DC Film Society: Adam's Rib January 2025

It's People

A couple of months ago, I bought a movie ticket at my local theater. Before I entered my credit card the kiosk listed several snacks that I could buy including caramel popcorn. I’m a sucker for anything caramel, particularly popcorn, but I was a little surprised. This theater had never sold caramel popcorn before. Maybe this was just added I thought, and I added the caramel popcorn to my order. When I arrived at the concession stand, the staff told me that the theater did not have this item and that it had never had caramel popcorn. Yes, as a former boss of mine would say, this is a first world problem. But it was still false advertising. Why, I asked the manager, had the kiosk listed an item the theater never sold? Why had it accepted payment for an item I was never going to receive? The manager responded that other theaters in the chain did sell caramel popcorn, so it was mistakenly listed at this one. Left unsaid was that no one at this theater matched the snack listing to what it actually could provide.

More recently, I was moderating a post-film discussion for a monthly foreign film series. Generally, the discussion runs 20-25 minutes after the film ends. Two minutes into the discussion this time the theater music came on. Not only was this annoying, but it also cut off the microphones we were using. We all had to shout what we were saying at the top of our lungs. The frustrating discussion ended early. I followed up with the manager, who apologized and told me that she and one colleague were staffing the theater by themselves.

I could cite more examples. When the projection isn’t working right or when the theater feels too hot or too cold, I often must search for someone to fix the problem. Sometimes I’ll want to buy popcorn, but I see a long concessions line that’s barely moving. I’ve heard similar stories from countless others, but this issue is not just anecdotal. Movie theaters simply do not have enough staff. According to IBIS World, “the number of people employed in the Movie Theaters industry in the US declined -12.1% on average over the five years between 2018 and 2023.”

Over a similar period, the total box office dropped significantly. Even with the recent success of Wicked, Moana 2, and Gladiator II, the total box office for 2024 will likely finish way below 2019 levels. Yes, viewing habits have changed, due in no small part to the pandemic and streaming. Critics, industry analysts and others more knowledgeable than I could describe the many roots of the box office decline, but I believe the staff decline is one of those roots. Too often when we go to a movie theater, we feel like we are on our own.

Inadequate staff can exacerbate other problems. NBC News reported that “While it used to be taboo to take a phone out during a movie, the once-derided act has become commonplace in recent years.” Evidently, some dim-witted movie goers felt it necessary to take pictures during Wicked screenings. The article quoted Sara Cureton, an assistant professor at Colorado Technical University who teaches psychology and social media that “posting photos from a Wicked screening signals that ‘I was here, I was doing this opening weekend.’” Cell phones are never acceptable during movies. If people want to show they were there, take a picture next to the poster or the ubiquitous carboard displays nearby. If someone can’t go for two hours without checking their phone, stay home!

The NBC News story later quoted Eric Forgue, “a moderator for the subreddit r/MovieTheaterEmployees, which discusses the experiences of current and former cinema workers, said many theaters are understaffed and don’t have the bandwidth to monitor every screening. ‘If you have a problem, you should get up and tell somebody about it, because the odds of someone coming in to check a theater are not as likely anymore,’ said Forgue, 30, who worked at a Cinemark theater for seven years.” So if you are sitting near one of these rude, ignorant cell phone users, you need to risk missing a good chunk of the movie by going out and finding the staff. When I worked at a movie theater in my high school years, I regularly went into the screenings just to make sure everything was OK and people weren’t talking loud (this was years before cell phones). If theaters can’t do that anymore and the audience needs to effectively police itself, is it any wonder that some choose to stay home?

Low staffing in any business can often feed on itself. Without enough people the staff that are there feel overworked. They need to struggle just to do the bare minimum and then need to deal with the gripes of people like me. I need to remind myself not to blame the people who are there for the people who are not. The root of the problem comes not from the staff but from the corporate management’s cost-cutting mentality. We see this in supermarkets, where you may have three out of fifteen cashier stations open and customers pushed to self-checkout, or at your local CVS. The difference is that most people need groceries, and they need medicine, but they don’t need to see movies in a theater. The L.A. times recently reported on the decline of “the casual moviegoer,” which it defines as “people show up to the theater on a whim and watch whatever is available.” The article explained that “Casual moviegoers are an important part of the market. Frequent moviegoers — those who regularly and reliably show up to watch all kinds of movies — make up about 12% to 15% of the box office.” People like me will always show up at movie theaters, but what about the majority?

Movie theaters have tried all sorts of methods to try to get the customers back, including IMAX, new pricing plans, expanded concessions, and serving alcohol. Maybe, just maybe, Regal, AMC Cinemark and the others could try simply having more staff there. Staff that could answer questions. Staff that could fix problems and keep operations running smoothly. Staff that could help the concessions line move faster. Staff that could patrol the theaters and remove cell phone users. Hiring more staff would not be easy. The pandemic illustrated that movie theater staff is not the most secure line of work. The corporations would need to offer more money and better benefits, among other things. I believe in the adage that you need to spend money to make money. In the long run revenue will go up if more staff work at these theaters. It’s not just the practical issues. It’s the theaters showing the audiences that they give a damn.

Very recently I went to see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. I got to my car and realized that I didn’t have my cell phone. When I went back to the theater, I asked the person cleaning if she had found a phone, and she hadn’t. I went back to my seat and searched but was unsuccessful. Then I turned around and another staffer was there. I had not seen him before and had not asked for someone to help me. But he helped me anyway, and thanks to him I got my phone back. As I left the theater, I felt relieved, but also impressed at that extra effort. That feeling stayed with me for a long time. Could we have more of that please? Adam Spector January 1, 2025

Adam Spector
January 1, 2025