You've probably heard that theater owners are doing quite well in this recession. Business is booming as the public decides that while many entertainment options have luxury price tags, going to the movies seems downright affordable.
Gene Oliver, whose family has owned the Allred Theater in Pryor for more than 40 years, is so proud of how his theater has done since installing a 3-D screen, he supplied a few business numbers. Statistics, not dollar figures, showing that Oliver is a smart businessman.
"Comparing box office revenues from the opening of `Monsters vs. Aliens' on March 27 to April 26th with the same period last year, the Allred increased business by 227 percent," said Oliver, who has access to theater information across the state and added that the other theaters during the same time increased their business 143 percent.
Obviously, theaters are all doing well with the spring movie lineup providing hits like "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Fast & Furious," but Oliver is convinced in the 3-D model for small-town theaters.
He said his business is up 30 percent year-to-date, while Oklahoma theaters he examined that do not yet have 3-D are up only 4 percent.
"With a release schedule for 2009-2010 of 23 films in 3-D, the future looks very good for the Allred," said Oliver, who is hoping to convert the theater to total digital film projection "with three RealD 3-D screens in the coming year."
There are more than 1,000 theaters in small towns across the country that feature from three to six screens and have yet to convert at least one screen to 3-D, Oliver said. That means that a windfall increase in those weekend box-office figures that so many people monitor is very likely in the next year. Or two, if many theater owners don't quickly embrace what Oliver has come to know.
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