http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/theater-chain-begins-re cession-special-1-popcorn-and-sodas/?ex=1251867600&en=76dc79d1ba3ba970&e i=5087&WT.mc_id=MO-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M084-ROS-0309-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click
By Brooks Barnes Movie theaters may be experiencing a surge in weekend ticket sales - front-door receipts for the year are up an astonishing 17 percent over the same period in 2008 - but weeknights at most multiplexes are still a drag. So Carmike Cinemas, a movie theater chain that operates 2,276 screens in 36 states, is trying out a Tuesday-night stimulus plan: Starting March 10, Carmike Theaters will sell 16-ounce sodas and 46-ounce popcorns for $1 each. Drastic cuts in concession prices are rare because the snack bar is where movie theater companies make the most profit. And Carmike's concession results haven't been so hot lately; with third-quarter sales dropping 8.3 percent to $41.8 million, though a Carmike spokesman said the decline was due to the closure of 20 underperforming theaters. (The company reports fourth-quarter results on March 16.) But Carmike, which focuses on cities with populations around 100,000, hopes the promotion will stimulate customer loyalty while luring new patrons - who will hopefully notice new digital and 3-D projection upgrades and keep coming back. At movie theaters, "prices like these have not been seen since the 1970s," said Dale Hurst, Carmike's director of marketing. *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
