Silky Otter Cinemas chief executive Neil Lambert. Photo: Supplied
The winter school holidays are about to begin - the perfect time for a family trip to the movies. But with rising cost of living, the slow economy and numerous streaming options like Netflix and Neon, how are New Zealand cinemas surviving?
Neil Lambert, owner of premium cinema chain Silky Otter is busy opening his eighth cinema.
The new Christchurch theatre has bagels and fried chicken bao buns on its menu.
Lambert said hospitality was key to its success.
"Wages have gone up dramatically in the last five years, and on top of that, rents are more expensive, food costs are more expensive. But if you look at the way that the ticket price has increased and how consumers have allowed the ticket price to increase, it hasn't gone up much. It hasn't gone up anywhere near in capacity to that [cost increases].
"Now as a business to thrive and not even thrive, to survive, you have to get an all-round hospitality experience. You have your customers come in the door, pay for a movie ticket - which we have to split with the studios - and it's quite a substantial split. So for us food and beverage are huge. That's why we have full service kitchens."
Richard Dalton bought Auckland's historic Lido cinema 24 years ago. He said business at the theatre in Epsom was improving.
"Business has picked up this year. It's still not perfect because I think the recession is still biting lots of people, but it's definitely showing signs of life returning back to normal."
Richard Dalton, director of Lido Cinema in Auckland Photo: Ke-Xin Li
He said for Lido, it was not always the blockbusters that brought in the cash.
"Every cinema is different, so if you talk to the guys at Events and Hoyts, I'm sure they would tell you completely different stories. For them it's all about the blockbusters and it's all about the first two weeks of business on those.
"For us, we always pay a lot more money in the first week back to the film company and then as the weeks go by, the amount you pay back to the film companies starts to fall.
"Tinā is still popular at six, seven, eight weeks into its season, so we probably made more money at the end of its life than we did at the beginning of its life. For us in this particular model it's all about keeping films going for as long as possible."
Richard Dalton says Tinā was still popular long into its season. Photo: Supplied
Dalton said it was special to have movies like Tinā in the cinema.
"Everyone comes out crying and you know they're loving it because they sit there for the whole credits. The credits are running and people are still sitting there sniffling, trying to compose themselves and talking. It's a real bonding film. It was such a pleasure to play."
While Dalton's main audience are older adults, he thought it was important for cinemas to get children in too.
"We got Elio coming up in the school holidays. We'll play things for very young children because often the grandparents might even bring them along.
"I do feel strongly about this, so our ticket pricing for kids is just $10 and I kind of wonder why the chains want to charge so much for children's tickets. I think in these tough times, I think they've scared a lot of the market off by overpricing. Especially for a family day out, it becomes really expensive.
"You got two parents and three children and popcorn and everything, you're gonna end up spending over $100 or something, which is madness. Children absolutely are the future, if you can get them at a young age and give them a good time and not scare parents off."
For a Saturday morning show of Elio, it would cost $58 at the Lido for a family of four. But with up to $20 for a child at Hoyts and Event Cinemas, the same family could be spending $68 at Hoyts, or $113.80 at Event. However, Event does offer discount tickets to members of its Cinebuzz programme.
Steve Newall, editor at the film and media website Flicks, said 2025 and 2026 would see a wide range of movies hitting the screens, and New Zealanders in cities were in the prime spot to choose their cinema experience.
"I think the cinema offerings in some ways mirror the range of releases out there and that just as there are titles for different ranges of people, there's also price points that you can find.
"A bit of research will really help a prospective movie goer. There are good weekly deals, there are certain cinemas that have specific discounts, and the loyalty schemes that the big chains have offer some advantages too."
Matthew Liebmann, chief product, innovation and marketing officer at cinema technology firm Vista Group was a big fan of the cinema experience.
"I've been to the cinema 24 times this year and we tend to go all around town, wherever the best time and the best film is."
Matthew Liebmann, chief product, innovation and marketing officer at Vista Group is an avid movie goer. Photo: Vista Group
He was at Cineeurope, a convention for the cinema industry. He said the sentiment was shared at the convention.
"This is an industry that reinvents itself. It doesn't put its head in the sand. It doesn't pretend that the world's not changing, and it's always looking for new technology and new ways to serve guests. So while the technology, the fit out and the food might be changing, that innovative spirit of exhibition remains the same."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
