September 2009 NATO of California/Nevada September 2009 NATO of California/Nevada Information for the California and Nevada Motion Picture Theatre Industry AMC and Cinemark to Host NATO of INS I DE PREV I EWS CA/NV Fall Film Product Seminar NATO of California/Nevada’s 2009 Fall/ reservations are a must, no walk-ins will be ad- AMC and Cinemark to Host NATO of Winter Film Product Seminar will be held in mitted. Mark your calendars now and get your CA/NV Film Product Northern Cali- reservations in soon. fornia on No- Please visit the Meetings and Seminars pages of Seminar th Page 1 vember 5 at our web site www.NATOCalNev.org for a Registra- • Cinemark’s Cen- tion Form. If you are registering more than one per- Safeguard Teen tury San Fran- son please include your company name and contact Workers cisco Centre 9 information at the top of one sheet or email and pro- Page 1 Theatre and on Pictured above is the spacious vide the following information for each individual; November 12th lobby of Cinemark’s Century San their name and position, theatre name and address, • Francisco Centre 9 Theatre Plan Now for in Southern Cal- email address, day- Holiday Gift ifornia at the AMC Burbank 16 Theatre. time phone number Certificate Sales Following a successful format the program and whether they Page 2 will allow time in the spacious lobbies for visiting are attending the • with fellow managers and marketing representa- Northern or South- Lessons Learned tives from the major studios at the continental ern California semi- from Record breakfast and lunch. While in the auditorium nar. Thereservation Breaking Summer guests will be treated to the latest product reels The AMC Burbank 16 Theatre deadline is October Season from the familiar and established, as well as, some is located at the top of a grand 22nd, however we stairway. Page 2 new attending studios. urge you to register • early since registration will be closed once capacity Movie Theatres Cut Attendance is limited to employees of is reached for each venue. Print Show Times member companies. There is no charge, but Page 4 • NATO of CA/NV Scholar Expresses Appreciation Safeguard Teen Workers Page 5 In past issues of Previews we have advised of the need and requirements to comply with the • youth employment provisions of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act. If you are not fully aware Technicolor Sticks of these requirements we suggest you to go to: WWW.YOUTHRULES.DOL.GOV for a self With Film for 3-D assessment test to see if you are in compliance. Page 6 • Within the last year a major theatre circuit paid in excess of $140,000 in child labor civil Statistics money penalties to resolve violations found in their theatres. A McDonald’s franchisee paid Page 8 $86,500 in penalties after it was determined that they allowed minors to perform hazardous • duties such as operating a trash compactor. Calendar of Events As an employer, you play a key role in assuring that your teen workers have a positive, pro- & Holidays ductive, safe and healthy work experience. Page 9 NATO of California/Nevada September 2009 Previews Start Your Planning Now is published by the National Association of Holiday Gift Certificate Sales Theatre Owners of California/Nevada With the holidays barely four months away, it is time to start preparing for Gift Certificate Pro- 11661 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 830 motions. It has been proven that nothing increases sales at both the box-office and concession more Los Angeles, CA 90049 so than gift certificates. Phone: 310/460-2900 Fax: 310/460-2901 Thanksgiving through Christmas provides the ideal time to mount a gift certificate program. Set E-mail: [email protected] up a display during the busy times of the week in the lobby and other locations available to you with www.NATOCalNev.org an employee explaining the benefits of gift certificates. It is the perfect gift for every member of the family. Work with other merchants to tie-in with your program, the additional incentives make the OFF I CERS package that much more attractive. Be sure to use all resources in advertising your Gift Certificate Milton Moritz program President & CEO Remember it takes time to mount an aggressive program so start now with your planning and Raymond W. Syufy Chairman preparation. It’s a once a year opportunity! David Corwin Vice President Frank Rimkus Treasurer Alan Grossberg Lessons Learned From Secretary Record Breaking Summer Season BO ARD O F DI RECT O RS Action-themed tent poles and comedies are in, adult dramas are Christopher H. Blevins Regal Entertainment Group out, and 3D really works. And fear not the critics, fear Twitter. Bruce Coleman Brenden Theatres Those are the lessons studio executives have learned from a record-breaking summer season at the David Corwin box office that delivered an impressive ratio of hits to misses, while leaving only one studio, Universal, Metropolitan Theatres licking its wounds. Nora Dashwood “It’s the quality of the product that counts,” said Disney distribution president Chuck Viane. “We Pacific Theatres had a lot of good movies come out this summer.” Peter Dobson Mann Theatres In fact, going into this weekend, moviemakers have earned more than $4 billion domestically Alan Grossberg since the summer movie season kicked off May 1 -- nearly a full percentage point above last year’s UltraStar Cinemas record-breaking revenue haul, according to Exhibitor Relations. George Krikorian Krikorian Premiere Theatres And with Labor Day falling on Sept. 7, giving the box office an extra week to tally revenue, this Scott Lotter summer’s total might very well stand for a few years. Paradise Cinemas True, there was no behemoth quite on par with last summer’s “The Dark Knight”, which grossed Ed Moyer $533.3 million in North America, but it had an impressive body count of profitable tent poles. AMC Theatres Ted Mundorff Leading the pack was Paramount, which followed up the $256.4 million domestic performance of Landmark Theatres “Star Trek” in May with the July premiere of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, which has made Gary Richardson $398.4 million domestically to date and has nearly $430 million in the bank internationally. The Movie Experience Fox franchise extensions “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” ($176.1 million Frank Rimkus Galaxy Theatres domestic) and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” ($180 million) also proved profitable. As did Warner’s Hal Sawyer always reliable “Harry Potter” franchise, with the sixth installment, “The Half-Blood Prince”, register- Cinemark USA ing $290.2 million domestically and another $596 million internationally. Raymond W. Syufy West Wind Drive-Ins Animated features also performed reliably well, with Disney/Pixar’s “Up” taking in $290.2 mil- ❦ Lessons Learned, continued on page 3 Charlene Sievers Director, Member Services 2 NATO of California/Nevada September 2009 Lessons Learned, continued from page 2 decision making this summer -- with Twit- exception of “Fast and Furious” -- which ter displacing the influence of critics in included two notable money losers -- has lion and Fox’s “Ice Age: Dawn of the many cases. been played up to be worse than it actu- Dinosaurs” garnering $192.4 million in ally is. North America and a whopping $614 He specifically noted the strong debut million abroad. of “The Ugly Truth” ($27.6 million in late “If some of these movies had been July), a romantic comedy starring Kath- released at different times of the year and Notably, both films were released in erine Heigl and Gerard Butler that was had the same exact outcome, the percep- 3D, a technology that also lifted the tal- critically eviscerated yet generated strong tion and the stories about them would be lies of several films. In fact, not one film buzz when it was screened the week prior dramatically different” he told The Wrap, released in 3D this summer failed to clear to its premiere. specifically citing “Public Enemies,” a $100 million domestically, with Disney’s $100 million crime drama directed by Jerry Bruckheimer-produced “G-Force” “I really think Twitter helped get that Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp, sitting on the low end of the spectrum at picture off”, Bruer said. which (at $96.8 million so far) is closing in $107.2 million. Added Paramount distribution GM on Universal’s stated goal of $100 million Don Harris: “Critics loved “Star Trek”, but Then there were the surprise hits, domestic and $85 million foreign. starting with Warner’s R-rated comedy I don’t know that the movie did a nickel Of course, Universal also endured sev- “The Hangover,” which has done a pop- more of business because of that”. eral performances that would be deemed corn-film-like $268.3 million to date, and Of course, the Twitter Effect worked flops in any season they were released. Disney’s “The Proposal”, which has made in the opposite direction for Universal, Generating only $62.5 million worldwide $159 million -- not to mention resuscitat- which saw Sacha Baron Cohen’s hard-R- on a production budget exceeding $100 ing the career of star Sandra Bullock in rated “Bruno,” open to $14.4 million on million, Fogelson conceded that “Land the process. July 10, only to have fast-moving, poor of the Lost” represented a money-losing word-of-mouth crater the film 38 percent For its part, Sony concluded the final misstep. leg of the season scoring three successive the following day. The film flat lined from As for Universal’s other big money modestly budgeted hits, with female- there.