I ❤️ theatres, I do. But I think it will be quite a bit longer than studios/exhibitors realize before people are comfortable returning to them. Which makes all this rescheduling shaky. (THREAD) cinemablend.com/news/2496583/w…
Theaters are a LOT harder to maintain disinfecting standards & social distancing in. Limiting attendance & sitting apart makes each showing less profitable. Blockbusters can’t make money unless those seats are FULL for first-week showings. -more->
Food service is VITAL to theater profitability, but open popcorn machines and containers and self-service drink dispensers just can not be easily made truly safe. Even theaters we think of as “clean” decidedly are not. -more->
As much as companies tend to desperately cling to aging business models as if sacred, and consumers resist change irrationally out of habit, there are some things that may HAVE to change - not just for a short time, but for a LONG time to come. -more->
The institutions & enterprises who come out of this the best may be those who accept change quickly and adapt their business model to it, rather than wait passively for the return of the status quo or aggressively battle to protect it. -more->
Filmmakers, studios & distributors have survived a lot of change already. More is coming, some still well overdue from the consumer standpoint. -more->
Exhibitors… as much as we love them, they are already among the hardest hit, & may not survive the experience in a recognizable fashion. I’m not sure “a night at the movies” is EVER going to be what it once was. I will mourn it, even as I fear it may be inevitable. -more->
… and comics shop owners are even MORE vulnerable than the big movie exhibitors. Your fortunes depend on you doing what is best for YOUR shops. Do not let an unsustainable business model that you largely have no control over bankrupt you personally. Innovate. Change. -more->
…and in so doing, work with your customers but don’t depend on your current narrow customer base to save you. Force an unresponsive distribution arm to adapt where you can, and find other income not dependent on them where you can’t. -more->
Comics publishers - go where your potential readers are to promote what you have. Work WITH shops to get them product they can sell. I suspect the “monthly floppy” is going the way of the dodo. -more->
Comics shops, broaden your base to things that can’t be sold digitally. Fans, tell shops what those things are, & support them. Publishers, make better use of digital for a BROAD & vital digital market creating new customers for those new comics shop products. -more->
MUCH longer rant than I’d intended. My message to all - don’t fight the tide, surf it. Make change your friend. Embrace it. It can lift you up, if you ride it. It will surely drown you if you do not. Be zen. Think different. Don’t just survive, thrive! <end thread at last>
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