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February 22, 2000
Madelia Theater hopesto keep offering moviesTheater is open on weekendsBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer MADELIA -- Since 1991, box office hits have played at the Madelia Theater on the weekends, and cinema fans have enjoyed thrifty prices for admission and concessions. Owner Everett Christensen recently devised a new plan to keep the theater open, despite some downturns in attendance. That plan has proven somewhat of a success, until this past weekend. "We opened the theater in 1991, but attendance has been poor the past few years," Christensen said. "We determined in October that we would keep it open at least one more year." The strategy involves showing only movies that are anticipated to gross $1,000 or more in a weekend. If no movie is anticipated to make that much, the doors will be closed for that weekend, Christensen said. This past weekend's feature, 'Scream 3,' was estimated to at least meet the minimum for the weekend, because of the popularity of the movie in other towns, as well as the popularity of the first two Scream movies, he said. "We didn't meet the minimum," he said. "I am not sure what we will do at this point about next weekend. Patrons will have to wait and see." Christensen determined the strategy would work, for the most part, because a fair number of movies tend to gross pretty well and the theater is only open on weekends, which helps keeps costs down. "We showed a movie a couple of weekends ago that just didn't work," he said. "We are hoping that people understand that when the theater is open, the movie must be good." The goal is to work with a booking agent to decide if the movie will work in a town like Madelia before scheduling it. "We are in business for the viewers and want to keep our prices low," Christensen said. "We want to keep the family environment of the theater and don't want to show movies that would change that." Since the strategy was announced, there has never been a weekend when a movie wasn't shown, Christensen said. "Scream 3 was No. one is the ratings a couple of weeks ago, so we thought it would work," he said. "We will make it through this year at least." The booking agent orders movies, but there are times when the Madelia theater must wait to get some good movies. "It is interesting," Christensen said. "Some movies will play well here even if it's been shown before somewhere else." If a movie is estimated to only gross about $500, then there is really no point in showing it. Marginal movies have been shown, but it has helped them break even with a better movie. Green Mile grossed $1,800 in one weekend, he said. The theater seats 320 people, but it is considered a sellout crowd when it reaches 290. If the movie sells out in the first weekend, it will be held again the next weekend, he said. The tickets run $3 per person and the concession prices are about half what they are elsewhere, which is something Christensen wants to continue. "Normally theaters watch profitability deteriorate and then close," the theater's booking agent Jim Wilson of Big Lake said. "This should prove to be a successful strategy here."
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