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Retrospective Thoughts on the Time I Played to an (Almost) Empty Movie Theater
Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 1:00PM 
Once upon a time, I rented a tiny movie theater to show some short films – one being my documentary about movie piracy. The theater had less than 40 seats, so you’d think that filling it should’ve been a piece of cake, right?! Me too. Sadly, I failed to sell even one single ticket for this one-time event. In retrospect, it was one of the most daunting business mistakes that taught me a few lessons.
Master the Art of Shameless Self-Promotion
Aside from attending a community event (and ended up running into my high school English teacher) in hopes of selling tickets to the show and spreading the word about this one-time movie screening, I didn’t tell many people about it. So, my lack of promoting affected ticket sales. Scheduling an event and marking it on the calendar isn’t enough. Once that screening date is confirmed, everyone and their mother should know about the when, what and where of how this thing is going down.
These details should also be listed in the “events” sections of local publications, arts organization newsletters and community websites – especially if the film playing has a limited release, as it’s even more dependent on as much attention as it can garner from traditional and new media outlets. Reaching out to bloggers is also a must even if that means a few tickets have to be given away, for the possibility of getting some quotable movie reviews.
T is for ThoughtsDon’t Spend What You Don’t Have
The expenses for this movie screening were relatively low, so I thought my profit margins would be high. None of this matters when you’re not bringing in any sales whatsoever, so it’s important to have clear projections for three things -- how much you want to make, how you’re going to make it and how much you can afford to spend on every part of this process.
The costs associated with my documentary film screening were spent on credit that wasn’t easy to repay since my (extremely) limited theatrical event was a box office bomb. So operating with a reality-based budget that includes what is actually available to spend can help prevent situations in where one single event costs you much more than what you bargained for, considering your financial losses due to not selling any tickets.
Leverage What You Have to Salvage What You Can
A lack of willpower may be the reason why I lost out on revenue but a lack of creativity in figuring out ways to make such an undesirable situation work for me is what led to such a disappointing venture. Quick action and resourceful thinking can turn things around to pack an event if you adjust your goals. Two people showed up to watch the films I was playing at the theater – my mom, accompanied by my aunt. I invited them at the last minute to make sure the time slot I paid for in the theater rental agreement was put to good use. Now I realize that it would be best to not stop at two people.
Unsold tickets can be turned into invitations for customers who frequent nearby shops, area tourists looking for something to do, media journalists, friends, friends of friends and their family, neighbors, co-workers and almost anyone with a beating heart who doesn’t mind watching a few indie movies they never heard about. At the end of the day, this approach helps to get a packed house while providing the ability to create buzz from the audience response – all of which could be used on my blog or website to promote the film, and possibly a future screening that attracted more interest.
How good are YOU at planning events?
Reader Comments (6)
Ouch. One of my first booksignings I had only two people show up. It was in a an indie store in a small town. One of my sisters drove over an hour to attend and another fellow writer from the area stopped in. The owner of the bookstore hadn't done anything for promotion but it may have just been bad timing. I was so nervous and then no one showed up.
Oh that hurts! I can imagine your sinking heart when no one was walking through the door. One thing i've learned about events: you just can't predict what people are going to do and who is going to show up. Promotion is the biggest thing. Another thing that you might do for future is to see if any of the local radio stations would be willing to give away a pair of free tickets to listeners. In return they will give you 10-15 free on-air promotional announcements in exchange for the free tickets to give away to listeners. That would help spread the word. But the giveaway has to be a good match for the radio station too: it has to make sense that they'd be giving away tickets to their listeners: but a free screening sounds like it would be a good match. Craigslist also has Event Listings, as does the online editions of local newspapers and TV stations. You can usually just submit the details of your event at the website, most likely found under Community Calendar or Community Events. Shameless promotion is the key for sure. I'm so sorry that happened, but you know what? You know for next time and look what a great blog post you got out of the deal? You have delivered valuable information to your readers. Every cloud has a silver lining somewhere...
Michele at Angels Bark
Wow...the same holds true for book releases. I tried doing nothing and I got nothing. =) Promotion is hard work and time consuming and can be expensive. Lesson learned.
I'm having a hard time on the promotions end as a writer. I've done nothing and gotten nothing in returned. I've done a somewhat expensive something and still got nothing (sales-wise) in return. I'm learning I'm great with telling people about other writers and I love talking about writing in general, but selling my books having to sell my books makes me want to shuffle over to the nearest corner and hide lol!
So I can understand your experience.
Giving a party and having no one come is a nightmare I've had come true. I think that experience as a teen is what makes me jittery every time I go to a signing or a presentation.
Susan Gourley,
It seems like Indie bookstores need twice as much promotion than booksellers that have the marketing machine if a larger, more established retail chain behind them. Add to that the bad timing you mentioned and it could have very well been a recipe for disaster in terms of the low turnout of people. Good thing that it was one of your earlier booksignings...helps you learn the ropes a bit, I guess. Thanks for your comment on this blog post :)
Michele,
The radio thing sounds like it would be a good way to promote an event like the one I did. You're so right about me getting a blog post out of the deal. Not too shabby! Ha! I'm going to have to get better at finding the silver lining in those clouds. Thanks for commenting.
E. Arroyo,
Lesson learned indeed. Doing nothing almost guarantees that we'll get nothing, in most cases when it comes to promotion. I'm learning quickly how much this experience has in common with the book publishing industry. Thank you for visiting and joining this discussion.
Angela,
What you describe about promoting other writers but having difficulty doing the same for your own books reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend (who also happens to be a filmmaker) about a similar conundrum. Talking up other people's movies is a walk in the park but I've been a sissy when it came to getting attention or buzz for my own work. I think I've become better at it than I was a few years ago but could still use a lot of improvement. What's wrong with us?! LOL. Glad to know there are people who can relate to these experiences. It makes it easier to figure out what we can all try or adjust next time around.
C. Lee McKenzie,
Oh sugar cakes! It's baffling when people won't even show up to party....after all, they're supposed to be fun. Your comment reminded me of a similar experience when I tried to plan and host a family get-together that didn't turn out the way I expected. I think the worse part of it was that this wasn't strangers...it was people who I knew and saw (or phoned with...back when working pay phones on the sidewalk were a thing) on a frequent basis. Funny thing is, I'd rock a presentation but can understand how that experience as a teen would make you more nervous for big events today. Thanks for participating in this discussion on my disappointing theatrical experience and sharing your own story!