How a tiny theater makes $2.5 million in 5 months

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes and 1 second

West Yellowstone, Montana is a tiny little town located right at the west entrance to the world’s most famous national park.

Its main street is mostly what you would expect, gift shops and t-shirt stores that sell gimmicks to the 4.86 million park visitors that come each year.

Nestled among the gift shops and themed restaurants is a small business called The Playmill Theatre.

Affectionately known as “The Playmill” by the locals, it does a roaring trade during the summer months. From May to September, The Playmill is open 6 nights a week, 3 shows a day, and it sells out to full capacity almost every night. Seating capacity is only 267, but adds up quickly with their impressive volume.

Let’s break it down.

May - September = 5 months

5 months = 20 weeks

3 shows a day * 6 days a week = 18 shows a week

18 shows a week * 20 weeks = 360 shows in one summer season

267 * 90% capacity = 240 visitors per show (I’ve been there multiple times and I’ve never seen an empty seat.)

240 visitors * 360 shows = 86,400 total visits in one summer season

86,400 visits * $25 average ticket price = $2,160,000 in total revenue

That’s it. $2,160,000 in ticket sales alone.

But let’s not stop there. Each show has an intermission that is around 20 minutes long. During the intermission the actors come out with ice cream, chocolate, cold drinks, and snacks. These actors are incredibly funny, talented, and persuasive.

They come out holding the concessions in full character. Asking questions that normally would never be allowed, for example: “Are you poor?” or “Isn’t it so hot in here? Doesn’t this ice cream look delicious?”

They practically bully you into spending your money on their concessions.

It doesn’t help that you are packed in like sardines, it’s hotter than blue blazes, and they don’t let you bring in outside food.

So let’s tack on $5 a visitor for concessions. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is way more, but let’s go low.

$5 * 86,400 visitors = $432,000

$2,160,000 + $432,000 = $2,592,000 Gross Revenue

Not bad for only 5 months out of the year.

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Why this business works.

The Playmill Theater is a perfect fit for the audience that it serves.

• People visit National Parks for the nostalgia and reconnection with how the earth used to be. What better way to remember the “good old days” than attend a play just like your grandparents and great grandparents did?

• There is literally nothing else to do in the town aside from gift shopping and playing golf.

• The actors are given a chance to be viewed as up and coming stars, looking for bigger and better roles. They apply for a season at the playmill so they can transition to opportunities on bigger stages. You’ll see actors that are recent high school graduates or first year students from local universities. Payroll is very low and operating costs are kept tight.

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Key takeaway

When starting your business, look for intersections that are extremely profitable. An intersection is an audience that is untapped or not being exploited to its full potential. All of these businesses are built making around making the lives of this target audience better.

Here are a few examples.

• A town that receives 4,000,000 visitors a year with no entertainment options.

• Construction workers with generic brands that have no logos. Carhartt comes along and all of a sudden it’s cool to be a construction worker.

• Individuals making funeral arrangements that don’t want to have to go to a funeral home.(After)

• Nurses and doctors that make a ton of money but have no cool clothes to wear while they work.(Figs)

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