The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Filling the seats in state cinemas
Major renovations allow Bow Tie theaters to join trend toward higherend seating amenities
STAMFORD — Bow Tie Cinemas is aiming to fill the house at its newly renovated downtown theater at 118 Summer St. — one that looks much different than it did a few months ago.
As it finishes up the refurbishment of the Majestic 6 movie house this month, Bow Tie has significantly trimmed the multiplex’s capacity to install larger seats, which complement a new fullservice bar in the lobby. Those improvements, along with concurrent upgrades at Bow Tie’s neighboring Landmark 9 theater, show how the Ridgefieldbased company is adapting to shifting customer preferences and evergrowing viewing options, as it tries to help boost an industry grappling with stagnating attendance.
“As times go on, guests’ tastes and expectations change, and we have to keep up,” said Joe Masher, Bow Tie’s chief operating officer. “The bar has been raised, but we think the accommodations and amenities we are offering now responds to what guests expect and want from their moviegoing experience.”
Major improvements
Bow Tie launched the overhaul at Majestic 6, which opened in 1996, after making similar refurbishments in the past couple of years at its two theaters in Norwalk and one in Trumbull.
Among the renovations during the past nine months at Majestic 6 in Stamford, Bow Tie reduced the property’s total seating capacity by more than 50 percent, or about 600 seats, to accommodate larger, leather seats that recline and come equipped with trays. Several hundred seats remain.
At the same time, Bow Tie has installed a fullservice bar in Majestic 6’s lobby. It represents the first amenity of its kind at the company’s 10 Connecticut theaters.
The bar features a new “Ultimate” menu with items including pizza, macaroni and cheese, Philly cheese steaks, nachos, french fries, pretzels and a number of chicken dishes.
Food and beverages can be ordered and carried in from the bar or concession stand, or delivered to seats. Bow Tie’s new app offers another ordering option.
“Guests can come here and have dinner and drinks, as opposed to going out to dinner,” said Dominick Giordano, Majestic 6’s general manager. “They can come and have a whole night here.”
With the expanded dining setup, Bow Tie officials say they can surpass the old setups’ perpatron revenues by generating more spending on food and beverages and encouraging more repeat visits to the theater.
“Your occupancy (rate) goes up by doubledigits and skyrockets; people really like the experience,” Masher said. “We’re finding people are now coming to the movies more often. Maybe they would come three to four times a year, now they’re coming nine to 10 times a year because they like the experience better.”
Other renovations at Majestic include the installation of a screen more than 60 feet wide in a Bow Tie Extreme “BTX” room outfitted with a Dolby Atmos surroundsound system that has 13 audio channels.
Bow Tie has also laid new carpeting throughout the building, renovated restrooms and built a “party room” for private functions.
The upgrades seem to be a hit for Greenwich resident Diane Gomez, who had taken to frequenting the AMC theater in Port Chester, N.Y.
“We hadn’t been here in years,” said Gomez, who opted for the Stamford theater to see “The Irishman” on Wednesday afternoon. “It was great. The seats are super comfortable.”
More renovations — and construction
A couple of blocks east, similar renovations are also underway at Bow Tie’s Landmark 9 theater at 5 Landmark Square, next to Stamford Town Center mall. Landmark 9 opened as a twoscreen cinema in 1970.
Scheduled to be completed by next fall, the building work there will include the construction of a 10th screen and the installation of a fullservice bar.
Bow Tie officials declined to give an exact number for the project costs at the Stamford theaters, but said they total “in the tens of millions (of dollars) combined.”
As they upgrade those properties, Bow Tie is hiring more people. After the renovations, Majestic 6 would employ about 40, while Landmark 9’s staff would total about 50.
“The movie theaters are very important to the economic viability of the downtown,” said Sandy Goldstein, president of the Stamford Downtown Special District, which focuses on economic and community development. “People go to the movies and have dinner, or they go to the movies and go shopping. And this is a great market, with millennials, people who are retired and others who have have disposable incomes and time to go to the movies.”
In Greenwich, Bow Tie and the Ashforth Co. plan to build a new complex above an existing parking lot on Railroad Avenue — yards from Bow Tie’s existing Criterion Cinemas at Greenwich Plaza.
Depending on when it gains planning and zoning approvals, the new Greenwich theater could open by late 2022, according to Masher. Its existing cinema there would continue to operate in the meantime.
In total, Bow Tie operates 35 theaters in total across Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
Next year, Bow Tie plans to upgrade properties in Maryland and Virginia and, likely, locations in New York as well.
Competing in a digital era
Bow Tie is refurbishing its southwestern Connecticut properties at a time of sluggish movie attendance.
The U.S. and Canada recorded a total of about 1.3 billion admissions last year, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. Masher is NATO’s treasurer.
The 2018 total improved by 5 percent on the 2017 tally. But last year’s admissions ranked as only the sixthhighest of the 2010s and trailed by 17 percent the record of nearly 1.6 billion set in 2002.
Bow Tie, which is privately held, declined to disclose attendance numbers for its theaters. At the same time, streaming options are proliferating.
Newcomers such as Apple TV+ and Disney+ have joined mainstays such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
Masher said he was unfazed by the trend, pointing to recent research indicating that those who stream frequently go to the movies at nearly twice the average of those who watch little to no streaming content.
He said the stagnant turnout reflects tampeddown enthusiasm for nonblockbuster releases.
“It’s an odd thing that you wouldn’t think true because you hear all kinds of stories about how streaming is hurting theaters. But I don’t believe that it is,” Masher said. “As long as Hollywood generates good product, we will survive and be strong.”