By The Numbers: A Good Day At The Arbor

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TICKETS

This Saturday, July 19, was the biggest-grossing day in the history of the Arbor Cinema Four, in Austin, Tex. How much profit it generated was a function of several factors, at the ticket booth and at the concession stand.

A theater's income from ticket sales depends on price, split, and house expenses. The price of tickets at the Arbor is $3.50 for morning shows, $5 for the rest of the day. The split for each movie is largely a function of how long the film has run: the longer the run, the better the split. The house expense, negotiated separately with the distributor, reimburses Arbor for its direct expenses including personnel, sound and projection equipment, and advertising.

On this day, the Arbor had 29 showings of its four movies. When it was all over, the numbers looked like this:

Profit after

expenses and

Tickets Revenue Split house allowance

Aliens 2,000 $9,744 90/10 $1,674

Top Gun 1,226 5,448 90/10 1,330

Ruthless People 952 4,215 60/40 1,686

Legal Eagles 459 2,057 60/40 823

TOTAL 4,637 $21,464 - $5,513

CONCESSIONS

Although concession revenues were high this day because of the capacity crowd, average purchase per patron was lower than normal ($1.09), because patrons sometimes found it difficult to make their way through the crowded lobby to the concession stands.

Revenue Expenses

Popcorn $1,718 Management, debt $323

Drinks 3,003 Food 872

Candy, etc. 700 Concessionaires 550

Rent 550

Janitorial 60

TOTAL $5,421 TOTAL $2,355

Concession income $3,066

Ticket income $5,513

Daily income before taxes and

payments to limited partners $8,579

Gross margin 32%