Theaters Court Young Set -- and Parents Too

When Melissa and Michael Loeffelholz walked into a theater at the Grove Stadium 14 with their whimpering 5-month-old daughter in tow a few weeks ago, no one shot them a dirty look.

That’s because the other paying customers who had showed up for the 11 a.m. screening of “Fun With Dick & Jane” were too busy tending to their own cooing, crying, shrieking and gurgling babies.

“We always liked going to the movies before but we haven’t gotten to see any since she’s been born,” said Melissa Loeffelholz. So when the Loeffelholzes heard about Pacific Theatres’ Monday Morning Mommy Movie at the Grove shopping mall in the Fairfax district, she said, they were so excited that “we didn’t even care what was playing.”

Once the most unwelcome moviegoers, noisy infants and their guardians are now being eagerly courted by movie chains around the country. Pacific is one of about half a dozen chains, including AMC Entertainment Inc.’s Loews theaters, Regal Cinemas and Mann Theatres, that market special screenings for parents with names such as Reel Moms, Stroller Matinees and Baby Flix.

Why the baby boom? With movie attendance down 8% nationwide last year, and the threat of ever-more-sophisticated home theater systems looming, theater chains see parents of young children -- who rarely go out to the movies -- as a potential niche market.

Held on weekday mornings, when movie attendance is usually at its lowest, the screenings seek to woo mothers and fathers with theater complexes equipped with stroller parking and diaper changing stations.

Instead of kiddie fare, the movies are geared toward adults. “Chick flicks” with PG-13 ratings are commonly on the bill. But theaters make one concession to the underage crowd: To minimize the squalling, the volume is kept lower and the lights are only partially dimmed.

Some theaters -- such as the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood -- charge full admission for their teensiest customers, even when they sit in their parents’ laps. But typically these baby matinees let offspring come for free.

“It is definitely their show. There are babies everywhere,” said Mari Porter, a Pacific Theatres’ marketing executive who helped develop its baby matinee program. In fact, she said, baby matinees draw more moviegoers than regular early-weekday screenings do. Other chains say the same thing.

“It benefits the moms and it benefits us,” Porter said.

Recently, Amy Roberts, a Hollywood voice coach and singer, eased 5-month-old Owen -- snug in his baby carrier -- into a seat at the Grove.

Roberts, a baby matinee regular, waved across the theater at another child-toting friend. “It’s like ‘babypalooza,’ ” she said.

But what really draws her to the screenings, she acknowledged, is the other parents: “It’s a good opportunity to surround yourself with people in the same boat.”

Sitting next to her was Rick Suvalle, 33, a writer who works at home while caring for his 7-month-old daughter Arden.

“Being a stay-at-home dad can be really tiring,” said Suvalle, who has been known to trade parenting tips with his film-watching companions. “Going to a movie gives me some time to mellow out. It’s mommy and me, but you see a lot of daddies.”

There is one problem with marketing to parents of infants: They don’t stay parents of infants for long.

Rocky Friedman, owner of an independent theater in Washington state, started his Diaper Daze matinee program at the Rose Theater in Port Townsend in 1999.

He still calls it a success, but more for the goodwill it creates than for the revenue it generates.

“I consider it more of a community service than anything else,” said Friedman, who has learned to accept that Diaper Daze has a short shelf life with the parents it attracts.

“The problem is that they grow out of it in one season. We are always recruiting new customers,” Friedman said.