Dallas Mavericks and Landmark Theaters co-owner Mark Cuban Issued a Challenge in 2006 on his blog. He offered a job to anyone who could fix the economics of movie theaters. Think outside the box, he urged, and a job awaits you. Over a thousand people responded. Clearly, people have opinions about how to make a night at the movies more appealing.

As do the people who show the movies - the exhibitors.

More than one theater owner sees concessions as the Holy Grail. Another calls the cup holder “the single best invention for the business.” The common assumption that moviegoers seek a communal experience in attending theaters has spurred the installation of martini bars such as in the National Amusements circuit under the leadership of Shari Redstone. She said, speaking to Variety, the effort has in some cases produced a 20% increase in attendance.

And then there is Ted Bulthaup owner of Hollywood Theater in Chicago. He has a model that works and claims to have the figures to prove him right.

A New Business Model
No shrinking violet, Bulthaup is part-Barnum, part-Trump. What sets him apart is that he is passionate about movies and about customer service. He believes others fail, in part, because they do not listen to their customers. For example, for years people have said they hate the yellow soybean oil on their popcorn. He melts real butter for them. He also has big comfortable chairs, no shared armrests, and he has his version of the martini bar.

Premium liquors are a boon to his business, but getting a liquor license was one of the biggest sticking points when he was getting started. He jokes, “I guess legal forgot to tell the studios that Prohibition was over.” Getting a liquor license for a movie theater raised the specter of "adult entertainment" venues. Bulthaup also feels it's an indication of the staid, outdated, uncreative ways that studios and distributors think.

His theater is not a cookie cutter “neon-film bunker” but more of a theme park, memorabilia and souvenir gallery. Complementing his bar, he carries a full menu of finger foods (wraps, sandwiches, burgers), no knife and fork dinners. They sell 16,000-20,000 pizzas a month. In his 5,000 square foot kitchen he employs 200 people who feed a thousand moviegoers per hour. He says theater managers need to hire sophisticated people, and, if they don’t do the job, managers can't be afraid to fire them.

Bulthaup laughs at the notion of a simultaneous release of movies on DVD and in theaters. He claims such ideas cost, rather than make money. He also has an opinion about indies and art house movies: “They're just a PC way of saying a movie is not popular enough to make money.” He shows first-run movies and says his theater does more business than the five sub-run theaters in the area, combined.

Hollywood Theater, Bulthaup claims, brings more customers downtown than the Chicago Bears. His theater is #3 in the state of Illinois in attendance and, by the industry measure of “number of people to screen,” he expects to be #1 by year's end. While the average movie theater is usually at about 7% capacity his theater is never less than half full. He keeps in contact with 65,000 people who have signed up for his movie newsletter.

His biggest complaint on customer feedback surveys? That they have to drive so far to get to him. While he's located outside the city proper, it's only about 20 minutes from downtown and many of his regulars come from Duluth, MN (an hour away). If they keep coming, the seats are filled, they're happy with their drinks and dinner, he'll put up with complaints about the drive. It's a nice problem to have.