![]() “The business is in utter transition,” Harrington said. Other local theaters, but not the Tivoli, have made menu and seating changes - offering lounge chairs, alcoholic beverages and expanded food options - to appeal to movie-goers who have more options than ever before.Ī variety of on-demand options, like Netflix, iTunes and Hulu Plus, make it often more convenient - and sometimes cheaper - to watch a movie at home, where the couch is comfy and the snacks only a walk to the fridge away. He said Kansas Citians are excited to see more cultural options coming to the community - he cites the improved symphony and excellent live theater options, for example - but he isn’t sure that people are willing to actually buy tickets to support this cultural expansion. Regardless of this community support, Harrington’s business isn’t out of its tight spot financially. “It was incredible how quickly, how eagerly, how happily people gave money to this Kickstarter.” “People really supported,” Harrington said. In 42 days, the Kickstarter raised $136,393, exceeding its $130,000 goal. “We either do this (convert), or we go out of business.” “I was as blunt as I could be,” Harrington said. Movies are now sent to theaters on hard drives. Bulbs are delicate, can burn out in 500–1,000 hours and cost $500 to replace.īut even with the increased cost, converting to digital is all but mandatory in a movie business where 35-mm prints are rarely available. Harrington compared the projectors to computers: brand-new technology quickly becomes obsolete and needs to be replaced. Maybe you’d have to replace parts, but if you treated it right, it would last 50 years. ![]() “When I bought a 35-mm projector, it was going to last forever. “Digital costs a hell of a lot more,” he said. He converted one theater - at a $70,000 cost - through a personal loan. ![]() Last year, Harrington ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to convert two of the theater’s three screens from 35-mm film to digital projectors. Absolute crap.”– Jerry Harrington, Tivoli Cinemas It sort of waters it down… and really, truthfully, most of them, a lot of the movies being released are crap. “The biggest problem I see in my industry is the flood of content. Harrington hasn’t raised his ticket prices since 2008, but that doesn’t mean his operating costs haven’t increased. The theme of “more” continues with expenses: Ticket prices have skyrocketed, as have prices at the concession stands. “The biggest problem I see in my industry is the flood of content,” he said. In the time Harrington has owned the Tivoli, the movie industry has changed drastically: There are more movies, more interest in independent films, more access to viewing movies at home and, because of Twitter and sites like Rotten Tomatoes, more pre-judging of movies than ever before.īut, according to Harrington, more isn’t better. In addition to competing with each other, they’re also competing with the big chains: The convenience of a megaplex’s multiple showtimes is often hard to pass up. Spread across the metro area are around a dozen independent theaters, many of which are both struggling to bring in customers and change the movie-going experience. ![]() There are lots of options other than the Tivoli for independent filmgoers in KC. His movie theater is a cultural institution in Kansas City, he said: it shows art house and independent movies, foreign films, recorded fine art performances and more. Jerry Harrington has owned the Tivoli for 30 years. Recently, both “The Skeleton Twins” and “Obvious Child” - small movies with with former SNL comedians taking a stab at drama - first opened in KC at Tivoli Cinemas in the Westport neighborhood of KCMO. Any Kansas Citian interested in independent films knows what it’s like to wait for a movie with a limited release to reach the Midwest. ![]()
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