My Biz: 20 years ago, Bruce Taylor opened a movie theater

MARION — Bruce Taylor didn’t plan to own and operate a movie theater, even though working in a theater was one of his first jobs.

He’d worked as a police officer and then as a computer systems engineer until he was laid off in 2003.

“Back in high school and then for a short time after high school, my after- school job was working in a movie theater,” he said. “When I got laid off, I did some soul searching and decided I didn't want to go back to another job I could get laid off from.

“I decided I wanted to go into business for myself. And I thought about what I’d ever done in my life that I really enjoyed doing. My memory went back to the days of working in the movie theater. So that was the winner.”

He looked at an “empty shell” of a movie theater at 1462 Twixt Town Rd. in Marion — vacated by Carmike Theatres in 2001 — and “decided to give it a shot. And here I am twenty years later.”

Taylor’s idea for an independently owned theater started to come together.

“I had to go and buy all the seats, all the projectors, all the screens, every single thing to fill an empty building,” he said, noting that it was a big investment and risk on his part even with buying secondhand projectors and seats.

“It was the only way I could get into the market,” he said. “But we’ve gone from secondhand seats from a theater in Canada to now having brand-new luxury recliners that are just super comfortable.”

Taylor noted he’s also replaced all the projectors several times, buying secondhand projectors around 2014 to get into digital projection, which have since been replaced. “So almost everything we have in place now is brand-new,” he said.

Taylor said it was a good career choice. And, after two decades, his goal remains the same: to offer a good value to patrons.

“I truly value providing a nice experience for the customers,” Taylor said. “People go to the grocery store because they have to eat. But people come to the movies because they want to be entertained. They want to relax. They want to escape from going to the grocery store and the daily grind. So I genuinely enjoy that we get to show people a good time.”

Taylor likes to remind people that going to see a movie in a theater is an immersive experience. “We provide a full experience, with the great big picture, the great big sound, and our wonderful popcorn with real butter.”

Challenges

Of course, running a business for 20 years doesn’t come without its challenges.

“2020 was a really ugly year, not only for the pandemic, but for the derecho, too,” Taylor said. “We were closed down for about six-and-a-half months during 2020, and about four months of that was because of the derecho damage.”

But Taylor said those ordeals allowed him to make some changes, including upgrading equipment that was ready to be replaced and putting in new seats, carpeting and ceiling tiles.

The halt in film production during the pandemic and more recently during the Hollywood writers’ strike brought and will bring impacts in the months and years ahead, Taylor said.

He recalled that the Hollywood blockbuster, “Top Gun Maverick,” was a big draw to bring people back to theaters in 2022.

“That was the perfect movie to release at that time,” he said, adding that this summer’s Barbenheimer mania was exciting as well.

“No one could have predicted that craziness,” he said. “But both of those movies struck a chord with people, and it really brought people in. They were the right movies at the right time.”

Lower admission

Today, tickets at Collins Road Theatres range from $6 to $10 per person, depending on the patron’s age and the day of the week.

“That’s the most conspicuous thing that people see about us being different is that our prices are considerably less than other theaters,” Taylor said.

“When we first started out, we ran second-run movies after other theaters had started showing them. We were able to get the royalties for less money and so we charged less for our ticket prices.”

Taylor switched to running new movies on their release dates in November 2018 but remained committed to keeping ticket prices lower than other first-run theaters.

And while the number of independently owned, small movie theaters dwindles across the country — amount to around 10 percent — Taylor said he is proud that he and his staff strive to run Collins Road Theatres with a small town theater vibe.

“We are a hometown theater, and our customers like the fact that the owner is right here and you can talk to me any time you want,” he said. “That makes a big difference for some people.”

What’s next?

Taylor, now 65, said in the coming weeks, months, and years he plans to “generally, carry on.”

While the theater has a staff of about 18 employees — staffing is always a challenge these days — moviegoers often see Taylor at the theater.

“I am nearing retirement so the hope would be to pass the business on to someone new that will put the same love into it,” he said. “My family has all worked at the theater over the years, but they don’t have a desire to take it on as a career choice.”

He believes, however, as he has for the past two decades, the show will go on.

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.

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