We recently connected with Julie Bravo and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Running a small, independent movie theater in a very competitive city like San Diego has always been a struggle. Our older, 7-screen movie theater is located right between two giant 18 & 20 screen theaters located in busy shopping malls. Even in the most successful of times I have had to work outside the box with creative promotions and marketing initiatives to set ourselves apart from the big chain competitors.

When COVID caused the unexpected shut down of movie theaters we weren’t sure if we would survive. Luckily now, over 2 years later, we are open full-time and flourishing. The great relationships that I have built over the past 20 years in the area with local print publications and radio & TV stations have allowed us to spread the word throughout the community in creative ways that we are back open and providing top-notch entertainment in a safe & clean environment.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I grew up in the movie industry. My father opened his first movie theater, with his father, when I was only 2 years old, so many of my earliest memories are from the movie theater. I clearly remember as a child sitting in the ticket booth helping my family to sell tickets, and watching films from the projection booth. In high school I worked in the family business doing everything from selling tickets & popcorn, to cleaning floors and taking out the tons of trash that the sold out shows created.

I graduated from UCSB in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and after a few years of working in the Los Angeles area I came back to San Diego and the family movie business, this time in the corporate office as a marketing assistant. As our company grew so did my renewed love for the entertainment business, and now 21 years later, I’m thrilled to hold the position of VP, Theatrical and manage all aspects of the UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center.

At UltraStar, our number one goal has always been to provide the best guest experience. We know that there are many options for San Diegans to watch their movies, and we sincerely appreciate when they choose UltraStar. From the moment a guest walks in we want them to feel welcomed. We strive to provide a terrific movie-going experience at an affordable price.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Starting an innovative baby-friendly movie program, back in 2003 is something I am incredibly proud of.

I was a new mom at the time and realized there was a market that theaters were completely missing out on: new parents. No one likes going to a movie and hearing a crying baby in the background, but it’s also unfair to think that a parent won’t be able to see the newest Hollywood films on the big screen because they don’t want to leave a new baby at home. I was an avid movie-goer, watching multiple movies a month, but once I had a baby I didn’t want to hire a sitter for my newborn just so I could go to the theater. And I didn’t want to wait months to be able to see the film on video (yep, this was WAY before streaming).

So Parent Movie Morning was born: a weekly opportunity for new moms and dads to come and watch a new film WITH their baby. The entire auditorium would fill with parents and their babies, so if a baby would make a little noise it wasn’t unexpected. We dimmed the lights–so parents could still tend to their child and nurse without being in total darkness, lowered the volume slightly so that action sequences wouldn’t rouse a sleeping child, and set up a changing table in the back of the auditorium so parents wouldn’t have to miss anything when taking care of a dirty diaper. It was an immediate success!

So much so that it spawned Baby’s Night Out, our evening program that worked just the same. This was greatly appreciated for working parents who still wanted to enjoy the program but couldn’t make the morning showtime.

I personally enjoyed both of these programs with all three of my children and looked forward to the weekly opportunity to escape to the theater with my little one for a couple of hours.

We haven’t reinstated these programs since reopening our location post-COVID closures, but we do hope to bring it back later this year.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When COVID caused the unexpected shut down of movie theaters I wasn’t certain what to do. This had been my passion and my livelihood for almost two decades and now I was forced to shut my doors. 2020 was a very tough year. We closed, then were able to reopen after much work & modification to ensure the safety of our guests & employees. Then we were forced to close again.

When we were finally able to open again there was a large population that didn’t immediately return to the theater and our business was greatly impacted. We weren’t sure how long we would be able to sustain remaining opening if attendance did not increase.

I had to seriously think about my future and what I would do if, perhaps, the movie theater industry did not survive COVID. I completely pivoted and enrolled in a local community college to pursue a path to nursing. This was an absolute one-eighty from what I had been doing for my entire professional career, but desperate times brought desperate actions.

After a semester of learning some amazing things in the world of human anatomy, and realizing that it’s truly not too late to go back to school, even 26 years after earning my initial degree, it came to be that the movie business turned a corner. Our studio partners began releasing high quality product, guests returned to the theater, and it appears that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This experience did cement the fact that my passion is truly with the movies and working with the amazing guests who have been choosing UltraStar, and I’ve withdrawn from future classes.

Contact Info:

• Website: UltraStarMovies.com
• Instagram: @ultrastarsd
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UltraStarMV7
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ultrastar-mission-valley-at-hazard-center-san-diego?osq=ultrastar