On a Tuesday night last June, Dan Arozarena went to see the Deepa Mehta film “Water” at the Drexel East Theatre. He walked into the cinema and realized he and his friend were the only two people there.

“When I walk into an empty theater, I always think of ‘Last Action Hero,’ when the kid has the theater all to himself and he’s sitting there eating popcorn and watching the movie. Then, all of a sudden, a huge stick of dynamite comes flying from the screen,” he said.

Movies that have been in the theaters for awhile often play to empty or near empty theaters, especially at times already light in attendance, said Jeff Frank, president of Drexel Theatres.

So, why bother even having shows that are going to play to empty theaters?

“When you book movies, they have to have a full set of show times,” Frank said.

When the theaters negotiate with the movie companies, they agree to show the films during all business hours, all week. Frank said some movies even draw full crowds during the day, such as “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, because people take days off work or leave school to see them.

“I don’t like putting off movies I want to see,” Arozarena said. “I get anxious and can’t wait until crowds are smaller to see a movie.”

After a few weeks, movie companies allow theaters to show films “split-screen,” Frank said, meaning they share time with another movie. This allows the theater to keep the movie around longer, as new ones come out and take up screens.

In general, Frank said, movie theaters pay a percentage of box office gross to movie companies, and the percentage decreases the longer the film is out.

“Theaters are always hoping films have what we call ‘legs,’ meaning it plays longer,” Frank said, because then theaters get to keep a larger percentage of the revenue.

When films do not debut well, however, theaters have the prerogative to negotiate with movie companies on how long they have to keep the film. “The Marine,” an action film starring WWE veteran John Cena, debuted Oct. 13 and made only $7 million in its opening weekend, according to boxofficemojo.com. Frank said because the film underperformed, his theaters only kept it for a couple of weeks. According to imdb.com, the movie is playing in only two theaters within 50 miles of Columbus.

A movie’s box office results, however, are not always based on the opening weekend. Frank said some movies show a box office increase in the following weeks and some films open in limited release, such as “The Last King of Scotland,” which is showing on about 100 screens nationwide, he said.

According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, there are 37,740 screens nationwide.

Other factors influencing show times are expected business, other movies also released, time needed to clean the cinemas and the times of other movies. Frank said theaters schedule films at intervals to keep ticket and concession lines down.

When no one comes to a film, the theater does not necessarily lose money.

“It’s not a question of losing money, but you’re not making any money when nobody comes,” Frank said.

But how’s the experience for the audience?

“If I had to choose between full, half full and empty, I’d choose empty,” Arozarena said. “You feel like you own the place and it enhances the movie.”