2012 By the Numbers

I numerically summarize my 2012 film going experiences below.

I saw 436 "films" on a theater screen in 2012. This compares to 406 "films" in 2011 and 382 in 2010. For these purposes, a film is not just a feature length film but also includes programs (typically from film festivals) which consist of multiple short films. If it was categorized as a single program in a festival guide, it counts as one film entry on my list. Conversely, I saw several programs which consisted of a short film and a feature length film. For my counting purposes, those are counted as a single film entry.

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The top 10 venues in which I saw films in 2012 were:

1) Roxie Theater (103 films) - primarily from four film festivals - 2012 SF Indiefest, I Wake Up Dreaming, Beauty of the Real & Not Necessarily Noir; also DocFest and Another Hole in the Head was at the Roxie

2) Castro Theater (70 films) - 36 films between 2012 Noir City and 2012 SF Silent Film Festival

3) Pacific Film Archive (49 films) - various PFA programs including Nikkatsu, Bellissima and French Cinema Classics series

4) Landmark Theaters (33 films) - 3 films from SFFS French Cinema Now series; the rest from individual programs; theater breakdown - Embarcadero Center (18 films), Opera Plaza (7), Lumiere (6) and Bridge (2)

5) New People/Viz/SFFS Film Center (31 films) - most films from 2012 SF International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), 2012 SF International Film Festival (SFIFF) and the SFFS Fall film series

6) Camera Cinemas (25 films) - most film from 2012 Cinequest and 2012 SFIAAFF

7) Kabuki Cinemas (23 films) - all films from 2012 SFIAFF and 2012 SFIFF

8) Stanford Theater (18 films) - no festivals, but loosely defined series

9) Vogue Theater (15 films) - all films from 2012 Mostly British Film Festival

10) California Theater (11 films) - all films from 2012 Cinequest; California Theater is referring to the theater located in downtown San Jose and not the Landmark operated theater of the same name in downtown Berkeley

Honorable mentions - San Jose Rep (8  films; all from 2012 Cinequest), Balboa Theater (7 films), YBCA (6 films), Smith Rafael Film Center (6 films; most from the 2012 Mill Valley Film Festival), 4 Star (6 films) and the Crest Theater (4 films; all from the 2012 Sacramento French Film Festival)

I also saw 8 films in Las Vegas while visiting my father throughout the year, but not at the same theater.

I went to a number of venues for the first time in 2012 - the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley, the Crest in Sacramento, Oddball Films in the Mission District of SF, the New Parkway in Oakland and 142 Throckmorton in Mill Valley.

The top three venues (Castro, Roxie & PFA) have remained the same since 2010 although the order of the three has changed for each of the past three years.

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On 252 days in 2012, I saw at least one film.  Of those 252 days, I saw:

1 film on 125 days
2 films on 87 days
3 films on 27 days
4 films on 9 days
5 films on 4 days

On Sunday, January 29, I saw five films at the Castro as part of Noir City.  Many of those films less than 70 minutes though.  On Sunday, March 4, I saw five films at Cinequest in San Jose.  I took a vacation day the next day and saw five more films at Cinequest.  On Sunday, March 11, I saw four films at the Encore Day at Cinequest and a fifth film at the Camera 3 which was not affiliated with Cinequest.

As much as I dislike seeing four, much less five, films in one day, I am going get my money's worth if I drive all the way to San Jose for a film festival.

I also remember January 29.  I had the opportunity to see six films that day but skipped out on The Maltese Falcon.

All the four film days were also associated with film festivals.  I went for four in a day during Noir City, Mostly British, Indiefest, Cinequest, SF Asian American, Sacramento French & Silent Film Festival (3 consecutive days)

My cumulative cost per film is $8.00 per film.  I've been tracking those costs meticulously since January 1, 2010 although it gets a little fuzzy w.r.t. costs which I deduct as charitable donations on my income taxes.