Pub film nights

Pubs are forever considering new ideas to boost business, particularly on drab weeknights. Phil Mellows finds film nights are an effective way to get to know your punters and boost trade.

Television might have brought an end to the golden age of cinema. But while we no longer go to the pictures every night, the fascination for films on the big screen seems unabated.

And this is where pubs come in.

In recent years, as the cost of projectors and screens have come down, and it has become easier to hire films, pubs and bars have begun to replace the local fleapit. People can sit down to watch a movie, often free of charge and before it has come out on DVD, in a relaxed atmosphere where they can also eat and drink. And, if you like, it can be fish and chips and a beer rather than popcorn and Kia-Ora.

For the pubs themselves, hosting a regular film club can liven up a quiet night in the week and help develop relationships with customers, as they get to know them better by finding out what they like to watch.

In the past couple of years especially, Filmbank Distributors, the main source in the UK for both hiring films and getting a licence to do so legally, has seen an upsurge in licensees signing up for the service, and some increasingly imaginative formats.

"All over the country, pubs and bars are trying to find different ways of doing things," says Rachelle Peterson, Filmbank's director of commercial sales. "Anything to attract customers and keep them in. Pubs have had to find something to do to keep customers happy, especially since the smoking ban, and we've seen the number of pubs hiring films from us go up each year.

"On a quiet night, they can host a film club and serve food and drink while people watch. It's the European style of watching films — and the only way to do it as far as I'm concerned."

Know your audience​

There are probably as many ways of hosting a film night as there are pubs. It's a question of knowing your audience and having a clear idea of the starring role that cinema could have in your business.

At London's Roxy Bar & Screen, winner of Entertainment Pub of the Year in this year's Great British Pub Awards, you can watch a film most nights of the week and the mini-cinema in the back room is integral to the business model.

The Ibex Inn at Chaddleworth, Berkshire, a finalist in the same awards category, uses its film club as part of its vital role in the com-munity. With no cinema in the village, it's the pub's film shows that bring the community together.

If you've got a decent-sized car park, and even better a white wall, why not screen a drive-in movie? Or a "drive-inn", if you want to take full advantage of the homophone.

Your choice of programme here starts to become important. To get the atmosphere right you want something distinctly American and perhaps a bit B-movie. Peterson recommends Swamp Thing.

Family film nights​

Family film nights are becoming increasingly popular. Toy Story 3 is currently one of Filmbank's most frequent bookings.

"If the kids are happy watching Harry Potter, the parents will stay," says Peterson. "And when you think of it, it's blooming expensive to take a family of four to the cinema. Pubs can offer a cheaper and better alternative."

Filmbank now makes new releases available before they've come out on DVD, so some pubs specialise in that.

"For most pubs, though, it's the classic old movies that draw the crowds," says Peterson. "Feel-good films like Mamma Mia! or Dirty Dancing are right if you want to target a female audience, or Casablanca for older customers.

"There's nothing like a blockbuster to draw the crowds. But pubs should experiment with different things and see what's right for them."

Many pubs are choosing Sunday as the best day of the week to draw back the curtains on the silver screen, and it's important to choose titles to suit the mood.

"People want to relax so we usually have a comedy, something light-hearted," says Sean Kirkley, assistant manager of Timothy Taylor managed house the Ferrands Arms in Bingley, West Yorkshire, where the projector and big screen the pub bought for last summer's World Cup has continued its usefulness.

Cult movies​

If it's a younger, student-oriented crowd you're after, cult movies are the thing. The Black Lion in Brighton, East Sussex, has kicked off a Monday night film club in its enclosed garden with a series of Coen brothers films.

"It's going really well," says assistant manager Will Crysell. "We offer table service so people don't have to get up to go to the bar, and it's been popular with groups of friends."

You can make sure the film is part of the whole pub experience by offering meal deals — a flick, a drink and some grub for a single ticket price.

Or you can go for a big-theme night with fancy dress based on the Rocky Horror Picture Show or Legally Blonde.

Peterson thinks pubs could get even more imaginative.

"You should look around you and think about what might work. There's a pub in Baker Street that shows Sherlock Holmes films, for instance. It really depends on your customer base and what you're trying to achieve. It's about finding your niche.

"I think it's brilliant that pubs are using films in so many different ways. It's not expensive by any means and it can generate a fantastic revenue stream."

Case study​

Many pubs are now adding film screenings to liven up a quiet night in the week, but for Philip Wood and Jonathan Breeze the luxury 100-seat cinema at the back of their bar in Borough High Street, south London, was always an integral part of the business model.

The Roxy Bar & Screen shows films four nights a week. Classics and cults on Sundays, recent releases Mondays and Tuesdays, and shorts and alternative movies Wednesdays. Over Christmas customers can watch a festive favourite as they tuck into their turkey, and every other Thursday buffs can test their knowledge at the film quiz.

It's a format that's worked from the day the bar opened in the summer of 2006, and it has now won the Roxy the title of Entertainment Pub of the Year at the 2010 Great British Pub Awards.

It has also been voted one of the top five cinemas in London by Time Out readers and was described as "probably the coolest cinema venue in London, if not the UK" by Urban Life magazine.

Wood was a cocktail barman and worked in film production, producing his own short features, before teaming up with colleague Breeze to take a new tack.

"The idea from the start was to open a venue where showing films is an integral part of the business," he says. "There were various similar ideas around, but to my mind they hadn't properly integrated the cinema into the bar and food operation.

"The model has been a real success. We made some early mistakes operationally, but we haven't really had to change it at all. It's adaptable and scalable and I think it could be applied in a lot of places."

Wood and Breeze started with an empty shell in the right location — close to offices to get the after-work audience, and near residential areas. Films are screened at the back of the bar, behind curtains, and there is a £3 cover charge to watch a picture from the cabaret-style seating where you can also eat and drink.

What also sets the Roxy apart from most other pub film nights is the investment in equipment. The projector, screen and surround sound cost about £35,000. The high-performance projector alone had a price tag of £17,000.

But it's making money and Wood and Breeze are steadily paying off their debts.

Major sports events are also screened, and a smaller high-definition system — costing a mere £5,000 — has recently been installed at the front of the venue to enable it to show clashing matches. The cinema is also available for private hire.

Most films come through Filmbank, but Wood often goes direct to smaller distributors to get the movie he wants. Programmes are advertised on the Roxy website and emailed to 4,500 customers who have signed up for the servic