Movie Theaters Industry Profile

The US movie theater industry includes about 2,000 companies that operate about 5,000 indoor theaters and 300 drive-ins with combined annual revenue of about $12 billion. Major companies include AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, and Regal Entertainment. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 85 percent of industry revenue.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Personal income and leisure time drive demand for movie theaters. The profitability of individual companies depends on securing access to popular movies and sales of high-margin food and beverages. Large companies have advantages in negotiating with movie distributors; marketing; and economies of scale in purchasing. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in movie type or audience, or providing better service and amenities. The industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $90,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major services are sales of tickets, food, and beverages. Ticket admissions account for almost 70 percent of industry revenue; food and beverage sales for more than 20 percent. Other services include on-screen advertisements, facility and concession rental during nonpeak hours, and amusement machine use. Drive-ins on average earn 60 percent of revenue from admissions, 15 percent from food and beverages, and about 10 percent from rental of retail space.

Movie theater operations center on licensing and showing (“exhibiting”) films to consumers, and obtaining and selling concession items. Theaters acquire from distributors the right to use (license) a movie in specific geographic zones for a determined duration. ...