The Marcus Corporation, the parent company of Marcus Theatres, reported its 2008 first quarter figures, which are looking good on the strength of a strong start to the box office summer. Total revenue was up over 20 per cent and operating profit was 11 per cent. The figures were even better for the cinema part of the company, with Marcus Theatres reporting a 24.6 per cent increase in revenues and a 25.5 per cent increase in operating income, with a fair chunk of the growth coming from the acquisition of Cinema Entertainment Corporation (CEC).

Being known for dinner theatre Marcus Theatres is forward looking in expanding the horizons of the cinema going experience:

The AT&T Palladium, our cabaret-style auditorium with tableside food and beverage service, has been well received for movies as well as comedy and magic shows, and most recently, for big-screen showings of Green Bay football games, which will extend throughout the season,” said Marcus.

“Broadcasting live events from football to opera is part of our strategy to expand our audience base by providing alternate programming when our theatres are not busy showing first-run movies. As part of this initiative, we recently signed an agreement with National CineMedia for the presentation of live and pre-recorded in-theatre events including sports, music and other events at 21 of our theatre locations,” he added.

“We also are continuing to do further research for digital cinema and will conduct additional tests at selected theatres over the next six months, including the newest version of the highly anticipated digital 3D technology,” Marcus added.

Let’s see how much that contributes to the bottom line once they get serious about digital.