MOTION PICTURE THEATRE. The motion picture theatres equipped for sound pictures throughout the world are divided as follows (U.S. Dept. of Commerce 1938) : Europe 37,578; North America (U.S. and Canada) 18,765; Far East 5,796; Latin America 4,571; Africa and Near East 856; and the six nations with the largest number of sound theatres are : United States 17,541; U.S.S.R. 8,000; Germany 6,45o; England 5,300; Italy 3,800; France 3,75o. The total seating capacity of the mo tion picture theatres in the U.S. is 10,924,484 seats, and the average theatre seats 623. These theatres represent an estimated capital investment of $1,880,000,000, or 94% of the entire capital invest ment of the motion picture industry in the United States. There are 9,187 towns in the U.S. with motion picture theatres equipped for operation. It is estimated that the average weekly attendance at the U.S. motion picture theatres is 85,000,000 (1938).
The modern motion picture theatre has introduced and adopted many improvements in the design, equipment, and construction of public auditoriums, including indirect lighting, mechanical venti lation, air conditioning, scientific acoustical treatment, modern sanitary facilities, the use of fireproof materials, plastics, clay, and glass products in structure.
The motion picture industry has three main divisions : Produc tion (manufacturing), distribution (wholesaling), and exhibition (retailing). The article which it makes and sells, motion picture entertainment, is as intangible as a shadow on the wall, a sound in the air. The operation of motion picture theatres has developed along lines that are unique in the field of retail merchandising of articles for mass consumption because of the nature of the product sold. Motion pictures are copyrighted, the theatre se cures a limited and restricted licence from the copyright owner for the public exhibition of the photoplay, usually exclusive for a specified period of time within a defined area or zone, for which the theatre management pays a licence fee or film rental to the wholesale distributor or copyright owner. Actually the film itself
is never sold to the theatre, but is merely lent as part of the licence agreement, to enable the theatre by a mechanical process to put on a performance of the photoplay on the screen.
This brings about some unusual characteristics in the retailing of motion picture entertainment by the theatres. Unlike most re tail businesses, theatres cannot offer the immediate customer a selection of goods and articles. Every time a theatre changes its program, an entirely new stock of goods is on sale, with none of the items previously on sale in stock. No theatre can carry a stock of motion picture films on hand, nor can it produce any films for its own use. While the theatre may license pictures in quantities or blocks from the wholesale distributor, the pictures cannot be shipped or billed that way, but must be delivered one by one as they are needed. Successful theatre operation requires an uninterrupted flow of pictures not previously used to each theatre, which is brought about by an intricate network of thea tres and distribution facilities throughout the United States and other countries that functions with speed and precision.
Motion picture theatres are considered a highly desirable eco nomic unit for local communities because an unusually large amount of the gross sales or receipts is retained and spent in the locality on payroll, rent, advertising, and supplies. This runs from 65% to 75% of the gross receipts, as from 25% to 35% is sent away to the wholesale distributor for the goods (entertainment) that are sold. (E. L. Ku.)