Several so-called Art Houses that have traditionally played independent and foreign films are responding to the economic crisis in an extraordinarily short-sighted and bizarre manner. They are playing Hollywood movies on their screens.
One example, The Quad, here in NYC, just announced that it will open The Women and The Dark Knight on two of its screens. By playing films that audiences could have easily seen on virtually every other screen in town (not to mention all across the country), Art Houses are not only ignoring their base (i.e. intelligent adult viewers who crave something deeper) but they are making a huge strategic mistake. The reason we care to support venues like the Quad is precisely because they offer something we cannot find elsewhere.
Show them how misguided this is by following this simple golden rule. Only go to see big budget Hollywood movies on the screens of major theatre chains such as Clearview, AMC, Regal, United Artists etc.
The future of independent cinema depends upon it. Never drop your dollars on a Hollywood movie when it's playing at a so-called Art House such as the Cinema Village, the IFC or the Quad. That way, maybe, they'll get the message: the key to their success lies not in aping the large chain theatres but rather in offering something unique.
