We understand the frustration many of you experience when a movie you want to see does not come to the Palace. Some of this is beyond our control, but in some cases, we may be able to change this.
There is a very specific religious theater circuit. As of now, we haven’t been able to get on their radar. Our first attempt to prove ourselves to them was around Easter when the film “Do You Believe” came out. We played this film at our theater and the response was mediocre at best. Many people asked about it, but when it came time to actually show up, they didn’t produce the numbers the studio wanted.
While the messages contained in these films are very powerful and important, Hollywood is money driven. If we can’t make money for the studio, they can’t spend money getting us the films. These religious films are often produced by small studios with a meager distribution budget. They rely on these grassroots campaigns to know where to send the movies.
The only way for us to be guaranteed these films is to show the studios we are a viable market for them. For the film “The War Room” we needed 750 people to express interest in the film by going to the movie’s website and choosing Athens as the location they wanted to see the movie. We did not meet this number and as a result we will not be showing the movie on opening weekend. (we may have it in the future, but are unable to know at this time.)
Our booker suggested having a more organized presence in order to secure these films in the future. Many of these releases will operate the same as War Room.
It would appear that putting pressure on the theater to play a certain movie is a productive use of resources, for these types of films, the effort needs to be focused on the distribution directly. We have distribution agreements with major studios and these are not the ones responsible for smaller films. We have to show them we want them.
With the large number of churches in our area, reaching the 750 mark would not be difficult if we had a coordinated effort. We will do our best to keep you informed of any upcoming movies, but if you hear of any you would like to see here, let us know and we will do our best to help you help us get it.
If your congregation has an interest in a particular title, please let us know and we will find out the next steps you need to take to get a viewing. In some instances, if we are unable to secure the film for a lengthy public run, we may be able to have a private showing.
Thank you so much for your support and interest in seeing these films at The Palace.