We're having fun at the theater- Hurry in! (May 29, 2009)
Posted by Reel Mountain Theater on Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Why are those show times different every day?
Another good question sent in from a trusty reader.
After the frantic Monday morning film booking calls, considering weekend grosses, predictions for what a film will do over time, what's opening the next weekend and 10 other factors- we assemble the film schedule for Reel Mountain. I say assemble, because it is a collection of factors that include how big the film will be, what community events are already planned, what our staffing looks like, what day of the week it is, etc etc etc.
You could say it's like hitting a moving target, with ammunition that changes every week!
The ammunition that changes includes the length of the film and the rating. The moving target is YOU.... and YOU have shown us over time that: you prefer to see an evening movie, but not too late, on Friday and Saturday; you're more likely to watch a 5 o'clock show than a 10 o'clock show; you're doing other things than watching movies on Mondays most weeks, and you appreciate an early matinee in the middle of the week. Oh, and you like to get into bed earlier on Sundays, if we could run everything a little earlier, please. All of these factors depend on what is going on at the school, town hall or senior center each week.
So, the major factor that keeps us from showing movies at 230, 500 and 730 every day of the week is the running time of movies today. Over the last 10 years, the running time has crept up past 2 hours, with movies routinely exceeding 2 1/2 hours! Running a 2 1/2 hr film along with a 1 1/2 hr film is a scheduling challenge- and is the final answer as to why those times change each week.
We list them specifically by day on our website, in the paper and update our phone line each night before we go home... Check in to make sure you're coming at the right time- and thanks for being the nicest, most understanding moving targets we know.
Another good question sent in from a trusty reader.
After the frantic Monday morning film booking calls, considering weekend grosses, predictions for what a film will do over time, what's opening the next weekend and 10 other factors- we assemble the film schedule for Reel Mountain. I say assemble, because it is a collection of factors that include how big the film will be, what community events are already planned, what our staffing looks like, what day of the week it is, etc etc etc.
You could say it's like hitting a moving target, with ammunition that changes every week!
The ammunition that changes includes the length of the film and the rating. The moving target is YOU.... and YOU have shown us over time that: you prefer to see an evening movie, but not too late, on Friday and Saturday; you're more likely to watch a 5 o'clock show than a 10 o'clock show; you're doing other things than watching movies on Mondays most weeks, and you appreciate an early matinee in the middle of the week. Oh, and you like to get into bed earlier on Sundays, if we could run everything a little earlier, please. All of these factors depend on what is going on at the school, town hall or senior center each week.
So, the major factor that keeps us from showing movies at 230, 500 and 730 every day of the week is the running time of movies today. Over the last 10 years, the running time has crept up past 2 hours, with movies routinely exceeding 2 1/2 hours! Running a 2 1/2 hr film along with a 1 1/2 hr film is a scheduling challenge- and is the final answer as to why those times change each week.
We list them specifically by day on our website, in the paper and update our phone line each night before we go home... Check in to make sure you're coming at the right time- and thanks for being the nicest, most understanding moving targets we know.
