Sara's Movie Business Insight Report
April 30 --
Oh boy, it's been a while since I've checked in here! Sorry about that, I have been so busy getting the 61 Drive In Theatre up and running for the season! This is our second weekend open and we have had some FUN nights out there already! I love this time of year!!
We have some great movies at the Voy this weekend! This will probably be our last weekend with SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, we have one more week of THE BAD GUYS and AMBULANCE.
We are thinking about bringing in the movie FATHER STU -- any interest in that?
We have some projects in the works here at the theatre....we are sprucing up the Voy 1 auditorium soon, we are so excited to get it looking as great as the other two auditoriums! Do you know how the theatres are numbered? The middle auditorium, right off the concession stand is Voy 1, because it was the first theatre built. When the theatre opened, that was the only auditorium! The auditorium to the south, off the red lobby, is Voy 2, it was the second theatre added on. Finally, the auditorium to the north, Voy 3 is the newest updated was the last theatre to be added to our triplex.
April 10 --
Easter at the Voy was a MAJOR success! I can't even begin to thank every single person who came this morning. It filled my heart to watch every child's eyes light up with excitement as they saw the Easter Bunny, got their snacks and headed into the movie! We had such a fantastic turn out, we nearly ran out of Easter eggs for the kids! We can NOT wait to make this a yearly tradition at the Voy!!
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
April 9 --
The. Easter. Bunny. Comes. To. The. Voy. Theatres. TOMORROW.
April 7 --
Tonight we hosted the students of Cardinal Elementary and their families to celebrate the students following their PBIS Leader in Me habits! It was SO FUN!! We had over 200 people watching three movies and they kids had a BLAST!! The teachers and staff served the children and their guests popcorns and drinks. It was such a fun night!!
If you are interested in hosting your group at the theatre, please let us know! It's such a unique, fun experience for everyone and we can accommodate a group of up to 400 people!!
March 28 --
What a GREAT weekend at the movies! My goodness, it went by in a flash because it was so hopping around here! We had two new employees training this weekend, Connie and Elsie! We are so excited for them to join our team!
We also had a birthday party, family gathering at the movies, Easter Bunny planning and four terrific shows with lots of filled seats!
To top it off, I got this adorable thank you note from the Maquoketa 6th graders who came to see a movie a few weeks ago! Can't wait for the groups we having coming this week, it's going to be so much fun!
The Lost City & Morbius will be sticking around next weekend and we'll be opening SONIC 2 nationwide right here in Maquoketa next Friday evening! So start making those plans to come see a movie with us next weekend!
March 27 --
It's a busy weekend here at the Voy! We had a good Friday night crowd last evening and again this afternoon. We are preparing for a busy week ahead, we have a school group coming from Midland, Andrew and the ENTIRE Cardinal Elementary student body and their families are coming also! We are also getting ready for Easter at the Voy NEXT Sunday the 10th, sprucing up things around here for the EASTER BUNNY!! We have three great movies, one for everyone, stop in a see a show tonight at 6:30 or tomorrow at 2:00!
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March 26 --
The Lost City with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum opened NATIONWIDE yesterday and we are lucky enough to have it right here in Maquoketa!!
We had an interesting evening last night, and lost all electricity so we were not able to show this gem of a movie Friday evening on opening night!
It was a fan favorite at the Saturday afternoon matinee, but didn't draw the numbers we anticipated Saturday evening. (Nor did any of the movies frankly)
What stops you from coming to a movie? Curious minds want to know....
March 26 --
What a busy week it's been! I have been scheduling private movie rentals almost every day, especially for the school kids' groups to celebrate the end of the school year! So, if you have a group you want to bring, contact me soon!
Our sensory friendly morning movie this morning was a hit! We had a dozen and a half people who enjoyed SCOOB!! Quite a few kiddos enjoyed their FIRST time at the movies, which is my favorite!!
I am busy getting the drive-in theatre ready to open in a couple weeks, I can't wait for the weather to catch up to my plans! BRRR!!
The last of our Voy 2 Lobby decor was finished up this week, but our fantastic handy man, Mike Jones. Did you know when the Voy opened, it was only one auditorium, then Dennis added the south auditorium and finally the north side to make it the Voy 3 we know today! Does anyone know what the Voy Theatre was named BEFORE it was the Voy? Email me the correct answer at voy857@yahoo.com -- the first correct answer will win a free movie pass!
March 13, 2022
We hosted a local Girl Scout troop for a tour of the movie theatre and private movie! I showed them all the behind-the-scenes projection rooms, explained to them how the projectors operate, and then put them to work making their own snacks before the movie. It was SO much FUN!! If you have a group that would like a tour of the movie theatre and private movie, reach out to me at 563-212-0438 or voy857@yahoo.com
Sundays are the day we finalize our top movie choices for the upcoming weekend. There is a lot to take into consideration .... if we are holding a movie over, we have to take into account how well it did, or if it didn't do well if we think there is room for improvement as word spreads, what "on the break" movies there are available the upcoming weekend, are there any movies we passed on or couldn't get in the last couple of weeks we want to bring in, if there is a new movie we want to bring in we have to make sure it fits into our "puzzle" of upcoming weeks plan as most movie studios require at least a two if not three week contract to show their film. So for example, we are contracted for Batman for one more weekend on 3/18. BUT, we also know we WANT Lost City "on the break" on 3/25, so that narrows our choices for our a third movie. We can hold over any current movie a week at a time, but we can not bring in a movie for one week only. We are deciding if we want to holdover Dog or Uncharted, both have done well for us, but will they do well going on a 6th week, or should we move on? If we move on, we can only have a movie that requires a one week contract, which limits our choices DRASTICALLY. The movie studios ultimately have the final say in the what movies we can get and when. Every Sunday/Monday I chat with our movie booking company and tell her my top three choices for the upcoming weekend. We chat multiple times on Monday "negotiating" the puzzle pieces to make sure our "long game" will not be affected for our top "on the break" movies we want to have in the upcoming weeks. All of this doesn't even take into account what the film rental terms are, did you know what the average film rental fee is between 48-65% of every ticket admission!! For example, for our $5.00 matinee, the movie studio will take between $2.40 to $3.25 from each ticket we sell, and this doesn't include the other film costs associated with shipping the film to us, booking charges, etc.
March 12, 2022
Welcome to Sara's Movie Business Insight!! I am excited to start this new page (with a push from Dennis) with all sorts of behind-the-scenes movie business information, a look ahead at upcoming movies and updates on the Voy Theatre happenings! I will update at least twice a week, so make sure to check back often!
The Voy 3 Theatre is currently showing THE BATMAN, DOG, and UNCHARTED. DOG and UNCHARTED are on their fourth week here at the Voy and going strong! Both surprised us a little with the attendance they have brought in and we are thrilled! THE BATMAN is going well at the Voy also but for how well it has done nationwide (it has grossed nearly 400 MILLION!!), it hasn't done quite as well as we anticipated here in Maquoketa. Hopefully as word spreads as to how great this three hour film is, more of you will come see it soon! THE BATMAN will for sure be at the Voy at least one more weekend!
Coming up in the next few weeks we have some GREAT new movies headed our way. Opening nationwide right here in Maquoketa on March 25th will be the Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum comedy THE LOST CITY, this is a must see!! We also will open nationwide SONIC 2 in Maquoketa on April 8th! I haven't met a kiddo yet who doesn't want to see SONIC 2, Landon and Cora especially are very excited!! The rest of March doesn't have too many new (we call it "on the break" in the movie business) movies coming out but starting in April there are a LOT of great ones over the summer we can't wait to bring you!
We have a couple FUN events coming up at the Voy -- Our LAST sensory friendly movie until fall is scheduled for March 26th, Scoob! These sensory friendly mornings have been so wonderful for the community, and I personally absolutely LOVE them! Everyone who comes enjoys it so much! During these movies, we leave the lights in the auditorium on so it's not so dark, we turn the volume down so it isn't so loud, and just have FUN!! The kids can wiggle, roam, and giggle without worry!! We are also hosting THE EASTER BUNNY on April 10th!! The Easter Bunny will be at the theatre from 9am - 10am and we will be showing the Easter family hit HOP a 10am. All admission is just $5.00 per person. It's going to be SO fun!!
We also have some projects in the works at the theatre -- I'm sure you've noticed the new carpet, paint, lobby decor and "homey" touches I have put on the place. We also just recently updated the Voy 2 auditorium, and the Voy 1 auditorium is next on the list to get a facelift! And let's not even start talking about how AMAZING the new cup holders are!!
When I took over management of the 61 Drive In Theatre and Voy Theatre in 2021, I did so primarily to help my Grandpa Dennis, but I had NO idea how much I would grow to love the theatre business. It's challenging, always changing, exciting, and so rewarding!! We are planning on opening the 61 Drive In in April and I can't wait!! I hope to see you soon at the movies!!