Wallace's $1 movies 'bucking' the trend

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was Tuesday.

Davis and Lodge were at Wallace Theatre's Restaurant Row 9 to catch the Steve Martin remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen" for a matinee price movie fans have rarely seen since Clifton Webb's original version of the film hit screens 54 years ago.

Since Wallace first began offering $1 general and 50-cent matinee admissions to mainstream movies that are weeks or months into their first run — films that likely have dropped out of the larger multiplex theaters — thousands of value-conscious residents have happily compromised freshness for big, retro savings.

"We were looking for lunch and a movie, and there wasn't anything new," Lodge said. "Then we found 'Cheaper by the Dozen' playing here. And you sure can't beat the price."

That's the kind of thinking on which Wallace Theatre Corp. is banking. In addition to the Restaurant Row Theaters, Wallace is offering the heavily discounted admissions at its Keolu Center Cinemas in Kailua and Kress Cinemas in Hilo.

The theaters sell hot dogs for $1, and recently cut candy prices by 50 cents.

Scott Wallace, Wallace Theatre Corp.'s owner and CEO, said the low-cost admissions are particularly attractive to people "pushed out" of first-run movies by high ticket prices. If Tuesday's matinee patrons are any indication, that demographic is broad indeed.

Deborah Naone, 54, brought her nephew Brandon Kamimoto, 10, and grandkids Valen, 16, and Nicole Yamaguchi, 15, to see "You Got Served."

"If we go somewhere else, it's $60 or $70 a night just for the movie," she said. "Here we get in for 50 cents and we can still buy something at the concession."

For Naone, that alone makes movies worth waiting for.

"I can wait," she said. "It's still cheaper than renting the video, and we get to see the movie while it's still in the theater. It's not the same thing eating popcorn and hot dogs at home."

Cheyanna Ahn, 24, and her children Kaimi, age 4, Kamalei, 3, Kamalani, 2, and Kahili, 9 months, have endured the long bus ride from Wai'anae to Restaurant Row several times in the last few months to enjoy movies on the cheap.

"It's a great deal," she says. "We used to go to (Consolidated Theatre's Kapolei 16)... but it's too expensive for all of us."

Tiana Nakooka, 19, of Manoa, and Angie Poepoe, 30, of Wai'anae planned to avoid the midday heat by taking in a double-header of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," and "You Got Served."

Nakooka, a University of Hawai'i student, missed "Return of the King" when it played in the larger theaters, and she likely would have skipped "You Got Served" altogether if the price wasn't exactly right.

"It's better to wait," she said.

Before the theater changed to a low-cost format, there were some concerns that the low ticket prices might attract homeless customers looking for a cool, comfortable place to hang out, but Wallace reps said that hasn't been the case.

While some homeless people do buy tickets for the movies, they — like every other customer — are only allowed to stay for one showing and have to meet minimum dress requirements to be admitted.

John Carter, 47, sleeps at Ala Moana Beach Park and comes to the Restaurant Row theaters once or twice a week for entertainment.

"It's a good thing that they're doing here," he said. "Seeing a movie is a good way to spend an afternoon, and people are cool here. If you're cool, they're cool."

As he waited in the lobby for the 1:45 p.m. showing of "Miracle," Carter struck up a brief conversation with retiree Miriam Lamb, 71, of Waikiki. Both had seen "The Last Samurai" at the same showing last week.

Lamb said she started coming to the theater when it was still the Art House.

"I must admit that I liked the kind of movies they had here before better," she said. "But you can still find some excellent films that play here if you choose carefully.

"And if they aren't that good, why you can walk out and you'll only be out a dollar," she said.

Cook, the district manager, said the weekday matinees attract their share of people playing hooky, from high school students to attorneys from the nearby 1st Circuit Court.

Jacc Fa'amui, 17, and Jordan Seva, 17, both Farrington High School students, were at the theaters Tuesday playing video games and "just cruising."

Over the last couple of months they've seen "Torque," "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" and a few other movies.

"It's a deal," Seva said with a wink.

Retro pricing is paying off

Wallace Theatres' latest incarnation as a discount theater has paid off handsomely so far, according to Wallace Theatre Corp. owner Scott Wallace.

In February 2003, when it was still featuring art house films at a $7.50 general admission, Wallace's Restaurant Row 9 sold a total of 13,131 tickets. In the single week ending March 25, 2004, it sold 19,826 tickets.

"This can only work where the rent is low," Wallace said.

As an anchor tenant at Restaurant Row, Wallace pays a token rent of $1.

"I can't remember if that's for the year or per month," Wallace said. "So we have to sell either one or 12 hot dogs to cover it."

Wallace said discount admissions have also paid off at the chain's other two theaters. From February 2003 to February 2004, monthly ticket sales increased from 4,400 to 13,020 at Keolu Cinemas in Kailua, and from 2,569 to 15,108 at Kress Cinemas in Hilo.

With that kind of volume, Wallace said, the Keolu and Kress theaters are able to take in $30,000 to $40,000 a month in candy sales alone.