Fleapits & Multiplexes

How multiplex cinemas saved the British film industry 25 years ago

Technology:
several-screens-in-a-shed phenomenon
the point - with ten screens, the UK's first true multiplex, had arrived
start-of-the-art technology (made an impact on British market)
Cannon opened the second British multiplex at Salford Quays in December 1986, and between 1987 and 1991 around 500 new screens sprung up nationwide
The multiplex is currently pupating, waiting for it's next phase of evolution, as digital projection and 3D arrive.

Economic:
copious free parking space
a vast array of snacks on sale
The point sold 2m tickets in its first two years

Social:
Mid-80s - cinema attendance was in the doldrums (low)
The impact the Point had: "You couldn't move in the foyer on a Saturday night. There were so many people there waiting for shows to start."
increased choice of films (impact on British market)
a miracle in a climate that had seen the national cinema attendance drop to just 55m by 1984 (the peak had been 1.6bn in 1946)
new screens sprung up 1987-1991, by which point British cinema admissions had risen to 100m.
The Point was the beneficiary of a push to revive the UK film industry: 1985 was declared British Film Year, and a PR campaign was launched on behalf of cinemagoing.

Cinemas and Cinemagoing: More screens, more choice

In the early 1970s, the circuit cinemas in the smaller towns and suburbs began to be subdivided into three-screen 'film centres'.
Many Odeons were inexpensively converted into 'triples', without closing, by blocking off the rear stalls and subdividing the space into two small cinemas.
These provided poor sightlines and tiny screens had sound penetration problems.
ABC cinemas closed for conversion into three auditoria - new screens - greater capacities.

Technology:
60s/70s - low cinema attendance due to further television channels and arrival of video (enabling renting of films)
1985 - new ten-screen 'multiplex' cinema*
Modern generation of multiplexes - large screens in large auditoria, state-of-the-art sound systems, stepped seating and generous leg room.
'Premier screens' charge higher prices for more luxurious seating, private bars and other extras.
From the late 1990s, the range of titles reduced as several prints of major attractions are shown in different auditoria with staggered starting times.

Economic: 
Cinemas became dependant on sales of food

Social:
Late 60s/Early 70s - attendence continued to decline because of high ticket prices, and widespread of feeling that cinemagoing was no longer a fashionable activity.
Annual admissions reached a low of 54m in the 80s - half the figure of 5 years before.
* 1985 (info cont.) - ten-screen multiplex attracted over 100m within first year. Many attractions such as fast food for their key audience, teenagers.

The cinema boss who made room for a Vue

Economic:
The great depression of 1929 ushered and the repeated in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
UK box office grossed £1.05bn in 2009.
Data shows cinema attendances held up in the recessions of 1974 to 1976, 1980 to 1982, and 1990 to 1993.
Vue has saved billions of dollars processing and transporting the 35mm prints into digital projectors.

Technology:
Cinemas have been showing many basic forms of 3D films since the 1920s.
The leap of digital 3D began in earnest with the release of Chicken Little in 2005.
Vue has 68 cinema sites - 654 screens across the UK - state-of-the-art digital projectors to replace 35mm film.

Social:
Many industry executives feared the downfall box office grossings "many people were nervous"
People have scaled back on buying cars and holidaying abroad, and spend more on activities at home. Recession leads to an "increased demand in escapism as a psychological response".
Cinema attendance was the high-water mark for 2004 - 176 million, but in 2006 it was in the doldrums.
C.A was boosted by the success of Slumdog Millionaire and the latest Harry Potter movie, then Avatar.