Digital Movies In Tulsa

Just a note to inform you that the Dickenson Starworld 20 in Tulsa has at least 1 digital projector (in #20) and probably two- they have an identical mirrored theater across the way from theater 20, but I don't recall the number. The picture is stunning, and they are showing Christmas Carol in 3d (of the real-d persuasion) until Thursday night. Then Twilight (New Moon) will start in that theater.

Also another thing- the Cinemark down the road (on 71st) is, to my knowledge, still selling large drink refills at full price, despite numerous complaints from yours truly.

On the other hand, Starworld 20 (about 4 miles down the road to the south) has free large refills on large drinks and popcorn. And both their large drink and popcorn are priced lower than Cinemarks.

To top it off, the manager at the Starworld 20 is an awesome guy, incredibly friendly and really seems to understand that customer service is king in the multiplex business. The VP in charge of concessions ("Vice President, Food, Beverage & Amusements") at Cinemark Corporate down in Plano, on the other hand, is a tool who actually wanted to argue with me about their concessions being cheaper (they aren't) while saying [emphasis mine] "We don’t offer refills on our large drink on an ongoing basis because we have found that it encourages customers to share one drink instead of purchasing individual drinks. We would need to raise our drink price 25-50 cents to offset that customer behavior."

By the way, when I worked at a very small buyer of fountain-based beverages from Pepsi, the wholesale cost of soda (any flavor) was about 2 cents per ounce, and there were no discounts involved. If cinemark is paying as much as 2 cents an ounce, I would be surprised. If you pay $4.50 for a 40 oz fountain drink at a theater, I can assure you they are making at least $3.00 in profit, and that includes the $6.25/hour high-schooler who sold it to you.

The same Cinemark VP also notes: "Since most of the movie ticket price goes to the Hollywood studios, theatres rely on concession sales to cover the costs of operating the theatre. "

Interesting business model.