Landmark Theatres, owners of the Ritz Five, Ritz East and Bourse, on the auction block
So Landmark Theatres, owners of the the Ritz moviehouses in Society Hill, has put its 63 properties up on the auction block. What does this mean for art films nationally and locally?
Landmark Theatres, owners of the Ritz Five, Ritz East and Bourse, on the auction block
Carrie Rickey, Film Critic
So Landmark Theatres, owners of the the three Ritz moviehouses in Society Hill, has put its 63 properties up on the auction block. (See second item). What does this mean for art films nationally and locally?
Media entrepreneur Mark Cuban, owner of the nation's premier chain for independent, art and foreign film, says he's just "testing the waters" to see if he can get his price for the Landmark properties.
It's a volatile time for movie exhibition. Viewing habits are changing. Netflix subscribers can see several movies a month for the price of one movie ticket in a theater (and also save on parking fees.) Cuban, who also owns Magnolia Pictures, likewise has tested the waters by making Magnolia films available on video-on-demand the same day and date that they arrive in his theaters. His competitors would say that this practice devalues the exclusivity of the big-screen experience.
Since it acquired the three Philadelphia Ritz properties in 2007, Landmark's ownership of the Ritz Theaters, originally built and programmed by the late Ramon Posel, has been mostly a blessing for local cineastes and movie geeks. On the upside, it retained the local managers and conviviality. On the downside, it programmed significantly fewer foreign-language films and used the Ritz at the Bourse as a venue for churning through titles that generally played only a week. Posel had the luxury of holding over a movie for a second and third and letting word of mouth do the job. (He also programmed far more foreign-language titles than Landmark has.)
In a Landmark sale, the worst-case scenario for local moviegoers is that the buyers of the Ritz turn those houses into showcases for mainstream Hollywood fare. Where would we see the next Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Where would we see the next King's Speech? The best-case scenario is that owners sensitive to this market and to exposing viewers to the widest possible selection of art and alt fare would buy the chain.
What most concerns me is that at this time when the world is most globalized, the foreign offerings at our movie theaters are shrinking, and a Landmark sale might accelerate this trend.
From 2004 to 2009, the proportion of foreign films shown in the Philadelphia area dropped from 20 per cent to 12 per cent of the total offerings, mirroring the long-term national trend.
What are your worries? What do you think of the Ritzes under Landmark's stewardship? What kind of offerings would you like to see at the theaters? Where are you watching art and alt films?
I thought theLandmark takeover was as good as any takeover can be. Concessions changed some and later prices but prices are always changing everywhere (I need a mortgage to go to AMC in Cherry HIll, a movie theater I loathe), but mostly it seemed the same. The bathrooms could be better but compared to National Amusements takeover of the Ritz 16 in Voorhees this was practically invisible. Rave has done a better job at keeping the Voorhees place clean and both NA and Rave have trouble with distributors seeing us as one market with Philadelphia. That said we love the 16 yet because it is the best in Jersey even if it isn't as good. WE love even more the Ritz in Philly , especially the Bourse, which is my favorite theater; it shows things almost no one ever shows anywhere else around here and sometimes no where else but LA and NY. Bill Cunningham New York has been playing there for several weeks and drawing a decent crowd, for example. The Bourse shows the animated and live actions shorts.Yes, I could see them on demand but I love movie theaters and the dark silent room where I won't be interrupted with the other elements of life. I love the big screens and all. I think same day as theater is great if you live somewhere where you aren't lucky enough to have a Landmark Ritz but I will be sure not to watch a Magnolia film on pay per view since this news. I hope this fades away. I can't see the kind of people who run huge multiplexes wanting the Philadelphia chain; there aren't enough screens for them, teens are probably not going to pay for Society HIll parking and so on. I want more independent films in the area not less. It's one of the reasons I like living in the Philadelphia, New Jersey area--and as a southern girl there aren't many reasons.— denipeters- It's not just Philly's problem. As the old saying goes, I'm so bad I vacation in Detroit, and two theaters in the Landmark chain are almost the only outlet that Detroit has for art films. (The art museum's film program occasionally does a one or two performances of a newly-released art film.) And the same goes for other cities. I travel a lot and it's always nice to know that there will be a Landmark theater in major cities that will be reasonably clean and comfortable and will have a film that might be gone by the time I get home. I've never noticed a cleanliness problem at the Ritzes, but I do tend to go in the early evening when the attendance is smaller. The popcorn has always been the Ritz's weak point. That's one thing that the Rave group out at the former Voorhees Ritz has improved.— greenbox91
- I second Gary's comments. Arthouses are both a vehicle to test films before they go wide and, even more importantly if you care about the art form at all, an alternative offering of choices not available in the multiplexes, which basically all show the same fare simultaneously. Many large American cities currently rely on Landmark as the only game in town. Let's hope we're not facing a city-by-city crapshoot where if your town's not named NY or L.A., you will soon be at the whim of new ownership in determining whether there will be widescreen art film choices at all.— donmalvasi
- Figures. I'm about to move back to Philly from NYC and was excited to live near the Ritz theaters. But I've noticed the film selection and overall cleanliness has declined since Landmark took over the theaters. However, I think there's been an overall trend during the past decade to show fewer foreign films in the US. I don't think even NYC has what it once had. As much as I love streaming movies, I prefer watching them at the theater, provided the theater is clean and quiet. Perhaps the Angelika in NYC will purchase the Ritz theaters - that would be perfect!— katied01
- I love the Ritzes, but the quality has really gone down since the Posel days. The theaters aren't being maintained very well, the bathrooms are often quite dirty and I don't think the film selection is as good anymore either.— Ellen Dunkel
- TheDog:
While I agree with many of your recommendations, theaters are not going out of business. They do face considerable competition from On-Demand, Netflix and streaming options.— carrierickey - Waaaaaa, the theaters are going out of business! Serves them right. They charge rediculous prices for refreshments and the product they offer sucks: crappy stadium seats, poor sound quality, etc. Like traveling by air, going to the movies isn't an event anymore. People used to dress up, shut up, turn off the phones and KEEP THE KIDS AT HOME! The way I see it, theaters have to reinvent themselves: install nice couches/recliners, keep kids under 21 out of the later shows, install top shelf sound systems, serve decent/real food made by a cook and offer table side service. Oh and downtown theaters have to give you parking FOR FREE TO STAY COMPETITIVE! Otherwise, downloadable movies are the clear choice. They are more affordable and you can watch them on-demand on your timetable. That's what I do.— TheDog
- You perhaps have a 40-foot screen in your living room? — greenbox91
- Foreign-language films are in big trouble, especially since television is buying fewer and fewer of them (so distributors acquire less) and DVD sales are being replaced by streaming. It's much harder to watch a subtitled film on an iphone and there are more distractions when watching on a computer. And there's that disdain for cultural awareness (aka, being knowledgeable about the arts and the world) that started back in the 1980s and is reflected in American mass media. Surprisingly, the only answer I can come up with is that Americans should learn more foreign languages. The real prime of the subtitled movie era was from the 1940s to 1960s when a large number of immigrants thirsted to see movies from home (and hear them in their native tongue). -- Dennis from Milestone Film & Video— Milefilms
- It astonishes me that some feel that foreign language films are synonymous with quality and suggesting Americans learn more foreign languages so we can appreciate foreign movies is one of the most absurd things I have ever read. Need I remind you that ALL movies are foreign language films depending on where you're viewing them. That's like suggesting to the Czechs that they learn English so they can appreciate Norbert. — IRAMITLA
Arthouse goons - (courtesy of Cosmo Kramer)— Norf77- An out-of-towner's view: Show the people art but only if you can maximize your profitability while doing so? And if not, sell to the highest bidder and caveat emptor? It looks like in pushing so hard for profitability that Cuban has adopted the philosophy of eliminating the theater experience in exchange for forcing the audience to watch an inferior - yet far more profitable - product at home and art be damned. I'm certain this will convince many more film producers to approach their projects with the mini-screen in mind. What a terrible loss.
And as for traveling to see a film? Living just twenty-five miles from San Francisco seems like it would be easy. But factoring in the additional costs, even mid-week, would definitely inhibit my tendency to make the effort, which is why the local Landmark venues around here have been a small blessing.— californiafan - But for every Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Brotherhood of the Wolf that finds mainstream appeal there are dozens of movies that don't. I would absolutely go to NYC to see a movie, I've done it before because of many indie studios' myopic "NY and LA only" stance. It's not like I'm only seeing a movie while I'm there, I'll meet up with friends, or make a day of it. I've done it for bands to, because of the absurd way they'll skip America's 4th largest market because it's too close to the 1st.— Pelti
You would go to NY to watch a movie?- I hope that the Ritz art houses stays arty. I like that they show more documentaries and indie/foreign films. The title you mention CROUCHING TIGER and KING'S SPEECH made it to screens outside the Ritz in part because they caught on at the Ritz. But we need theatres to show films you couldn't or wouldn't see anywhere else. That's the joy of moviegoing. Discovering something you wouldn't have had a chance to see elsewhere. That's why we depend on distributors like Magnolia. The calendar program at the Bourse, where films stay a week brings in great films like MARWENCOL that might not get a chance in Philly. Given the less adventurous programming at the film festival(s) in Philly, if the Ritz changes formats, us art film snobs will weep all the way to New York.— garymk
- And to think that Posel's ambitions once had him reach as far away as the Far Northeast to bring art house films to the masses.
I'm not worried about the next King's Speech or Crouching Tiger -- they both made it to multiplexes; it's the documentaries, foreign films, smaller indie films and revivals which may never have a chance. Thanks to the Ritz theaters, the first time I saw Gone With The Wind was on the big screen, and that's how it's supposed to be.— Adam B.
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