WWTW Interview: Movie theater owner Mark O’Meara

Did you ever want to ask your local movie theater owner a question – or razz him about those incessant commercials that run before the feature film?

WWTW let readers air their questions – and grievances – and Mark O’Meara was kind enough to respond. O’Meara runs Cinema Arts Theatre in Fairfax, Va., a theater near the bustling Washington, D.C. movie scene.

WWTW: How long does it take, generally, for a film to provide a profit – does the studio get the initial grosses and then the theater owner’s take comes into play?

Mark O’Meara: If a movie does well, and lasts a long time, we make more profit. We share revenues with the studios – they get more of the initial weeks’ box office revenues.

WWTW: Is it hard for smaller theaters to compete against the big chains for popular films?

MO: It depends on where the theatre is located.  if it is near a megaplex, the studios may or may not give you a print.  I am in a very competitive zone, but I can play what I want.  Sometimes the studios don’t like to have too many prints in a “town” so they say no, on occasion.

WWTW: What is the biggest misconception about your line of work?

MO: That movies are sooooo expensive.  Compare us to just about any other “out of the home” entertainment and we are very reasonable.

WWTW: Have you ever had to call the police to have a drunk/disorderly patron removed from the theater?

MO: Very, Very rarely.  At my one theatre, twice in 19 years.

WWTW: Is digital projection making film splice issues a thing of the past?

MO: Yes.  When everyone has it, there could be some cool programming we can try … like old movies being brought back for the big screen, etc.

WWTW: Why hasn’t the business model changed for theaters? With exceptions like the indie theaters or the Alamo Drafthouse, it seems most theaters are doing the same thing they have always done – what innovations/changes would you like to see, or that you think the industry needs?

MO: Tough one!!  If had the answers, I’d be rich.  The bottom line is people love the movies, love going to be in a big theatre and enjoying a film together.  The model works general … but there are lots of ideas floating around, like making the theatre more of a “destination” than it is now, or adding bowling, gaming, menu service (you mentioned Alamo). Our basic instinct is to provide our customers with a venue where they can “escape” and “refresh” for a couple hours. It’s fantastic and I hope we don’t ever lose our “showmanship” in theatres!

WWTW: How often do they fumigate and/or spray for insects and other vermin?

MO: Regularly.

WWTW: Do movie theaters make a profit on the national ads that run before a movie begins? Is it possible for theater owners to resist showing them before movies?

MO: Ooooo, you are asking a tough one!  I, personally, hate national ads before a movie (I don’t do it in my theatres).  But, there is huge money for the theatre owner in doing so … HUGE … so I don’t blame anyone for doing so.

WWTW: What’s the most memorable screening you’ve ever attended?

MO: If you mean seeing a film when it first comes out, it was “Independenc Day” with Will Smith in a packed house at 1 a.m. I looked around and I was the oldest, by far, person in the joint, and then I proceeded to cheer and boo the characters all night … what a blast!!  Of course, for wackiness we do “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” every Saturday night (have for 7 1/2 years)… enough said.

(Photo: Cinema Arts Theatre owner Mark O’Meara at ShoWest)

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4. WWTW Interview: USC Film Professor Mark J. Harris – Part 2
5. WWTW Interview: ‘Best Worst Movie’ director Michael P. Stephenson – Pt. 1