film? on the web at home later?). Endings change. Plot lines change. It’s not a completely interactive movie (you can’t edit Rob Schneider completely out just because he’s annoying), but it has facets of interactivity. Or, bury in the movie “code” scenes that, when recognized, let the viewer unlock some sort of bonus on the web-additional scenes, a free pass to another movie, etc. Essentially, you’re building into the movie reasons for people to actually go see it at the theater–they’re getting something they can’t get if they wait for for the DVD or Showtime4. The sheer novelty of the approach would generate attention in the short-run. With the right kind of movie (imagine if George Lucas did it with the Star Wars franchise…), you would be able to generate much more repeat business, as well. How does Dave Matthews make $60 million a year, when he hasn’t had a song in the top 10 in five years? Diversity of experience at live shows and repeat business. A big part of the recording industry is broken, but this particular element isn’t one of them. Can you steal something from it?

     Comment by Rudy — July 25, 2006 @ 10:16 am

295. Hey Mark,

     My first idea was the “lottery” that I submitted yesterday. My second idea would be to do the exact same marketing plan (maybe ramp it up even more) excpet split the cost with a sponsor like Coca Cola. Everything else is sponsored these days (see American Airlines Center) so why not movies? For example, Akeelah and the Bee, sponsored by Coca Cola. In conjunction with Coke you can come up with a more agressive, diverse marketing plan to reach more consumers and you would be able to reduce your marketing dollars.

     Thanks,
     Craig

     Comment by Craig — July 25, 2006 @ 10:32 am

296. 2 possibilities, both with major drawbacks

     1) Do OPEN casting calls for movies, this works for reality tv, it could work for movies, stick a few parts open to the public, non Union and bring casting all over the country, do local PR and go to a lot of places that don’t get this kind of attention – people will wait in line for hours to audition and when the movie comes out they will pay to watch it if their audition experience didn’t suck too much – and also stick audition tapes online so people can watch ,download and order$$ their auditions or that of their friends, i would even take one of movie stars with you, have them shake everyones hand and take a picture, post the picture online for sales for a few bucks a copy – the casting tour will pay for itself

     B) Do non union movies – there are plenty of people out there – cheaper content – simple marketing

     C) Relevant publicity stunts – just give me a movie and I’ll give you a stunt…

     Richie

     Comment by Rich Hecker — July 25, 2006 @ 10:47 am

297. We have 4 theatres in the town I live in and most of the time we drive 45 minutes to Destin, FL to watch a movie at Rave Motion Pictures theatre. The theatres are big and the seats comfortable. There is always alot of people there. The only thing that could make it better is if they served dinner. They are opening a Rave here in Panama City Beach soon and we will be going to it regularly. Even for movies that we are not dying to see we will still go.

     Comment by Bruce Taylor — July 25, 2006 @ 10:47 am

298. The problem you need to solve for is how to preserve the advantages of choice while making the advantages of physical community outweigh the crappiness (and cost) of the typical movie-going experience. My comments do not pertain to blockbuster/teenager/mutliplex movies: the studios can keep cranking up the explosions and special effects to get asses in seats, and in any case I have no interest in peddling them.

     One obvious part of this is creating a better physical environment: a destination that’s more Angelika than multiplex. Another is to mimic the subscription model used by the “high-brow” performing arts, creating a “membership” feel and steadier cash flow.

     But to make this really work, the element of choice must cease to be a liability which tends towards Netflix couch-dom and instead become a strategic advantage. If the mechanics of choice are sufficiently compelling, you can create a new consumer experience that transcends movie-going. Here’s how:

     1) start with a membership model of some kind (details TBD)

     2) let your members choose in advance the movies that will run based on some kind of voting or collaborative system, based on word-of-mouth, film festivals, early reviews, etc.

     3) create a nationwide platform for discussion, whose ultimate goal is to harness the expertise and passions of film buffs to help guide choice [of course, with the Internet, ultimate use may trump original intent--to the good]

     4) [the critical point] when members are sufficiently involved in the process of choosing the movies to be seen, and when they are passionately involved to the point of wanting to interact with [local] fans and experts in person, then you’ve won. They will come in to see the movies and to see each other. This can be your great gift to semi-urban America, a “4th place” if you will. The Angelika and others serve coffee as an afterthought, but throughout the country, movies viewed by a highly self-selected audience, many of whom have met through an online community, creates all kinds of opportunities to capture, keep, feed, and sell to people who are craving for personal contact and who don’t drink coffee past 6PM.

     The cost of software should be minor, the capital costs of creating non-multiplexes significant. Maybe not a slam dunk, but at worst a free throw?

     Comment by John F. — July 25, 2006 @ 10:55 am

299. Mark, the answer is in what you have already done with your sports franchise from the outset, make the experience of physically going to the movies special, so enjoyable that folks make “going to the movies” part of their routine entertainment choices. Going to a Mavs game means you are goign to have a good time in the best NBA venue, everything done to please the fan and to make it a memorable experience.

     You can market the product till you puke, but unless I am going to get demonstrably more from seeing the film in the theatre (techonology, comfort, convenience, etc.), I’ll save the hassle and watch it on On Demand at my house.

     Focusing on a new way to market the movie misses the point, we are DROWNING in marketing, focus on the venue and delivery.

     I used to go to the movies just because I enjoyed that experience, I’d see whatever was out, went every week. That’s getting lost due to technology in the home.

     I’m a 38 year old atty in South Carolina, making a poopload, but I am a closet film geek. I may be taking a pay cut but give me a job and I will solve this thing for you.

     Comment by BIll Foster — July 25, 2006 @ 11:01 am

300. I’d love to see some sort of consumer oriented futures market be developed (maybe attached to a credit card or smart card) where I could pay less by committing to see a movie early on and you could factor me (and any other viewers who have made a buy) out of your forward advertising budget.

     Part of the problem is that some potential customers are really cheap to advertise to (they go to the movies a lot, have an interest in the subject matter of said film, belong to a large social network promoting said film, etc.) but other potential customers are outliers costing many times the face value of a ticket to motivate to go to the theater through traditional advertising. Having a better way of getting at the low hanging fruit early on would let you decide how much it is worth to advertise for the mass audience.

     Comment by Chris Shepley — July 25, 2006 @ 11:02 am

301. Why not try product placment? It seems to work with other thing’s, like coke on american idol.

     Comment by Cody — July 25, 2006 @ 11:06 am

302. hey, i didn’t have time to read all these comments so, i don’t know if someone already mentioned this movie-FOUR EYED MONSTERS this is a movie that has really broken the mold as far as mainstream film…

     i heard about the movie through their myspace account, and then became connected to their website, where i saw their podcasts (which are awesome) before i ever saw the film i was watching all their podcasts about the making of and anxiously waiting for the next installment. their advertising has been word of mouth/INTERNET. they are really using people and the tech. of today to open doors that have been closed to the independent filmmaker/films without distribution. They are a prime example of change in the industry.

     I saw a screening of their film in nyc and it sold out and then some. there was a line down the street at the east villiage theater. because of that screening the IFC theater picked up their movie for thursdays in Sept. If you wanted to explore the future of film making and how to beat the big guns, this film would absolutely be a number one choice. The fan base for this film is growing every day and the seats of your theater would fill up with the expanding audiences.

     http://www.foureyedmonsters.com http://www.myspace.com/foureyedmonsters

     Comment by nikole beckwith — July 25, 2006 @ 11:14 am

303. Here’s a bonus idea in the hopper.

     Fundraisers…….

     Target #1 – High School & College Marching Bands / Drum Corps

     Marching bands perform in front of hundreds and thousands of people each year. We all know that music in the schools is dying due to lack of funding. 5A & 6A marching bands usually have more than 100 people performing. Those people have at least 1 parent and several family related friends. Drum Corps International is professional marching band during the summer, but they bust their chops all year long to raise funds to drive worn down buses across the country, performing for fans everywhere.

     Take the travelling band idea and apply it to any charity you want. I use marching bands and drum corps because they are extremely hungry. They will pound the pavement and pass out the glossy postcards promoting “Bubble” or whatever new movie you have coming out. The recipient gets $2 off the ticket price. The card is redeemed so they get that discount. The marching band’s code (or any charity or fundraising group) is on that card. The card gets turned in by the theaters. You create the account at 10 cents or 25 cents a card. That charity or marching band or whatever earns money to stay afloat.

     Marching Bands take bus trips to compete in bowl parades and contests. Drum Corps do bingo year round to raise funds to eat generic cereal and lunch meat on the road. Smaller schools need musical equipment and band uniforms they haven’t worn for the last 15 years.

     This is a way that HD Net/Mark Cuban Megopoly could market & promote directly to people that vary in demographic but are your core audience. This is a way for your organization to switch the way in which you promote AND help a variety of good causes, which in theory, could give you oodles and oodles of fresh press in magazines, television, etc.

     Smalltown high school programs would give you so much free publicity it would make your head spin. And the musicians in those marching bands and drum corps would encourage themselves AND their neighbors/parents to get BACK to the movie theater and start watching shows again.

     It could be like pepsi vs. coke. Start hammering the young generation and get them back into the theaters. This could help out the industry as a whole, as well as the movie theater chains.

     I’ve got a few more ideas, but I’m going to wait and see if there’s anyone even reading what I am typing now. No point in wasting time getting carpal tunnel promoting my visions and ideas when corporate america doesn’t read them, y’know.

     We’re all busy people. I’m just interested to see who wins your challenge and what the innovative new marketing strategies will be. This blog idea is a brilliant concept.

     Comment by Joe Cinocca — July 25, 2006 @ 11:15 am

304. Mark,

     First to get people to the movies, here’s an idea illiminate DVD pirating. How can you do this? Put a file into every DVD that doesn’t allow it to be copied or corrupts the disk that it’s trying to copy to. With this done it will force people to go to the movies more often!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!

     Comment by RJ — July 25, 2006 @ 11:17 am

305. Mark,

     First to get people to the movies, here’s an idea illiminate DVD pirating. How can you do this? Put a file into every DVD that doesn’t allow it to be copied or corrupts the disk that it’s trying to copy to. With this done it will force people to go to the movies more often!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!

     Comment by RJ — July 25, 2006 @ 11:18 am

306. Have you gotten the F.E.M. bug yet? I found out about Four Eyed Monsters through their video pod-cast and they are amazing. When I say amazing I am meaning that here are two people who have broken through the bullshit by creating this buzz. They don’t just have fans they have people who, through their video pod-casts, feel as if they are part of their project. We are talk’n something of a rocky horror fan here. If they played at my local Landmark Theater in Boston their would be lines out the door for the screening. I can think of fifty people already who would go. Arin and Susan have shown us all what hurdles you have to jump within the Film industry today, and they have taken a different route. Kudos to them!!!!!!!

     Comment by nicole — July 25, 2006 @ 11:24 am

307. i think that you need to look at a specific market to identify how reach it’s consumers. i would start by looking at historical figures for similiar movies in each city to determine what kind of marketing budget is necessary. if a comparable film did not do well in the past, do you spend more money to hype up the film, or decide that you probably won’t do well in that city and give up?
     everything seems to be for sale these days, so why not take advantage of it. what better place to advertise than sports venues. you typically have a captive audience of thousands of people (except the pirates…this is my plea for those jackasses to sell you the team), who are predisposed to going out and spending money for entertainment purposes. whether it be buying space on an outfield wall or airing trailers during a timeout of a Mavs game, you’ve got people’s attention. there is a subliminal loyalty that sports fan have to their teams and the companies that do business with them. stadiums and arenas are no longer a place you go, sit down in your seat for a few hours, and then go home. these venues are like the freakin circus…take advantage of that. every place is unique…learn about that and use it.
     the other idea would be to copy what they do in LA around the country. i’m not talking about billboards…i’m talking about those huge murals on the sides of buildings. what kind of attention grabber would it be if every time you drove through the Ft. Pitt tunnel, you saw a huge mural for your next movie on the nat city building? look for these uniqie places in every major city where this kind of visual would just captivate you. the buzz that would be generated the first time one of these went up would be worth it alone.
     i truly believe that the movie industry needs to do a better job of segmenting the country. the same marketing strategy that is used in phoenix, should be very different than that in boston. different messages, different artwork, different copy. why, because the consumer is different. will this cost more than is already spent in marketing…maybe, maybe not. will it bring in more a larger audience…maybe, maybe not.
     and finally, the movie industry as a whole needs to come together and do a campaign to get people back to the movies in general. it is an experience that has lost its luster. instead of always touting your own movies and fighting to win the weekend, throw some money in a pool and do some advertising that will get people out for the movie experience. and just maybe, they’ll have a good time, and come back to see someone else’s movie. rising tides raise all ships!

     Comment by Jonathan — July 25, 2006 @ 11:27 am

308. So you seek the holy grail
     In hopes that you’ll unveil
     A way to save some money
     And also turn to honey
     An industry in need?

     I ask you to proceed:

     The answer has been stated
     It’s already been created
     On this here very blog
     We’re seeing through the fog

     That if you take the time
     And are willing to make the climb
     To stand above the rest
     And to make the very best
     And are willing to agree
     “Invest in stories” is the key,

     Then I think we’ve won the game
     For ourselves we’ll make a name
     And all the world will say
     “We finally got our way!”

     I’ve got one more thing to say
     If you hire me today
     Not only will you get
     A creative spirit yet
     But also you will find
     A screenplay I’ve refined
     As of now it’s half-way through
     And I’d love to show to you
     And together with a chance
     We’ll help with the advance
     Of movies and their stories
     And fiscal pride and glories.

     Comment by Chris Rentzel, Dallas — July 25, 2006 @ 11:28 am

309. Nothing will really change until theaters have full digital projection and supply can be adjusted to meet demand on the fly. If X movie was a big budget potential block buster that was advertised heavily but was a critical failure that no one showed up to see, there is not reason it should be playing on 3 screens throughout the day if film Y, a small art film has achieved a large word of mouth success and is getting a huge per screen gross is limited to 1 screen half of the day. Current distribution costs make it infeasible to distribute enough reels to cover multiple screens.

     Another place this has an impact is by giving theaters the ability to tweak what is being shown in real time, you could start to overbook for big releases and avoid the problem of many people being stymied when they try to see a popular movie on opening night because you could bump lesser performing movies in favor of the block buster that could accomadate twice as many viewers as originally anticipated.

     Just In Time vieweing could be a reality, but the infrastructure needs to catch up.

     Comment by Chris Shepley — July 25, 2006 @ 11:28 am

310. Short Film Contest

     A contest for local filmmakers to produce a 1 minute short film in the theme or style of the feature being shown.

     The short films are voted for online prior to the release of the movie and the 10 highest online vote getters are shown before the feature on the opening weekend. The opening weekend audience is given ballots to vote for their favorite short film.

     The winner at the local level is given some prize.. 10-pack of movie tickets and $50gift certificate for the concession stand, some award certificate and their short film is played before the feature every night while it’s in release.

     The winning films at the local level are kicked back up to the internet for further voting. The ten highest vote getters at the national level are shown before the feature on the final night of the movies run for a final round of audience voting.

     The winner at the national level gets a 1year movie pass, $1000, a trophy and the short film is included as an extra on the DVD.

     Why this is a good idea:
     YouTube. Viral video. User generated content. Supporting local arts and artists. Making opening night a community special event. Free promotion from the filmmakers trying to get people to see and vote for their short film. Possible repeat viewing for people going on the final weekend of the release. Press coverage for local filmmaker heroes who move on to the national level of the contest. After you do this with several movies there could be a special DVD compilation of the short films.

     Comment by Joe Kirschling — July 25, 2006 @ 11:32 am

311. YO MARK!! BUY THE CUBS ALREADY!! ITS A GOLDMINE OVER THERE!

     Comment by RJ — July 25, 2006 @ 11:38 am

312. I understand why movie tickets cost so much (used to manage a theatre). The problem is that the marketing for almost all movies is the same: string together a bunch of cliffhanger “best part of the movie” clips – a guy with a deep voice – and a catchy subtitle to the movie. I think a good majority of movie goers see thru this way of advertising. A few months ago I checked out this podcast I happened across on myspace.com The movie is called “four-eyed monsters” after watching one podcast I subscribed to the blog. To be honest -I’ve seen about 8 episodes in the last 6 months and only vaguely get the idea of what the movie is about. I’m engrossed in the making of the film and how hard it has been for these two people to get their movie out. And the arguments and tears and heartache that it has been for Arin and Susan (directers, writers, podcasters, actors, ect.) Honestly the movie could be awful – it doesn’t matter – no matter what I will see this movie and I am sure I will love it…simply because I have watched the struggle to get four-eyed monsters into the theatre.
     Now I feel this way about two people I had no previous investment in. Two random people who took it upon themselves to get their movie marketed. Could you imagine if we could see this on the other side of hollywood – have podcasts of Peter Jackson’s struggle to get the right emotion out of people – to stay under budget – to make the best movie he can – or Brad Pitt’s preperation to play a role ~ or anything with a societal icon. It’s like opening up a window into someone’s private/professional life. And sadly our society preys on that stuff.
     I think podcasts are a brilliant solution to the stagnant marketing of feature films.
     Now after all is said and done – could you PLEASE show FOUR – EYED MONSTERS in a landmark theatre in BOSTON (if not every one of them Check em out on myspace.com/foureyedmonsters

     Thanks -
     Kirstyn G.

     Comment by Kirstyn Giangarra — July 25, 2006 @ 11:40 am

313. I don’t want a job, just a $50K check so I can put in a good pool. I like my current job.

     Here ya go:

     1) Stop caring about the opening weekend so much. Your care about is how much you make in total over the movie’s run. Not how much you make Friday night. The only reason you want huge first weekend numbers is for the buzz it creates. Let the movie run in the theaters a little longer and don’t worry about starting with a bang… FINISH with one. When you get a hit, delay the conversion to DVD such that people will want to get to see it before it leaves the theaters.

     2) Realize what you are really selling… it has been said by others… you are selling the night out. People can stay home and watch movies through multiple channels. So instead of focusing on a specific movie, design a movie going experience and sell the night out. Much like basketball, where you are really selling an entertainment experience more than a sporting event.

     3) This means that the real opportunity is at the point of consumption… the theaters.

     Stop making the damn movies, you said yourself that the houses get half the profit. Learn how to market the night out.

     I mean, you can still make a few movies if you enjoy it, it can be profitable, especially if you stumble into a hit and can run it in your redone distribution system.

     4) So how do we construct and market the “night out” ?

     First, decide what you want this product to look like. Crappy sound and mediocre picture quality didn’t keep people from drive ins….

     You will need a team of people to research what the demographic you are looking for wants. I am mid 40s with two young kids. Set up a 12 screen theater. In that theater are 8 screens for adult flicks and four for teens. The areas are separated. Have in there a “kids club” for little ones. Charge normal movie prices. $5 to watch a kid for the evening (cheaper than a babysitte, and while watching the kids you get them acclimated to the movie experience).

     As part of the theater area, perhaps an adjoining building or even within the same one you have things like an ice cream stand, a couple restaurants.

     Now your basis for advertising and pulling in customers is based on the “experience”. You create a series of commercials, ad campaigns, whatever, leaving 5 second blanks to insert what the current movies running are.

     Again… if you want to get people OUT… you have to give them a reason. While a good movie is a reason… a better reason is an easy comfortable couple hours of hassle free entertainment.

     We could obviously continue the brain-storming, but there are countless ideas, and you really need a small group of folks locked up for a week or two to brainstorm the shift in thnking from “How do I market the movie” to “How do I market a night out that happens to include movies”?

     –Teen and adult areas reasonably separated (some crossover is ok).
     –Simple childcare that is cheaper than a babysiter (but still a revenue stream and a base for building future customers.
     –Ample opportunity for other entertainment (dinner, music, kids stuff, mini-golf…)
     –Simplified (i.e. lower cost) advertising, as your repeat customer base is not based on you being Steven Spielberg and the promise foa great movie… but is based on “we go there on Friday nights because there is always something worth seeing and the kids have fun and I don’t have to sweat the babysitter…”

     Ok… I am done.. e-mail me if you want me to set up a brainstorming session and throw a little passion into your people.

     I probably don’t want the permanent job (I alreasy like what I do)… but if you REALLY make it worth my while, you never know. Otherwise, a one time $50K will get me for two 60 hour weeks to fire your folks up and get them going in the right direction.

     Regards..
     –John

     Comment by John — July 25, 2006 @ 11:54 am

314. Mark:
     Ironically Web-based “affiliate marketing’s” original promise was what is now being called “word-of-mouth” marketing. The promise was never realized. In its place we have fraud and renegade affiliate programs foolishly operated by advertisers without regard to ROAS. In short, we have the platform for adware/spyware.

     You’re right — the future is bright for this model when applied in the social networking realm. The challenge will be in avoiding the “gaming” of the system just as major brands have been played.

     I’m not surprised to see that you understand this.

     Comment by Jeff Molander — July 25, 2006 @ 12:06 pm

315. Some people just don’t see the point in spending $20 ( for 2 ) to see a movie that they can watch in a few months on PPV for $4. Movies should be released simultaneously on PPV for the same price as a movie ticket ( $10 ) People will pay the premium to see the movie on PPV without delay, especially since it’s still effectively half price. ( 2 people or more watch for $10) Since the cable or satellite operator will be collecting more than twice their usual amount, they will be required to advertise the movies across all the channels they carry noting that the movie is opening in theaters and on PPV. On net I think the movies will see no change in gross between what they would have done – box office + PPV – compared to what they do with the simultaneous release. However, you save on your largest promotional expense, television advertising.

     Comment by Wes — July 25, 2006 @ 12:08 pm

316. 1. Why do movie ticket kiosks only have to be in front of theaters? Put them in train stations, Starbucks, restaurants, and other places where people either wait or spend leisure time. Add promotional content. Sure people can do this online. But they cannot swipe their credit cards from home (yet). Someday you may even be able to buy a ticket on an ATM.

     2. Why have I never received a coup-on for a future movie with my ticket stub when I entered a theater? I’m already a paying customer, so I’m quite likely to come back. Target it to the movie I am seeing. Give me a dollar or two off if I come back for the movie on its opening weekend. Maybe I’ll bring friends. Maybe when I’m deciding whether to see a movie I’ll factor in that I’ll get a coup-on for a future movie as well (whether I use it or not). I also go home with the name and opening date of the movie in my pocket.

     3. Learning Annex type seminars. Offer classes on how you are marketing UPCOMING films. It is a somewhat educational setting and people will actually pay money to learn about your marketing plans. You’ll create interest and awareness among core audiences. You’ll also probably get helpful feedback.

     4. If you’re not selling original crew merchandise – t-shirts, baseball caps, etc – online six months before the release date, then delay the release. Let people take an emotional stake in the movie months before it is released. Make other people ask them why the heck they’re wearing a Fast Track or Turistas cap.

     5. Contests. People are competitive. Mail in your ticket stub from opening weekend and be eligible for a drawing. Go to the movie’s web site and guess the opening box office to win a prize (get people to put an emotional stake in the film). Auction off movie props before the release (it happens now, but not nearly enough).

     6. Maximize pre-release screenings. Hand out postcards with the movie poster that say on the back “I just saw ____ at a screening and it was great”. Offer to pay the postage if people hand back that postcard with an address on it.

     7. Free wireless is growing – Panera Bread, hotels, etc – but I’ve yet to see it sponsored. Take a page out of the salon.com handbook – as people log into their browser, an advertisement. People will accept it because they are getting something for free that is not always free.

     8. You know that moment at the end of the trailer where the title and credits flash by? Give people a few extra seconds to actually read it, to find some names up there that they recognize. A bad trailer can sink a film, but we’re past the days where a great trailer can make a film. People have been burned too many times, and need to find connections to people they like and trust.

     9. Stop showing recent releases on airplanes. At some point airlines completely jumped the line in the revenue stream. If you’ve noticed, many people ignored your question and wrote about the movie-going experience. None that I noticed said give me a twelve inch screen next to a window.

     Comment by JJG — July 25, 2006 @ 12:12 pm

317. You can lower your marketing costs by using the republican method for getting people out to vote. Create a database that holds information relating to a consumers tastes and attitudes. Populate it with data that you already have and then buy some data from DVD rental and sales databases, etc. Then market to those most likely to respond. This group will be only a small fraction of the total audience for most films. You could use email, targeted ads and even ordinarily cost prohibitive methods such as direct mail since you wouldn’t need to target everyone in the world.

     Comment by Joel Files — July 25, 2006 @ 12:15 pm

318. Sell Beer at the theater for adult only showings. When going to a comedy club the early comics have a hard time getting a laugh. partially because they are newer and most importantly the audience isn’t drunk yet! The headliner always gets the laughs because they are more experienced and the audience has a good buzz going. LOL

     Pour your marketing into a ticket lottery concept. Every ticketholder is entered into a $1million dollar giveaway or whatever makes financial sense. Or better yet. A winning ticketholder gets a part in the next sequel or next movie. We all want to be famous. Make it a reality for one of us.

     The theater experience has to be better or different than my home theater experience. My home theatre is more comfortable, more convenient, looks and sounds better than movie theaters.

     Develop a high end premium theater w/ recliners, in seat speakers, vibration.

     Movies in 3D. Yeah it sounds corny but I had a wonderful experience at an IMAX theater wearing goofy 3d glasses.

     Comment by Steven — July 25, 2006 @ 12:21 pm

319. “We are looking at affiliate programs. So people with lots of myspace or other social network friends could get a buck or 2 or 3 if someone goes from their myspace page directly to fandago, moviefone, movietickets.com etc and buys a ticket to a film of ours prior to its release. Get 100 friends to buy tickets to a movie, get a 100 bucks from us.”

     Yeah, good luck with that…

     Along the same lines but simpler.

     Have movie watching idiots view a trailer online with a sliding scale of rewards depending on when or how often they watch.

     Different view times can be tied to different advertising depending on the time of day, etc…

     After subjecting themself to 2 minutes of insipid Hollywood schlock, the viewer is rewarded with $2 off movie ticket or a tasty and nutritious treat from the snack bar. The ad/ marketing potential in this space is huge because people are “willingly” participating.

     This idea could be made more complex with a membership system, loyalty rewards, etc…but it doesn’t have to be.

     The #1 complaint from movie goers is that movies are “too expensive” This idea addresses that directly.

     My #1 complaint about movie goers is that they are F*&#ing idiots.

     WYASA?

     Comment by Jim Anchower — July 25, 2006 @ 12:24 pm

320. Mark,

     Some great ideas already from the folks above. Here’s my 2 cents for how you get people to leave their homes and go to the movies every week (at least) and make more money for everyone involved (including indie film makers).

     1) Launch a monthly subscribtion fee model so people pay say $24.95 a month and they can go to as many movies as they want. (Use technology and photo IDs so people can’t pass their sub along for free). Netflix figured it out: people are incentivised to watch as many DVD’s as possible in a month or they feel like they are getting screwed. Thus they have incentive to watch more movies and explore new content…

     2) The theatres make most of their profit off of the concessions anyway so they’ll be happy to have more people in the seats.

     3) Theatres should show more movies more frequently which will create a demand for more content. Have the theatre open 24 hours a day with all types of movies running continusously. Again, the theatre can make more money if the seats are full, and there will be a demand for new types of content (i.e. The Long Tail for film…).

     4) Theatres can offer additional premium services such as preferred seating, drinks, etc. to increase profits even more.

     5) Level the playing field the way (YouTube is doing and digital cameras are doing) by making it easier for individual filmmakers to get their films into a theatre for the public to view. There are tons of ways to do this: let subscribers vote online for what movies come to the theatre and when for example. The best content wins. (Digg/Delicious model).

     6) The big studios will be incentivised to focus on developing more projects rather than big block-busters. It will simply be more profitable to spend money on content rather than marketing because having more of the better content will make them more money. If they change their model to investing less in many more projects, film makers will be forced to do more with less. The studios will be incentivised to spend that same $60 million on 60 $1 million films, becase the data (I suspect) will likely show they can be much more profitable making a rev share from subscriber fees, % of advertising rev and perhaps % of cencession and premium services fees x number of seats their set of movies fill.

     7) Finally, cut the filmmakers and actors in on the success of the film. And not just the A stars. Put the incentive back on those involved with the film so they are incentivised to do their own marketing…

     Plenty more ideas where those came from, however, instead of a job, would love your own feedback on the new health focused social networking site for consumers and medical pros I am launching: http://www.organizedwisdom.com beta launches next week…hope you stop by and help us figure out how to make a better health site for consumers…

     Comment by Unity Stoakes — July 25, 2006 @ 12:26 pm

321. Ok, let me give this a shot. From glancing over the responses, nobody really tries to articulate “what’s the problem”.
     So let me use one of those not so smart analogies. “You can have any color you like as long as it’s black” , rings a bell?

     The problem as I see it, is with the simple fact that we live in a world of individualism and personalized services. While the good old movie industry in still in the 40’s, fixed time, fixed selection, fixed price … Nothing really tailored to _me_. While _I_ can choose on the web which page I wan to see, select the color of my car, and can even select which TV channel or recorded show I want to watch. While the movie industry wants me to show up at a fixed time to see a movie with one hundred of my closed friends, were ten of them just irritate me.
     Good luck. And marketing on MySpace, that will just ,maybe, cure the symptom for 1 year. Since you haven’t done anything to fix problem.

     Come on this is nothing new, it’s a queuing problem. The computer industry which you should know, went through this. They used to stuff all these PCs in the sales queue. And along came Michael Dell and a few others and created a new queue. Called selection, or parts selection, and delivered a personalized PC to _me_. Which is not that different then to pick a PC out of a wide selection at a resale store, but feels much more tailored to _me_.

     So since you have pretty much a fixed product, at least for the foreseeable future, you have to personalize everything around it. If you have a product that doesn’t fit the times, you can market as much as you want and get nowhere. But I guess you have seen that already.

     Comment by Ronald — July 27, 2006 @ 10:12 pm

322. combine both the internet trailer and buying tkts online into one website. Have a site with all the different movies coming out like Quicktime does. But instead of viewing the preview from the movies website, have the video stream from our website. At the bottom of the screen add a link “buy tkt’s to this movie”. click on it and it will pull up a different screen with like Fandango.com has. Search by zip code and movie times. Click, buy, pick up tkt’s at the movie theater. Cusotmers will be able to view the trailer and buy from the same site. Also add a members section so cusotmers can sign up to recieve email notices about movies in their favorite types of movies such as horror or sci-fi. If you want to get really involved, add a section where the customer can also buy food from the site. The tkt machine can also out a list of the foods the customer wanted such as candy,drinks and popcorn. Cusotmer can take it to the counter and get his food quickly. The cusotmer will never have to pull out his/her wallet and the venue will be providing a faster service.

     Comment by Carlos Franco — July 25, 2006 @ 4:31 pm

323. The absolute BIGGEST problem with movie theaters today is that they’ve forgotten all about showmanship and presentation quality. Most screens at new theaters are simply too small, and on top of that they make them common-width so scope pictures are very small on them, when they’re supposed to look BIG! Theater chains don’t care at all about a quality presentation either, like perfect focus, aligning the image onscreen perfectly (no blank areas on one side of the the screen with picture spilling offscreen on the other side). (I worked for Regal for a year and left because their policies were so full of crap- email me if you want the whole story.) And where’s the SHOWMANSHIP? There should be curtains over the screen with background music chosen for the movie- not ugly advertising slides or those even worse-looking “digital preshows”, or MovieTunes CDs with the annoying announcer and same songs playing every time. And put some damn PRIDE into the presentation of the movie- again, that’s a rare thing these days even though it’s the main thing the customers are coming for. Picture and sound have to be PERFECT, and the film print has to be undamaged, put together with clear splicing tape, and if you’re sticking anything on the film to trigger the automation it should not be visible on the screen. I’ve seen the endings of lots of movies ruined by cue-tape flashing onscreen during the final fadeout, put there to bring the lights up for the end credits (personally I think the lights should stay down during the credits anyway, but again that’s another story.)
     Something just has to be done to improve presentation quality in theaters. When it’s done right, it beats anything else out there, but when it’s done wrong, even a decent home VHS setup can be better.
     Hire me to be in charge of the presentation- I’ll go into your theater, actually spend time in it watching the movies, and I’ll identify and fix and problems I find. Put me in charge of the projection booth, have me run the films as many days as possible, and also have me do as much of the film build-up as possible. I’ll work ridiculous hours if that’s what it takes.
     Later, when you’re planning new theaters, let me have some input. I’ll make sure that they’re theaters that people will want to go out to. Give the people something they can’t get at home!

     Comment by Jesse Skeen — July 25, 2006 @ 4:36 pm

324. Mr. Cuban-

     I’ve found the solution to your movie marketing woes…

     Hire struggling actors to generate buzz nationwide. For example, the West End in Dallas is public property. Have a handful of actors do a comedic routine while wearing t-shirts promoting your upcoming film. In a sense, the shows will be a live outdoor production of a pocket sandwich theatre-esq show. When the word spreads around, parents will bring their kids to be entertained. Kids are the #1 demographic that you need to be reaching as they have a huge control on the entertainment finances. Instill the same method in key demographic cities in busy areas. (Ex: Mann’s Chinese theatre in LA, Times Square in NY, etc.) Research cities where it is perfectly legal to have actors perform their talents. This translates into low overhead cost as the actors will sacrifice high pay to have the ability to get their name in the media as well as showcase their writing talents. (As well as any tips they earn) Have your production spring into people’s minds when they tell their friends about what they saw. Not only does this save you a bundle on advertising, it is completely innovative for generating your own free press and no company has ever attempted it before.

     Produce “happenings” that get people talking instead of a $4,000 ad that runs for 2 days in a paper that no one reads outside of their private time at work. Of course, there will be a need for some TV advertising to hit markets that you can’t cover, but the main objective is to blow people away with creativity.

     This is a pioneering idea that will set you apart from everyone else. Not only will you be entertaining the masses with a great movie, you are giving them a “free show” in return for their ticket sales.

     Regards,

     Scott Boswell

     Comment by Scott Boswell — July 25, 2006 @ 4:40 pm

325. I think by showing movies that address universal themes such as love, friends, family etc. and all the different emotions that go into them can make people be interested in seeing a movie artisticly making an impact. Just through myspace I came across the ‘Four Eyed Monsters’ podcast & spent the whole night watching all of them because they caught my full attention. Now that they have created their own movie, I think many people will pay just to see their work because of their ability to make connections with all types of people.

     I know that if ‘Four Eyed Monsters’ was able to play in a theatre close to where I live I would bring ten or more of my friends just to get them to see how inspiring and worthwhile this film would be to watch. Alot more money would be coming in for actual movies that have meaning while still being wholesome, real-to-life, and entertaining.

     Comment by Lynn — July 25, 2006 @ 4:41 pm

326. Mark,
     In my ten years of working for theatre companies, like AMC, Regal and a few other small chains and with all of the studios, I’ve realized that the key to true marketing comes at the grassroots level filled with media (you mentioned, internet, tv, print, etc.) to create excitement and entertainment the way it used to be. Yes, people might complain about the cost of popcorn and other concessions, types of films being created nowdays, but the bottomline is that theatres are cheapening the experience at the theatre by getting people in and out with little in between. Besides important items, such as customer service and presentation (DLP and best sound), there seems to be a common ingredient that needs to be addressed…grassroots marketing and education.
     While working at Regal in SA, TX, as the City-wide Marketing Coordinator, we were in a split film zone with AMC Huebner Oaks 24. In order to encourage people to attend our theatre, we used Monsters, Inc. as our target test film. We created a fair-like atmosphere with games, giveaways and a free small popcorn with a purchase of a Monsters, Inc. ticket. Not only did we increase our concessions per capita by almost 30 cents, we broke our attendance record for the largest weekend (at that point).
     My point is, that we created a fun and exciting atmosphere using Media to support and not as the primary tool to educate people about the film and our theatre, not the other way around.
     I’ve won over 15 national studio film awards and two ShoWest Awards in the past 10 years, so I know this works.
     And yes, I’d like to speak to you more about this concept and my own personal dream theatre chain called Atlantis.
     Thanks for your time.

     Comment by Daniel Lundquist — July 25, 2006 @ 5:18 pm

327. A few things:

     1) Better people. My area’s theaters are all smaller, locally owned theaters. Any time I go, the workers are largely oblivious and generally are on another planet. Even the owner who works at one of the theater will start talking to other people in line behind you – while he’s getting your tickets!

     2) Embrace independents. Make it easier for indie filmmakers to eliminate the middleman and distribute directly to your theaters – and widen selection of your movies. Helping to widen selection lets audiences see a variety of different things that they never would have gotten a chance at before. It helps independents get more revenue and therefore make more quality film (indie film is usually a lot better than Hollywood crud). With independent film, you also have the added bonus that after the movie (a lot of the time) you are able to sell copies of the film they just saw. Another revenue source for theater and indie filmmaker – and the consumer gets to leave with more than just a memory.

     3) Make it easier. I should be able to go online and get tickets from home, I should be able to get tickets from ticket machines at the theater – and I shouldn’t have to go through leaps to do it. Streamlining the process, making it efficient, faster, and all in all easier will help consumers get to the movie faster. One of our local chains, Marquee Cinemas, makes a person go through all sorts of leaps to get online tickets. I once spent over an hour and a half and 3 phone calls to the theater trying to get tickets – only to get there and not be able to see a thing because of where I had to sit.

     4) Cheaper. Yes, cheaper. I know that part of the problem is that revenues are down – but seriously… prices (especially snack prices) are insanely high. Every time I go to a theater I here someone complaining about the crazy prices. This one is difficult to change, but seriously…

     You could have some little fun elements in the experience too – replace a commercial or a trailer with a small short film from an independent. There are thousands upon thousands of filmmakers who would love to have one of their shorts featured leading into a feature-length film. Pixar does this already with their own stuff – but why not do this with other films?

     I d