Running a Modern Cinema on Old Software
When my friends and I set out to save our hometown movie theater, I thought the hardest part would be convincing Hollywood to give us movies. I was wrong. The real challenge wasn’t studio executives—it was the outdated technology running the theater. I quickly realized the entire movie industry had been neglected from a software perspective. Table of Contents A System Built for the Past A New Set of Rules From Our Problem to Our Platform Conclusion A System Built for the Past Cinema software is the heart of operations, managing tickets, concessions, scheduling, and customer relationships. Yet most systems were built decades ago. Switching providers felt like a heart transplant—we were stuck with what we had. We wrestled with six or seven different systems that didn’t communicate. Schedules were made in spreadsheets, then painstakingly re-entered into clunky tools. Hours were wasted on software instead of creating memorable guest experiences. A New Set of Rules Ther...