How to Buy a Movie Theater?

Everyone loves a great movie and even though you can rent movies, there is just something special about going to a movie theater.  The movie theater experience is a chance to see movies before they are released on DVD or available on premium television channels.  Investing in movie theaters for sale is a sound investment that is sure to provide you with a great return on your investment.

Check the Facilities
When you are looking for movie theaters for sale the best place to first check is the actual movie theater facilities. Talk with the operating manager or the owner to find out if they are considering putting the place up for sale or even if it is already on the market.  Who knows at the right price you might convince an owner to sell that did not have the place up for sale initially.

Operating Costs
Some movie theaters have gone under because they could not handle the operating costs of the facility.  Review financial reports to determine how much it costs for employees, movie royalties, staffing, equipment and other aspects of the business.  Are there areas that you can carve away at expenditures to turn the facility around to make a profit?

Local Economy
Some movie theaters for sale are not making a substantial profit because of the local economy.  After all it is the local people in the area that visit the facility and determine if your new theater will make a profit or not.  There are effective marketing strategies that can turn movie theaters around to making significant profit, even if the local economy is slow.
Additionally, if the local economy is poor more than likely it will turn around and grow again.  Can you ride out the local economy to have a business that will be making potential profits in the future?

Variety
People like variety.  A business that can offer variety for entertainment purposes will increase its growth potential very quickly.  Many movie theaters for sale have not thought about purchasing additional items for the facility to increase the number of people that will visit.  For example, additional arcade equipment will attract more young people and teens.  Working head sets for sound amplification will attract more hearing impaired customers because so many movie theaters do not offer this service to customers.

We naturally like to eat when watching television at home.  A theater that has a large selection of movie snacks and drinks can significantly increase profits.  For example, offering both Pepsi and Coke products for fountain drinks will provide more variety and choices for customers.  Instead of just popcorn and candy, the facility can sell nachos, hot dogs, baked chips, all natural fruit smoothies, small vegetable and dip trays and other healthy snack items.  These will appeal to more people and increase the number of customers for the movie theater business for sale.

Often if you do an analysis of the facility, you will find that a great deal of space is wasted. This space can be turned into a game area, additional auditoriums or increase the space for the snack and drink bar.  When you are looking at different movie theaters for sale keep in mind the changes that you want to make and determine if the facility has the additional space available after you re-organize.

Growth Potential
Look at the current and previous profit and loss reports for the movie theater.  Talk with an accountant and other people that are familiar with the movie theater business.  Come up with a sound business plan and determine if the movie theater for sale has growth potential.  Often a movie theater is not doing well because it is not being operated correctly to maximize growth potential and profit earnings.