Final Regulatory Assessment and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Final Rule - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations - Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description
3.1.1. Total Number of U.S Auditoriums (2015)
The cost estimation begins with the estimated number of movie theater auditoriums or screens operating in the United States as of July 2015. Table 3-1 presents a summary of this information. The data is provided by Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema and United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association (UDITOA).
Table 3-1 : Number of Auditoriums or Screens in United States by Movie Theater Type (Indoor versus Drive-In) and Projection System - 2015
|
Movie Theater Type |
Digital Projection System |
Analog Projection System |
Total |
|
Indoor |
38,688 |
650 |
39,338 |
|
Drive-In |
491 |
165 |
656 |
|
Total |
39,179 |
815 |
39,994 |
Sources: Data from UDITOA and Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema as provided by NATO
Table 3-1 shows that there are about 39,994 movie theater auditoriums or screens operating in the United States.10 Of those auditoriums or screens, approximately 656 are operated at drive-in movie theaters.11 Using this data, the Final RA estimates that there are 39,338 indoor auditoriums in the United States. Among indoor auditoriums, an estimated 38,688 have converted to digital projection systems and 650 auditoriums still use analog projection systems.12 However, auditoriums showing analog movies exclusively and drive-in movie theaters are not addressed by this rulemaking. Therefore, they are not included in the cost estimation.
10 The total number of auditoriums or screens in the United States (including those operated by drive-in movie theaters) is obtained from July 2015 estimates from Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema. This information is not published, but NATO uses these figures as the basis for its annual estimates. See NATO, Number of U.S. Movie Screens, available at http://natoonline.org/data/us-movie-screens/ (last visited Sept. 12, 2016). According to information provided to the Department, NATO estimates that there are 39,994 total auditoriums or screens in the U.S. as of July 2015, and 815 of those auditoriums or screens use analog projection systems.
11 The total number of drive-in movie theater screens and sites in the United States comes from UDITOA. According to data published in August 2014, there are 294 drive-in movie theater sites that have converted to digital projection systems. Additionally, there are approximately 1.67 screens per drive-in movie theater site (656 screens / 393 sites = 1.67 screens per site). See UDITOA, Statistics (Aug. 2014), available at http://uditoa.org/media.html (last visited Sept. 12, 2016). Using these figures, there are approximately 491 drive-in movie theater screens using digital projection systems (294 digital drive-in sites * 1.67 screens per site = 491 digital drive-in movie theater screens).
12 The Department estimated the number of indoor auditoriums utilizing digital projection systems based on data received on the total number of U.S. movie theater auditoriums or screens (as reported by NATO), data received on the total number of drive-in movie theater screens (as reported by UDITOA), and the estimate of the number of drive-in movie theater screens utilizing digital projection systems. The number of digital drive-in screens is subtracted from the total number of auditoriums or screens with digital projection systems to determine the number of indoor auditoriums using digital projection systems. The analysis uses the number of indoor auditoriums utilizing digital projection systems to estimate the costs of the final rule. For simplification purposes in the Final RA, if an auditorium utilizes a digital projection system, the Department assumes that the auditorium also shows digital movies, and such auditoriums are, therefore, subject to the requirements of this rule.
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