THEATRES ARE DOING WELL IN CAPE; CITY HOME TO 10 SCRENES

Americans have a love affair with movies, and Cape Girardeans are not exceptions.

The city of 35,000 boasts 10 movie screens, spread among three theaters. On any given day in Cape Girardeau, showtime occurs about 30 times.

But Friday and Saturday nights are still the big movie nights in Cape Girardeau and around the country, theater operators say.

The West Park 4 Cine has four screens, and sometimes even that is not enough.

"There are a lot of times throughout the year where we could use more screens," said Kevin Dillon, the theater's general manager.

All those movie screens in Cape Girardeau simply reflect the fact that people like to go to the movies, theater operators say.

"I think a lot of it is the experience," said Stephanie Capehart, manager of the five-screen Town Plaza Cinema. "It can be a family experience or a dating experience. It is somewhere to go and sit back and have a good time."

Town Plaza Cinema and the one-screen Broadway Theatre are owned by Kerasotes Theatres Inc., based in Springfield, Ill. The company operates 96 theaters in the four-state region of Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Iowa.

West Park Cine is owned by Wehrenberg Theatres Inc., based in St. Louis. The company has 151 screens in Missouri, Illinois and Arizona.

"This is the oldest family-owned theater change in America," said Dillon. The theater chain was founded in 1906 and has been in the same family ever since.

John Miller, Kerasotes' general manager, says the movie theater business has changed a lot over the years. The biggest change in the past two decades has been in the number of screens. "It has gone from singles and twins to mostly multiplexes," he said.

"We are in the process of starting our first 12-plex up in Chicago," he noted.

There is an advantage to having multiple screens at a movie theater. "People tend to like going where there is a choice. And we can operate very efficiently by having one operation, one concession stand, one box office," said Miller.

Today, new movies play in the nation's cinemas for about six months. After that, they come out on video.

Movies that have already gone through a first run in Cape Girardeau are often shown again at Kerasotes' Broadway Theatre. The theater shows second-run movies for $1.

"We have a lot of theaters that are second-run like the Broadway. A lot of our larger towns have second-run theaters," said Miller.

The Broadway, which seats about 500, has been owned by Kerasotes since 1969. It closed in 1984 and was subsequently used by a church group for a while. It reopened in March 1992.

Constructed in 1921, the Broadway originally featured vaudeville shows and silent movies.

Miller said that with its $1 charge, the Broadway appeals to families. And moviegoers will take a chance on a $1 show.

Movies in Cape Girardeau cost between $3, for a rush-hour show, to $5 or $5.25 for adults at an evening show, depending on the theater.

Many customers are frequent moviegoers. "We consider a frequent moviegoer as somebody who goes to the movies six to 12 times a year," said Miller.

"When they make a lot of good movies in a year, we do better," he said.

All that popcorn, candy and soda helps the bottom line too. "It all contributes," said Miller. "We make money when lots of people come to the show."

The video rental business hasn't hurt the theaters, cinema operators say.

"I think the video business has actually helped us a little bit," said Miller. People rent videos and then they want to see the sequel at the show, he explained.

Dillon said the video business actually benefits too. "A lot of times people will come out and watch a movie on the big screen and they will enjoy it so much that they want to watch it again and again."

The West Park Mall cinema does a number of things to get people to the theater. It has a senior citizens series where elderly residents can watch a movie for free on the first Wednesday of each month.

"We actually rent out the theater for church groups. We have a church that meets here on Sunday mornings. During the summer, we have children's movies that we bring in special," said Dillon.