How to get people to go back to the movies
Movie theaters were one of the institutions hardest hit by the pandemic. We check in with the Rialto to see how the recovery is coming.
How are things going at the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol, the town’s only movie theater? When I asked Rialto owner Ky Boyd if attendance was “bouncing back,” he laughed grimly.
“It’s bouncing in slow-motion,” he said. “It’s definitely on the upswing, and it is slowly getting better. We're seeing improvement every month. But we're not back to a level that I would call sustainable yet. We've got a ways to go.”
“We were able to survive in large part thanks to the Shuttered Venue Operator grant from the SBA. But that grant ended on June 30 of 2022, and so now we're having to make it on our own. More people are coming to the movies every month and that's a good thing, but we really need to get back to a sustainable level of business.”
Boyd also gave a shout out to the folks who contributed to the Rialto’s GoFundMe early in the pandemic. “We did a GoFundMe campaign for Sebastopol and we did a GoFundMe campaign for our two theaters in the East Bay—the Elmwood and Rialto Cinemas El Cerrito. Those campaigns combined brought in about a quarter of a million dollars. That was that was so essential in helping us survive in that period before the Shuttered Venue Operator grant arrived. We still have slides up on screen before every movie thanking all of our GoFundMe donors, because they are very dear to us.”
Industry trends work against recovery
Boyd identified several trends in the film industry that he said have slowed the recovery of theaters like his. The first is the phenomenon of releasing movies to streaming at the same time they’re released in theaters.
“One of the things that happened during COVID was so many of the studios either diverted films entirely to streaming or they did these modified release patterns where it showed up on streaming and in theaters on the same date. That that experiment proved to be disastrous, both for the studios and for the theaters. And so now we're back to seeing movies go to theaters before they go to streaming, which is a better revenue model for the studios and it's a better revenue model for the theater.
The second trend was a dip in the number of films being released.
“One of the problems we had in 2022 was there were only about 65% of the number of titles released compared to 2019,” he said “There's definitely a direct relationship between the number of movies released and the amount of theater attendance.”
The good news is Boyd said that that’s turning around. “We're seeing more films being released this year.”
The bad news is he’s not always crazy about the kind of movies that are being produced by the major studios.
“The most challenging part for me is there's been a real focus on what the studios call ‘tentpole pictures,’ which are the big, huge-budget Marvel movies and DC comics, movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And then there's also been a lot of low-budget horror, but we can't survive on that diet alone,” Boyd said. “We need we need all types of movies. We need comedies, we need dramas, we need adventure films, we need movies for kids, we need movies for adults. We need a whole range of movies. The industry is really starting to wake up to that so we're hopeful for the future.”
Not just an ordinary movie theater
Part of the Rialto’s charm is the broad range of film and theater experiences it brings to town, including its Metropolitan Opera showings, National Theater Live, Art Exhibitions on Screen, and film festivals.
They’ve just wrapped up their part in the Sebastopol Documentary Festival. Outwatch, an LGBTQ+ film festival, is scheduled for June.
They also show one-offs you can’t see anywhere else.
“We've got a lot of interesting things happening,” Boyd said. “On Tuesday the 11th, we're participating in a national screening campaign of this new documentary, “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” which was the opening night film from the Sundance Film Festival. It's a fascinating look at little Richard and how influential he was in the development of rock and roll and in culture in general. It's really a great film.”
“Then two nights later, on Thursday the 13th, we have a documentary called “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat and Tears?” This is another interesting story because Blood, Sweat and Tears was a huge band—they had they had hugely successful albums and then they went on this tour that the State Department sent them on behind the Iron Curtain. And that was kind of the end of the band. This film tells the story of what happened. It's a fascinating film, and it will be with us for one night only.”
Will free movies lure folks back?
“Back in December, we did a series of free holiday movies, and people really seem to like them. It brought people back to the movies,” Boyd said.
“So, we decided, well, What if we made this a monthly series? We ended up making two monthly series. The first is called Free Family Matinees— it is the first Saturday and Sunday of each month. “NeverEnding Story” is coming on May 6 and 7.”
“And then we also have what we call free, big screen classics, and that is the second Thursday of each month. The next one for that is on Thursday, April 13—they're always at 1 pm—and it's “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and then on Thursday, May 11 at 1 pm, it’s “To Catch a Thief,” with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.”
“We're trying to show some really iconic films,” he said. “It's a way for us to show some classic films and do some things that aren't really part of our regular programming, And, like I said, it's free admission, so people can come and see the movie for free.”
They also have a Movie Lover rewards program, where you win points for the movies you see and the snacks that you eat — points you can trade in for a free movie.
Wondering what movie to go see? Here are Boyd’s recommendations
“My favorite at the moment is a movie called “Spinning Gold,” about Neil Bogart, who was the founder of Casablanca records…People don't know his name, but he really had a strong impact on American popular music and American culture…I thought the movie was highly entertaining and did what it set out to do, and I really enjoyed it.”
In terms of what’s coming soon, he says thinks people will really like a film called “Chevalier,” a dramatization of the life of 18th century composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. “He was the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. And he rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated by violinist and composer. I saw this movie at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. And I really liked the movie. I thought it was very well done. It opens on Friday, April 21st.”
Neither of these are block-buster movies, but the Rialto is betting that the Sebastopol audience has more grown-up tastes. “We need people to come to the movies and take a chance on something that you might not otherwise choose because we have a lot of really interesting movies. We have a very diverse array of movies, and I think that we have something for everyone.”
See what’s playing and what’s coming at the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol here.