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Answerman - How Are Theaters For Theatrical Releases Decided?

I have seen the occasional thing at the local Landmark (Shin Godzilla was shown there, and the Kanberi of the Iron Fortress compilation movie screening was there. I didn't go see Kanberi, but Your Name was showing at exactly the same time at the Cineplex. Sorry, but Your Name won out.) but they're actually open for more than six hours a day, so they can probably afford to deal with that. I know Shin Godzilla was completely packed.

In the past, you mentioned Japan has more of rental based culture for home videos than a buyer one, which is why most anime DVDs are so expensive and target a small, hardcore niche of collectors. As such, I wondered what effect, if any, Netflix would have on the anime industry if/when it moves into that territory? I imagine anime would be a significant part of its roster of content to be competitive with local video streaming sites like Niconico.

When it comes to bigger chains like AMC or Regal, the theater owners will decide if the film is a good fit for a specific location based on a) how many auditoriums are being taken up by big Hollywood blockbusters on a given weekend, b) the socioeconomic and ethnic makeup of a specific location -- WASPy areas in the Midwest are less likely to support "foreign" content than larger cities with a more diverse, and frankly, Asian population. Like the smaller Mom 'n' Pop theaters, they'll also take into account how well anime bookings have done in the past, although the personal interest level of that theater's staff is not a factor, since the big chains don't do much grass-roots advertising.

......... Wait, didn't I send this question in a long time ago? Wasn't it already answered? Did you repost an old article or something? Am I having a bad case of deja vu? Or am I just crazy?

Yeah, it hasn't been too long since we've had this answered. You're not crazy.

Don't feel like the question was entirely answered either, which was more specifically asking why weird locations, like Windsor, or near me, in Winchester(literally the middle of nowhere, look it up on a map. It's two hours from DC, and that is the only population center nearby, which already has its own showings of pretty much everything), get theatrical showings while places like Indianapolis or Chicago don't.

I really do try not to be offended by silly things, but calling the Midwest WASP-y was pretty snarky and not that accurate, either.

Just because we're not on a coast doesn't mean you can insult us.

How well an anime title does SIGNIFICANTLY plays into a theater's decisions to book more of them, so by all means -- turn out to support anime in theaters if you want that to continue.

I don't think that Windsor is that weird. "That city across from Detroit" seems like a good location in that you can get people from the Detroit area without actually having it be in Detroit itself. Actually after looking it up on a map, it becomes even more apparent. When one says it is across from Detroit, it is right across from Detroit. Like you would only need to cross one bridge from downtown Detroit, and you're there. To me it seems weird that they wouldn't have locations there.