62 Years of Fun !

Published Jul. 1, 2021

Retirement Announcement from our Founder...

To My Friends.

Wow, how can time zip by so fast? It seems like just last week, it was 1959 and I was 22-years old, purchasing the Colonial Theatre in Hamburg, Iowa (the Oscar that year went to “Gigi”). My film buyer was a gentleman named Jack Renfro. Jack also happened to be the film buyer for my main competitor, the Paramount Theatre in Rockport, Missouri, 26 miles away…owned by my father-in-law.

In 1961, I sold the Colonial (to my brother, who later sold it to my dad), moved the family to Colorado and went to work for Westland Theatres, managing theatres in Grand Junction, Pueblo and Colorado Springs. My old film buyer, Jack, also made some life changes, retiring and selling his film booking company to a former Columbia Pictures salesman, named Bill Barker.

In 1975, my connection back to Jack came full-circle, when Bill announced his retirement and sold me his company. Fast-forward 46 years later and I can’t believe it’s come time for me to finally retire from Theatre Booking Services.

I’ve enjoyed 62 wonderful years in theatrical exhibition, supporting independent theatre owners….and have had a front row seat to a lot of industry challenges and innovations. Industry attendance has averaged a steady 1.2 billion people per year (1959, 2002 and 2003 each spiked to 1.5 billion; 2019 totaled 1.2 billion), but it’s been an ongoing fight. We have suffered through three major recessions; home entertainment technology has evolved to rival theatre systems; in-home movie delivery has progressed from VHS to DVD to Streaming; and the “window” of time between theatrical release and in-home availability now hovers between same day and 45 days. Exhibition has battled back with investments in megaplex theatres, conversion to digital projection systems, 3D technology, recliner seating, enhanced food & beverage options at the concession stand and in-theatre dining.

And just when we were starting to actually see sparks of sustained attendance growth, a global pandemic brought the industry to its knees, turning our greatest asset, social interaction, against us. No doubt, 2020 was a devastating year, with theatres around the world shut down for most of it…and the most destructive impact was suffered by independent theatre owners.

But the future looks bright, with industry recovery finally underway! This past weekend, “F-9” beat studio estimates and delivered an impressive “pre-Covid like gross” of $70M, on its way to over $160M. More and more analysts are rallying around the notion that the combination of increased vaccinations, pent-up consumer demand and the delay in releasing so many great titles, should put the industry back on track the second half of the year.

The studios will do their part, by providing us with great content, and we need to do ours, by letting folks know we are open and safe, consistently delivering a great guest experience and never burning the popcorn. Working together, 2022 and 2023 are expected to exceed 2019 boxoffice revenues.

Speaking of the future, I promise I’m leaving you in good hands. My son, Frank (Rash), will be joining the company and taking over day-to-day operations, effective Monday, July 12.

I’ll leave it to Frank to introduce himself to you over the next few days and share a glimpse of some of the fun things to come, but in the meantime, know he spent 25 years with AMC Entertainment, the first half in theatre operations and on the company’s real estate team (negotiating the opening of 15 megaplex theatres). He spent the second half on the senior leadership team, reporting to the Chairman & CEO, heading-up marketing, strategic development and national sales. Not to brag, but he was the co-architect in the creation and launch of quite a few high-profile, industry-changing initiatives, including Movietickets.com, National Cinemedia (NCM), Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition (DCDC), Open Road Films, Fathom Events and the world’s largest IMAX joint venture.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to have such a wonderful career and to have shared so many of your lives, in both good and difficult times. I’m very proud that Theatre Booking Services can trace its roots back over 80 years; more so, that several theatres have remained our partners for the entire time; and even more so, that I can call you, my friends! Movies truly are the world’s greatest storytelling medium.

It’s been a great privilege to have worked with you.