3. Phone it in. Finding movie times via your cell phone—that's so 2006. So is pressing a button for every command (which theater, what movie, which showing, etc.). Vista's Java-based application (not yet available here) aggregates the information and synopsis, and lets you buy tickets. 4. Bowling for dollars. QubicAMF Amusement's bowling arcade games and its mini (two- to six-lane) bowling centers are becoming popular options to increase movie theaters' overall revenues.
5. Stop! Seat thief. Quick Sensor's ticketing system (unveiled in Belgium, Italy and France and eventually in the U.S.) prevents theater-hopping by assigning seats to ticket buyers. "No more sneaking in movies," says Martin Krzesinksi of Quick Sensor, the system's manufacturer.