Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajiving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast. It's episode three point fifty three. Get your popcorn,
Speaker 1: because today we're heading to the movies, not to watch one,
Speaker 1: but to learn from the industry behind the silver screen.
Speaker 1: The movie theater business is a fascinating blend of art, operations, licensing, logistics,
Speaker 1: and yes, even leadership. Did you ever wonder why your
Speaker 1: popcorn costs as much or more than your ticket, or
Speaker 1: how theaters even get the rights to show blockbuster films? Well,
Speaker 1: grab your over priced soda because we're about the peel
Speaker 1: back the curtain. So let's start with the economics. Why
Speaker 1: is movie theater popcorn so expensive. It's not just because
Speaker 1: it's buttery and nostalgic. It's because concession sales are the
Speaker 1: lifeline of most movie theaters. Here's the truth. When a
Speaker 1: theater shows a new movie, especially a big studio release,
Speaker 1: they only keep a very small percentage of the ticket
Speaker 1: sales in the opening weeks. Depending on the contract, the
Speaker 1: studio might take up to ninety percent of the box
Speaker 1: office revenue during the first week of a film's release.
Speaker 1: So if you buy a fifteen dollars ticket to see
Speaker 1: the latest action blockbuster, your local theater might only keep
Speaker 1: a dollar fifty of that. So where does the theater
Speaker 1: make its money? The answer concessions that eight dollars popcorn
Speaker 1: or six dollars soda or what keep the lights on.
Speaker 1: The margins on those snacks are huge, but they have
Speaker 1: to be They cover staff wages, electricity, maintenance, cleaning, and more.
Speaker 1: Concessions or how theaters stay alive, especially when they're independently
Speaker 1: owned or part of a small regional chain. So how
Speaker 1: do theaters get movies in the first place. They don't
Speaker 1: just magically appear on a hard drive. Movie theaters negotiate
Speaker 1: licensing agreements with film distributors who represent the big studios.
Speaker 1: Sometimes theaters have to commit to showing a film for
Speaker 1: a minimum number of weeks. They may also have to
Speaker 1: agree to strict terms about how many showings per day
Speaker 1: they'll offer and in how many of their auditoriums. In
Speaker 1: some cases, especially for smaller films or international releases, theaters
Speaker 1: do have to pay a flat fee to get access
Speaker 1: to that movie. In others, they pay percentage of the
Speaker 1: box office earnings to the distributor, which is the more
Speaker 1: common model for major releases. But here's the key. Theaters
Speaker 1: don't own the movies. They rent them under very specific
Speaker 1: and often demanding contracts. So what's the leadership lesson in
Speaker 1: all of this? It's all about understanding your real revenue drivers,
Speaker 1: your dependencies, and how to lead within those constraints. Too
Speaker 1: many businesses and leaders focus on what looks good on paper.
Speaker 1: The movies playing in the theater may be the draw,
Speaker 1: the spotlight, the reason people walk through the door, but
Speaker 1: the actual business engine is quietly humming at the concession stand.
Speaker 1: Great leaders know where the real value lies. They don't
Speaker 1: chase flash, They protect the foundation. Second leadership lesson here
Speaker 1: is negotiate from a place of clarity. Theaters don't get
Speaker 1: to set the terms for movie licensing. That power sits
Speaker 1: with the distributors. But what they can do is oper
Speaker 1: demise what is in their control, the customer experience, cleanliness,
Speaker 1: staff performance, and maximizing per customer spend. That's the real game.
Speaker 1: As leaders, we don't always control every variable, but we
Speaker 1: do control how we adapt, how we execute, and how
Speaker 1: we drive performance in our sphere of influence. The third
Speaker 1: lesson smart leadership, balances short term sacrifices with long term gains.
Speaker 1: Theater owners know they'll make almost nothing in the first
Speaker 1: few weeks of a blockbuster, but if they can keep
Speaker 1: the movie playing for four to six weeks, their percentage
Speaker 1: increases over time. Same movie, same screen, bigger cut. They're
Speaker 1: playing the long game, and you should be two. If
Speaker 1: you're a leader and your team is struggling to hit
Speaker 1: their goals, ask yourself. Are you focusing on your ticket
Speaker 1: sales or your concession stand? Are you pouring all your
Speaker 1: energy into what looks like the core business or what
Speaker 1: actually pays the bills? The answer might surprise you. In
Speaker 1: one final point, theaters often take risks on independent or
Speaker 1: lesser known films to build relationships, draw a niche crowds,
Speaker 1: and stand out from cookie cutter chains. That's a leadership move.
Speaker 1: They're betting on something outside the mainstream to create long
Speaker 1: term loyalty. Are you willing to do that the same
Speaker 1: way they are, or are you only playing the hits.
Speaker 1: Leadership is about knowing the business you're really in. It's
Speaker 1: about making smart bets, negotiating well, and keeping the machine
Speaker 1: running even when the spotlight is somewhere else. So the
Speaker 1: next time you're at the movies and you cringe at
Speaker 1: the seven dollars bag of Twizzlers, remember you're not just
Speaker 1: paying for candy. You're paying for the chance to have
Speaker 1: a theater still open the next time you want to
Speaker 1: escape into another world. And that, my friends, is a
Speaker 1: business model worth studying. This has been the seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more
Speaker 1: Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.