In 1989, Paul Glantz was a young certified public accountant on the hunt for additional business opportunities when he andΜύa friend decided to purchase a movie theater in Clarkston.
The venue was small β just a single screen and 265 seats β but somehow, the pair landed on an industry list of the largest U.S. theater operators, albeit in 365th place.
βWe were tied,β Glantz laughs, βwith a lot of others.β
Thirty-three years later, Glantz is back on β but this time heβs at No. 9.
βI couldnβt have envisioned this when I started the company,β says the co- founder and chairman of Troy-based , which owns and operates 28 theaters across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota. βItβs gratifying to think that the hard work and teamwork thatβs gone into building this business has brought us to this point.β
Indeed, itβs quite a feat for a man who, until four years ago, considered owning a growing slate of luxury movie theaters his βavocationβ β a hobby to nurture on his off-hours as the chief financial officer of a local insurance business. Whyβd he keep his day job for so long?
βBeing an accountant, Iβm a little risk averse,β he says.
It looks like the risks are paying off, even amid unprecedented challenges for the film industryΜύβ everything from the proliferation of streaming services and online distribution to, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. Emagine has weathered them all, sliding into the Giants of Exhibitionβs top 10 with the addition of seven new locations in 2021 alone.
βWe had a pretty simple philosophy going through COVID,β says Emagine CEO Anthony LaVerde. βItβs the Warren Buffett adage: Be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy. We chose to be greedy.β
Still, Emagine didnβt escape the pandemic unscathed. First, there were the state-mandated shutdowns of movie theaters, which prompted Glantz to sue Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in June 2020. (He lost.) Then there were the other losses: $46 million between April 2020 and MarchΜύ2021, and most of Emagineβs workforce, which plummeted from about 1,100 people to 15.
βWe had to save every dollar we could,β says Glantz, who nonetheless covered health care costs for his laid-off employees. (All full-time employees are eligible for family health insurance, as well as other benefits and perks, such as free movie screenings.)
But thanks to some help from Emagineβs investors and Glantzβs relationships with various regional banks, the company raised enough capital to not only pay its bills but also facilitate growth.
Without that infusion, Glantz says, β[I] would not have the privilege of operating a business of this magnitude today.β
When it comes to knowing what moviegoers want, Glantz, who grew up in Redford Township and now lives in Lake Angelus, has always been somewhat of a visionary. He was quick to embrace what he calls βparadigm shiftsβ in the industry,Μύlike digital projection and stadium seating β Emagine was the worldβs first chain to convertΜύto 100 percent digital projection in 2005 and also opened Michiganβs first all-stadium-seating theater.
βI think itβs incumbent upon businesspeople to try to anticipate how to enhance the guest experience,β he says. βWith moviegoing, itβs a relatively easy process. I look at it and think, βWhat would make this better?ββ
The answer: heated leather recliners that canΜύbe reserved before showtime, bars serving local craft beer, brick ovens that churn out fresh pizzaΜύβ delivered to your seat, of course β and soda fountains that let you order from your phone.
βItβs all about providing the best out-of-home experience you can,β LaVerde says. He knows EmagineΜύis competing against the comfort of oneβs own couch, but he says itβs not a zero-sum game: Movie theaters and streaming services βcan both win.β
For Emagine, βwinningβ involves targeting underserved markets, whether that means locales with existing theaters that need a refresh or communities that lack upscale theaters altogether.ΜύDetroit is a prime example of the latter, but Emagine is working to change that. In 2018, the company partnered with hometown rapper Big Sean to develop an entertainment center in the city; locations are currently being scouted.
In a constantly changing industry, EmagineΜύis also investing in alternative content, which accounted for more than 5 percent of the companyβs revenue last year.ΜύIn December, Emagine debuted a Vegas-style sports-gambling lounge at its Royal Oak theater, and it hostsΜύlive music every weekend at the .
β[We] realized early on that our venues could be used for things other than viewing feature films,β says Glantz, who tested the concept at his location in 1998 when he secured a digital projector βthe size of a rowboatβ to show the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But back to the present. With EmagineβsΜύfour consecutive quarters of profitability and a 2022 film slate that includes several anticipated blockbusters (such as the sequels to Minions, Thor,Black Panther, and Avatar), Glantz is optimistic about the future.
His company is back up to 900 βteammates,β as he calls them, and heβs looking to expand beyond the Midwest. βIβm not at liberty to talk about it, but there are plans afoot,β he says.
He even occasionally has time to enjoy the perks of his role, like popping into one of his theaters to catch the latest flick.
βItβs not a straight trajectory upward; itβs been a bumpy road,β he says of his decades in the movie business. Still, it beats working in insurance. βYou donβt realize how much better life is going to be,β he says, βwhen you only have one job.β
This story is from the September 2022 issue of ΒιΆΉ·¬ΊΕ Detroit magazine.ΜύRead more inΜύour digital edition.
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