(image courtesy of panoramio.com)
The Odeon Cineplex in Mandeville, Manchester, once owned and
managed by the Palace amusement Co., is defunct having closed September 2, 2014. I had several experiences with that now
defunct establishment because I travel to Manchester quite often. In Manchester the cool town of Mandeville is
the most prominent. It has a university in the form of NCU (Northern Caribbean
University), a strong real estate sector as it is a destination where many
people (local and foreign) choose to settle, a vibrant commercial and retail sector and the town once benefitted significantly
from the operations of the bauxite companies such as Windalco, Alpart and Jamalco. Bauxite operations in
Manchester are now closed for the time being since 2009 following the global
economic recession in 2008. There has been news that Alpart is slowly resuming operations as there
was a reported shipment of bauxite ore
in September 2015 from Port Kaiser in the parish of St. Elizabeth. The end of
operations by the bauxite companies significantly affected the earning capacity
of many individuals in the town of Mandeville that depended on the investment
made by these companies in the exploring, mining and processing of bauxite and
alumina ore. The establishment of the Odeon Cinema in Mandeville from the 1950s
also coincided with the increased bauxite production in Manchester that began
during the same period. The Odeon cinema closed in 1998 and was reopened in
2003 with the name Odeon Cineplex under the management of the Palace Amusement
Co. which was responsible for subsidizing its operations. (Info on Odeon courtesy of reports in The Jamaica Observer
August 31 &22, 2014 and June 14, 2012).
Well after 11 years of operations the Odeon Cineplex is now
defunct. There are several reasons as to
why this is. From 2012 the management of Odeon Cineplex, according to a report in The Jamaica Observer, were bemoaning
that the increase in DVD piracy was beginning to significantly affect its
operations. I already discussed illegal DVDs in my previous post when it comes
to the Jamaican cinematic experience and it is clear that this could not be the
only reason. The Odeon Cineplex had 2 movie screens each capable of seating up to 400 people. They assumed that
with the rise of DVD sales they were no longer able to fill the seats but what about the
other side of the coin. Movie prices in
Jamaica have increased particularly as a lot of films are in 3D and you don’t
really have a choice because of the limited capacity of the cinema houses. The
increase in movie prices means that a lot of average citizens started to settle
for the 2 for 1 special (I discussed this earlier). The other nights would be
attractive only if a massive blockbuster film was being screened. The increase
in movie prices coupled with the closure of bauxite operations did more to
affect Odeon Cineplex than DVD piracy although it’s not clear from the report
in The Jamaica Observer how they measured the increase in ILLEGAL DVD SALES
apart from some prosecutions. The managing director of Palace Amusement Co. , Douglas
Graham, acknowledged the effects of the closure of the bauxite industry
alongside DVD piracy but did not mention the steady increase in movie prices
that made a lot of people incapable or uncomfortable spending that kind of
money to watch a movie. As Palace Amusement Co. releases films mostly in 3D the
cost for an adult is now JM$ 1350. With a
seating capacity of 400 seats for each movie screen the Odeon Cineplex could
not compete with illegal DVD sales and a parish reeling from the effects of the
global economic recession. It is also
very clear that the movies they offered at one time were quite limited or 2 at
a time. With DVD piracy Palace Amusement was competing with films that were
never even released in Jamaica. Graham said that it was ‘something of a mystery’ why Odeon could not
attract enough people as it was located in the supposed centre of the town on Caledonia road. It was a mystery although he
previously stated that it was due to the effects of the closure of the bauxite
industry and the increase in DVD piracy. Strange much.
The reality is that the increase in DVD piracy is a
reflection of the state of the Jamaican economy which has a low per capita
income. Graham was bemoaning the decline in the midst of a general downturn in
the economy. The economy was not growing and with the closure of the bauxite
industries one could not expect Mandeville to cope as well. People love to go
to the movies regardless of DVD piracy but they have to feel that it’s worth
the cost. Most people would prefer to
watch it on the big screen than on the roadside or in their living rooms unless
they have a major private entertainment centre. It makes you wonder how Palace
Amusement will compete once more films are released through Netflix before they
go to DVD. Netflix has already started and one expects that more films will be
released through it in the coming years. It’s good business for film studios. Regardless
of private entertainment issues the Palace Amusement Co. just could not compete
with the downturn in the Jamaican economy. It missed the boat in terms of improving
its product offerings in order to attract people especially the young. The closure
of Odeon Cineplex was hardly talked about in the streets only the activity when
they were pulling the place apart. No one in Mandeville misses it at the
moment. It did not establish itself as a force to attract people from all
around. Instead of bemoaning increased
DVD piracy they could have done more to
fill the 400 seat capacity for both movie screens. As I mentioned before they
have some rigid ideals when it comes to pricing. They are not very flexible
apart from the 2 for 1 special which, in my opinion, should be available at
least 4 times a week. Palace Amusement
Co. is a retail company for an industrial product in a poor agrarian economy. You have to be really
up there with your marketing.
The main issue is how to convince the populace that watching
movies with you are better than the cheaper alternative. They should have gone all out to promote their
product. They probably should have made 3D a special screening event instead of
the basis for increasing revenue. Just saying that apart from the 2 for 1 there
are other things they could have done to attract people. Palace amusement Co.
does not even have a televised advertisement on local television. They don’t
even have posters throughout the towns in which they operate. They just assume
that by setting up a movie house then people will come in droves. This is not
the 20th century. Instead, in
regard to Odeon, they bemoaned the increase in DVD piracy and wondered at the
mystery of their inability to attract despite placing themselves in the
supposed centre of town. Most people that come from the surrounding rural
communities to Mandeville do not shop in that area on Caledonia road. They go
to the public hospital instead. The upper
and higher income groups do a lot of spending in that area not the lower income
groups. So how big a statement was Odeon making when it placed itself in what
was considered a central location in the town. Did they want to attract the
well to do and not the people with lower incomes? For a lot of people in the
rural districts of Manchester Mandeville is 30-40 minutes away. Can you say
taxi fare$ which also increased over the same period when Graham was bemoaning
the effects of DVD piracy. The lower
income groups rely more on DVD piracy than the well to do. Another main issue
is that instead of jumbling everyone into a perfect whole the management of Palace Amusement Co. should have acknowledged the class
distinctions. What was the management of Odeon doing to attract the lower
income groups that became more reliant on DVD piracy? Doesn’t seem like they
were doing much. And why weren’t the
upper and middle income groups supporting the product with such enthusiasm
since Odeon was located in the supposed
centre of Mandeville? I am sure they could afford to support it. Just saying
that it’s ‘something of a mystery’.
Well my experience with Odeon is quite limited. The first
film I watched there was Batman Begins (2005)
and the last film I watched at Odeon was Man
of Steel (2013). In terms of the interior design it was not very good when
compared with other cinemas in Kingston which are also under the management of
Palace Amusement Co. It had a very dry look, bright lights (100 watt bulbs) highlighting the walls painted gray. It looked like a
rudimentary set up. ‘Just watch the movie on the big screen and go home,’ they
seemed to be saying with that look. Oh the burden of private enterprise. The
last time I went there the equipment kept malfunctioning causing several delays
while watching the film. They also took forever to start. Much worse in that
regard when compared with those in Kingston. It seemed like they were waiting
for more people to arrive so they wouldn’t miss the start of the movie. I had
to go and ask why it was taking so long to start and I consider myself to be
fairly patient. Their response was the typical Jamaican ‘Soon come’. It means that not much was happening for them
at the time.
One thing that does standout in my experience was the moment
I saw a movie reel in a metallic case at
the back of a country bus I was travelling in that was going to Mandeville. I don’t
remember the title but it was an animated film.
I overheard the driver saying that he was delivering it to Mandeville. I know nothing of the arrangement and to this
day it remains ‘something of a mystery’. It makes you wonder if this was a
regular practice for transferring movie reels from Kingston to Mandeville. Was
Odeon really that underfunded that they hired bus drivers to transport movie
reels? Was it a hint of corruption? How did Palace Amusement Co. account for
this movie reel in the back of country bus? I found it amazing and amusing and it
fit well with the destitute look of Odeon. ‘Just watch the movie on the big
screen and go home.'
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