It wasn’t until the ’90s that you started expanding outside of Wisconsin into other states. Can you talk about your plans here, especially at the West End Cinema?
We will apply the same things that we do at our other theaters … so our Magical Movie Rewards program, we’ve got our $6 Tuesday — our Discount Tuesday, we call it, with the free popcorn — now we have a new program, $7 matinees seven days a week for seniors and kids. We want to encourage families to go back to the movies and to make it an affordable experience for everybody.
How have you expanded your restaurants and lodging in the Twin Cities?
We recently picked up what was the Loews [Hotel] and we re-christened it the Lofton, right across from the Target Center. That’s our most recent acquisition; it’s our third hotel property. We used to run the Crowne Plaza — that’s not there anymore — downtown. We run the Hilton out in Bloomington, and then we just picked [the Lofton] up. And you know, look: We believe in Minneapolis. We think Minneapolis is a great city. And it’s an important city. And it’s had its challenges. But I believe at the end of the day that Minneapolis is going to succeed, and that’s why we’re making investments that we’re making there.
It’s been a hard time for the hospitality industry and especially for the movie industry. Does this moment feel uniquely challenging?
When my grandfather started, TV came on the scene. So, yeah, there have been tumultuous times in the history of the company. This has been a pretty tumultuous time. But at the end of the day, you know what? People want to be together, people want to go out, they want to be with other humans. And that’s what our company’s based on: people being together. There is inertia — you sort of go get people off the couch. But in the end, you know, I think what we see right now, we’re at a period where there’s so many movies to see, people are going out.
Marcus Theatres is the fourth-largest theater company in the United States with all the amenities you would expect. But the family aspect of the business is also front and center in the promos. Tell me about why it’s important to be visible to audiences — and even be a little goofy — and what you want them to take away from that.
No one’s coming to see me. They’re coming to see a movie — they’re coming to see “Inside Out 2,” or they’re coming for “Deadpool,” or they’re coming for “Alien” — but when they come to those movies, historically, well, what’s Marcus? Nobody even would know what Marcus means — it’s just a building to a lot of people. And so when I get in front of it, I humanize that experience a little bit and it feels like I’m part of somebody’s community. … And now kids have grown up with me, which is really interesting.
You’re like another character.
I am. People come up to me — last night, a woman came up to me and she said, “You know what? I grew up with you.” And I was like, “Oh, my God.”
What was the last movie you saw?
The last movie I saw was “Fly Me to the Moon.” I like a good rom-com, you know what I mean? It’s not going to win an Oscar, but not every movie has to win an Oscar. What I don’t like is this whole thing about, “Well, I only go to the theaters for event movies.” Why? Don’t you want to laugh with a bunch of people? Or to cry with a bunch of people, or to be scared with a bunch of people? … The idea of going to a movie and spending a couple hours and having a laugh and enjoying the characters and the actors — I liked it. It was fun.
