Michael Hartley

I’ve always loved going to the movies. I was a young man doing various types of work in support of my family. Being willing to work day and night while in college enabled me to find a theatre team role that kept me busy late into the evenings. It didn’t take long to find the hidden passion for an industry that I felt confident I could commit myself to. I jumped straight in and didn’t look back.

It was the opening night of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. I had so much film being interlocked between projectors, it left me terrified of something going wrong. We had a sold-out facility and nearly 1000 in attendance for a premiere midnight show. Everyone had a lightsaber that night, and after I tried on various occasions to keep folks from lightsaber fighting, I eventually joined in. The sight of pressing play that evening on the film and watching hundreds of lightsabers ignite at once was a vision that I’ll simply never forget. I was so excited to serve the guests that evening, as they were leaving, I asked if they wanted to watch it again at 3 a.m. Needless to say, the pressure of perfect execution and the fact my team sold out that theatre twice that night, we didn’t leave until the sun came up. It was a moment many of us will never forget.

I took my wife and kids to Spiderman: No Way Home. The final 30 minutes of that film had my children looking at me in complete disbelief when the crowd erupted into various moments of cheers and celebrations. We soon found ourselves all celebrating by the end of the film. The spirit of that moment certainly had us walking out with an experience we still talk about today.

I can see the determined efforts to bridge the gap between expenses, experiences, and driving customers to our buildings with smart pricing. The essence of Cinema United is for us to share the knowledge and industry insight we have attained to inspire experimentation and objectively working systems for each other. It’s not just for the large exhibitors in large markets, but also for those trying to keep their operations alive in small town. Diversity of film content, screen counts, and theatrical windows are going be studied closely and will be critical to our success, but we need screens to be open and operating everywhere. Rooting for each other needs to be the cornerstone. I can palpate the recent years’ struggles have in many ways inspired this behavior. I continue to watch with anticipation and willingness to help in every way I can.

Whatever your challenge, there are people willing to help you navigate it.

Work hard, stay motivated, learn from mistakes, be grateful for your team, partners, customers and most importantly, don’t forget to celebrate.

Do your best and forget the rest.