Cost model: Multiplex cinemas

Introducing the multiplex boom

Multiplex cinemas typically feature 10-20 screens on a single level, each with 200-300 seats in an auditorium. Large-scale multiplexes with more than 30 screens have been developed in some out-of-town locations, and schemes with six or more screens are also common in town centres.

Multiplexes have to compete with a range of leisure venues, as well as with smaller cinemas and the attractions of home video. A major element of the success of the multiplex concept has been improvement in the quality of service, not only in terms of choice of films and sound and projection technology used, but also as regards the quality of facilities and environment within the complex itself.

Multiplex cinemas are rarely as simple as they look. Behind the often bland facade, issues such as acoustic design, means of escape and the co-ordination of structure and services need careful planning.

One of the operational benefits of the multiplex is the ability to simultaneously project a single film in several auditoria via interlinked equipment in a single projection room. This enables multiplex operators to balance a need for to accommodate high short-term demand for blockbusters as well as the year-round requirement to show the broad choice of films needed to attract a large audience. Sharing a projection room also helps to reduce staff costs.

The large audience throughput of a multiplex cinema generates a critical mass to support a significant capital and revenue investment in concessions and other front-of-house facilities. To make best use of development costs, decorative finishes to the auditoria are usually kept very basic so that resources are focused on front-of-house areas.

Demand for cinema development

Since the UK’s first multiplex opened in 1985, about 1900 screens have been opened in 190 developments across the UK. The introduction of multiplexes into the UK market has, according to Dodona Research, resulted in a substantial increase in cinema attendances since 1990. By 1998, they had risen more than 20% to 135.5 million, a level equating to 52 500 admissions per screen a year.

The opening of 600 screens during 1999 and 2000 is expected to lead to over-capacity in some local markets. However, operators are continuing to develop, with European and US companies aiming to break into the UK market while more established names pursue diversification strategies, developing new cinema brands in new locations. Examples of diversification strategies include the introduction of VIP screens with dedicated bar and catering facilities and the entry of multiplex operators into the art cinema market.

Two powerful incentives for continuing investment are the UK’s relatively low levels of cinema attendance, compared with Europe and the USA, and long-term forecasts of steady growth in audience numbers. In the UK, the average person visits the cinema 2.5 times a year, compared with 3.5-4 visits a year in continental Europe and 5 in the USA. Compared with Europe, the UK is “underscreened” and in the short term, new sites will continue to be opened, although the rate of growth will slow to about 5% a year following the rapid expansion of the late 1990s.

Recent investment in cinema development has, however, not only come from the major operators. The independent cinema sector has also seen increased investment in new screens and refurbishment, partly supported by lottery funding. Lottery funding has also contributed to the development of wraparound Imax-format cinemas, often linked to museum developments such as the Wellcome wing to the Science Museum, or Wildscreen World, part of the @Bristol development.

Out-of-town and town-centre development

Most multiplexes completed so far have been located on large edge-of-town sites, often alongside mixed leisure schemes featuring bowling, nightclubs, restaurants and so on. Cinemas have also become an integral part of most recent shopping centre projects. Multiplexes have been particularly successful in attracting the public into the “dead areas” of shopping centres such as upper levels or the dead-ends of malls. Multiplexes have been used to anchor and re-image unsuccessful shopping centres as part of refurbishment schemes.

The co-location of cinema and shopping centre is mutually beneficial, with research showing that multiplexes contribute to an increase in footfall and sales. For example, three-quarters of the cinema audience will use other amenities such as bars and restaurants before their cinema visit. Parking is always a concern to shopping centre managers. However, since most cinema visits take place in the evening, the integration of cinemas into shopping centres does not have a significant effect on parking requirements.

Government planning policies PPG6 and PPG13, aimed at controlling out-of-town development and reducing car use, have directed opportunities for cinema development back into urban locations, where development issues are more complex than for out-of-town sites. An urban multiplex will typically be the anchor tenant to a mixed retail/leisure scheme. The development of in-town multiplexes is more challenging to investors and operators for the following reasons:

• Construction cost: Urban developments typically cost 20% more than out-of-town schemes because of the costs of multistorey development, the need to provide a higher quality external envelope, and issues related to mixed-use development and means of escape. External envelope costs are disproportionally high because of the extreme height of the auditoria. Other issues such as the higher noise levels found in urban locations, the need to provide dedicated service yards on tight sites and the difficulties of co-ordinating the services of the various tenants also contribute to higher costs.
• Development efficiency: The efficiency of urban schemes’ layout is reduced by the more complex circulation and escape routes that will generally be required on an irregular site or on multistorey developments, together with the shared service distribution requirements for other tenants.
• Mixed use: The multiplex may share a development with other retail uses, which will require additional expenditure on the acoustic insulation of party walls and upper floors. Sharing a development with other retailers may also mean that the multiplex operator does not have a dedicated “front door”, which could potentially reduce the attraction.
• Transport: Access to readily available public transport or car parking. As a result of these factors, the additional development costs could mean that urban development is not viable. It is, therefore, particularly important that in-town multiplexes are carefully designed to maximise development efficiency, without adversely affecting the quality of the foyer spaces or the layout of other tenants’ units.
• Key design issues: The most important design issue in cinemas is acoustics. Cinemas are densely populated public buildings, so means of escape and licensing also require detailed attention.

Acoustics

The capabilities of modern digital sound systems create significant problems for acoustic designers. Digital sound systems cover the full range of audible frequencies and can have a very wide dynamic range, with sound levels up to 105 dBA. The principal problem for cinema design is the transmission of low-frequency sound between auditoria. Acoustic engineers also need to deal with the control of noise breakout from the cinema shell to neighbouring areas, the effects of external noise sources, and the control of the acoustic within the auditoria themselves.

Acoustic issues become more acute in urban developments, where background noise levels are higher and neighbouring buildings may be in close proximity. A cinema may also share a shell development with incompatible uses that could require very low levels of background noise, such as restaurants or bookshops, or that could be a source of additional background noise, such as nightclubs.

Typical approaches to the control of cinema ac

• oustics are as follows:
• Avoiding auditorium cross-talk: Auditoria are designed on a “box within a box” principle to minimise routes for sound transmission. Although operators provide further insulation as part of their fit-out, the developer’s work should meet all the attenuation requirements to achieve the expected design conditions.
• Frame members are located within acoustically isolated partition cavities, together with isolating materials such as acoustic pads.
• The roof structure is isolated by an acoustic barrier and by physical separation of beams, purlins and roof sheets. A heavy roof structure used next to roof-mounted plant will help to minimise transmission of vibration.
• Floor construction involves placing isolating break joints between adjacent auditoria floor slabs and seating risers, together with isolating pads beneath all raised seating units. For multistorey developments, where auditoria are stacked on top of one another, an acoustic double-floor slab construction is used, with a layer of insulation between two floor slabs.
• Party wall design is particularly complicated because of the range of potential adjoining uses. Corridors and ancillary spaces, for example, typically require a noise reduction level of NC35, compared with NC30 for the auditorium itself. All operators have their preferred partition details, which feature either combinations of plasterboard and plank board, or dense blockwork. Blockwork densities of 400 kg/m² are required to achieve the specified levels of acoustic performance, so lighter dry-wall construction based on studwork is often preferred in order to reduce floor loadings. Dry-wall partitions are typically 450-500 mm wide, arranged on either side of an insulated break joint. Where an enhanced digital sound system is being used, partition thickness will increase by the equivalent of one or two layers of plasterboard on each side to provide additional insulation. No penetrations for either services or structure should be permitted through party walls.
• A two-layer ceiling system is commonly specified, with a dense multilayer plasterboard and mineral-fibre construction being supplemented by a decorative acoustic tile. The principal acoustic barrier is typically suspended directly from the roof structure.
• The key issues associated with the building services installation are the location of plant to minimise vibration, the design of the ventilation distribution system to avoid cross-talk between auditoria, and the detailing of services containment to ensure physical separation between the auditoria and the rest of the shell.
• Controlling noise breakout through external walls: High-density blockwork as a backing wall to cladding is typically specified in conjunction with high-specification acoustic doors to fire escape exits.
• Auditorium acoustics: Cinemas need a crisp, dry acoustic to ensure speech clarity. The final auditorium fit-out will include additional acoustic insulation to perimeter walls, typically formed using fabric-covered mineral wool, to provide this acoustic. Some hard surfaces are required to give some sound reflectance within an auditoria. This is typically achieved by exposing sections of plasterboard partition and through the use of hard floor finishes such as vinyl tile.

Auditorium dimensions and sight lines

After acoustics, clear sight lines are the most important issue to cinema-goers. Many larger auditoria ensure unobstructed sight lines by means of “stadium seating”: rows of high-backed chairs set on tiers 450 mm higher than the row in front. Operators claim that use of stadium seating increases concentration on a film, as people are less aware of the surrounding audience. One consequence of the use of stadium seating is the increased height of an auditorium, typically 9-10 m for an average 250-seat cinema, together with the need for an additional acoustically damped steel-framed structure to support the rear tiers.

Prov

• iding ventilation to steeply raked auditoria also presents a problem as it is difficult to supply air consistently throughout an auditorium using a conventional displacement system, supplying air from the front of the auditorium. Builder’s work associated with below-floor displacement systems is too expensive, so high-level distribution is often specified.

Building services

Multiplex developments typically feature comfort cooling. Despite being densely occupied buildings, cooling loads for cinema auditoria are not very large. Multiplexes have a low window-to-wall ratio and, as a result, fabric-cooling loads are limited. Similarly, the lighting loads in auditoria are also very low. Since 75% of visits are made during the evenings, ventilation systems can be designed to take advantage of fresh night-time air. The main source of cooling load is therefore from the audience itself, and since occupancy levels in foyer spaces are particularly variable, the ventilation and cooling system should be designed to quickly respond to changes in occupancy and temperature. Heating systems are also simple, with gas-fired air-handling units being commonly specified.

The key issues that need to be addressed in connection with the services installation are:

• Acoustic issues relating to location of plant, distribution method and treatment of penetrations through partitions
• Co-ordination and sequencing of the landlord’s installation with the operator’s fit-out requirements
• Dedicated ventilation requirements of specialist equipment such as projectors
• Services distribution routes for other tenants.

Means of escape

In multistorey developments in urban locations, complex escape routes will take up a significant proportion of lettable floor space, increasing construction cost and reducing rental income. The overall space taken up by fire-escape stairs can be reduced by adopting a phased evacuation strategy, using a two-stage fire-alarm system with voice evacuation.

Foyers and concession areas

Retail and refreshment concessions generate about 25% of the revenue of a multiplex and a very high proportion of the profit. Foyer areas are also where an operator’s brand and service quality can be most effectively projected to the audience. Operators will therefore focus a high proportion of fit-out expenditure on the foyer area.

As with all retail-based schemes, the shell layout should aim to place concession units in highly visible locations, passed by the audience as they enter and exit the auditoria. Concessions will typically be to an operator’s design and will not be part of the main shell and fit-out scope of works. The layout of the foyer and routes to the auditoria will also determine the number of staff required to supervise cinema entrances. Multistorey developments, for example, require more circulation space and higher staffing levels.

Licensing authorities

Local regulations affecting cinema design will determine requirements for facilities for disabled people, the distribution of fire-escape exits and seating arrangements. Early liaison is essential to ensure that the operator’s requirements are acceptable to the licensing authorities.

Procurement

The client for multiplex schemes is generally a commercial developer, providing the shell and initial fit-out works on behalf of a cinema operator, in accordance with the operator’s detailed requirements.

The operator’s fixtures, fittings and equipment installation will typically be managed by the operator under a direct contract. It is essential to clearly define the scope of fit-out and fixtures, fittings and equipment work, so that the extent of the developer’s and main contractor’s responsibilities are clearly understood. Defining the appropriate split between the developer’s and the operator’s work is particularly important in connection with items that may impact on the acoustic performance of the building. It is good practice, for example, to include the construction of the auditoria partitions and acoustic ceilings within the main contract works.

Key issues that need to be addressed as part of the procurement route are:

• Cost certainty for the developer
• Programme certainty for developer and operator
• Installation quality
• Phased possession to enable the operator to begin fit-out before the handover of the building shell
• Co-ordination and sequencing of shell, fit-out and fittings, furnishings and equipment works to minimise programme duration
• Co-ordination with other tenants.

Design and build has been widely adopted as a procurement route for stand-alone multiplex cinemas. The employer’s requirements documentation produced by most operators is a sound basis for this approach, as the performance criteria related to acoustic performance and auditorium layout and construction are clearly described. In urban locations, where planning issues related to building massing and other design matters may cause problems, the adoption of a develop-and-construct approach based on an architect’s scheme design will provide the optimum combination of design quality and single-point responsibility.

Cost breakdown

The cost breakdown is for a two-storey mixed-use development, anchored by a multiplex cinema. The gross internal floor area of the development is 7950 m², of which 3900 m² is occupied by the cinema tenant.

The cinema occupies the entire first floor of the development and includes mezzanine accommodation for projection rooms and administration space. The ground floor of the development consists of unfinished retail shells and escape routes from the cinema complex. The breakdown separates the costs of the shell and fit-out construction.

• Demolition, external works and services, and the operator’s supplies and equipment (including seats, projection equipment and concessions fit-out) are excluded from the cost breakdown. Professional and statutory fees and VAT are also excluded. Costs are current in April 2000, based on an outer London location.
• The pricing level assumes competitive procurement on the basis of a design-and-build contract. Adjustment should be made to the rates detailed in the model to account for variations in phasing, specification, site conditions, procurement route, programme and market conditions.