Indefinite Closure of 500+ Theaters
The Wall Street Journal reports Regal Cinemas Likely Suspending Operations at All U.S. Locations
The second-largest cinema chain in America is likely to close indefinitely all its U.S. locations, after reopening in August, according to a person familiar with the plans, escalating the pandemic-driven crisis faced by the entertainment industry.
Cineworld Group PLC’s Regal Entertainment Group’s potential decision to suspend operations at its more than 500 locations follows a cascade of postponements for big-budget Hollywood films, most recently the coming James Bond title “No Time to Die.” The studio behind the film, MGM Holdings Inc., on Friday said it was delaying the film for the second time, to next April, from this November. It had originally been scheduled for release in April of this year.
Bankruptcies Coming
“If the status quo continues, 69% of small and midsize movie theater companies will be forced to file for bankruptcy or to close permanently,” the National Association of Theatre Owners said in a written statement.
Restaurants, bowling alleys, and churches are open, but California and New York will not let cinemas open.
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Churches, where everyone is singing or saying prayers out loud rate to be worse than cinemas where talking is prohibited.
Mish
I don’t have time to watch movies at all. I work to pay for other’s welfare checks that buy streaming movies and i-phones.
Apparently I can’t heart this comment, because the sys wants to know if I’d like to set a user name… so hopefully it is the thought that counts.
😉
Even without pandemic, doesn’t “everyone” have a big screen TV and a streaming service these days? And compared to series, most features feel pretty small. Theaters had to be hurting already.
Agreed, but you forgot a couple of steps:
My prediction is the theaters will file for bankruptcy. Expunge their debts. Get better lease agreements. Raise money from investors after COVID has passed. And emerge stronger than ever.
Say Goodbye to SnowDog and over 1,000 comments in one fell swoop.
One of their directors , (I think they said CEO), was on the Today Programme on Radio 4 this morning. He said prior to the pandemic the industry was in very good shape and that last year was their best ever year. This year they’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure their venues are virus friendly and that they were ready to cope with the situation. However the main stumbling block has been the lack of films to show as the blockbuster films aren’t being released.
I think he’s put a good spin on it and even if they’d had the films they would find it very difficult for some time.
,
Just sped up the inevitable collapse due to loudmouths and cellphone texting imbeciles in audience.
So is it responsible to allow people to congregate in closed quarters or not? Are we worried about the economic impact or not? Given Mish’s rather constant criticism of all things Trump I’m finding it difficult to tease exactly what he expects or wants…other than anyone but Trump to be elected in November. Isn’t Trumps spiel to let people get back to work and normal activity? I’m not being sarcastic I’m just genuinely curious.
I am consistent. I eat at restaurants, outside if I can. Inside if they are not packed. Most here are every other table.
I made a statement that is hard to dispute and get grief.
But the fact is, a movie theater that practiced distancing or required masks would be far safer than a packed church with everyone sinding.
I disagree with the strict guidelines of Chicago and I disagree with everything goes.
Why is this hard to understand?
They will reopen as a retro chain, where:
Thanks to the lockdown America will lose much …much more. This country will be a basket case if you give all the firepower to a virus lockdown only. How about considering all businesses stay open even in the lockdown so as not to totally decimate America’s economy. We should be looking at both options controlling the virus and mitigating the damage thats been done to the economy and both can be accomplished with logical planning. The blockhead politicians that just want to concentrate on the virus lockdown are the ones who will be responsible for America’s economic demise
Note the suggestion contained in the following two terms:
Livelihood … Alive
You have to remember that we were already careening along the road to economic ruin anyway, without taking Covid-19 into account. All the virus did is accelerate an already inevitable outcome.
It’s a symmetrical curve. Locking down crushes the economy. Being totally open, and having tons of cases crushes the economy, too. The key is to find the happy medium, where some business can take place, but cases don’t get out of hand. Locking down only makes sense if you can lock down hard enough to stop the virus completely, as some countries did. In the US that wasn’t possible, due to the fact that, with our freedom, not everyone would go along with a lockdown.
It actually strikes me that a large amount of what was put forward as “the economy” was overpriced useless consumption — like expensive commutes to downtown cores with high priced lunch and coffee establishments.
COVID is obliterating the old economy and “reopening” isn’t going to change that. Neither is a vaccine.
People are now accustomed to having hundreds of extra dollars every month and won’t go back to their old ways once they realize how much time and money was being wasted on premium markups and useless products and services.
Wait till there are a few million homeless destitute families, tell them that…
Well eventually smaller more local companies will buy them up and run some first run movies but a lot of festivals and boutique art films and such, with popcorn that does not require a mortgage, which is by the way the #1 reason I quite going to movies. I just found it impossible to get past the concession stand with that popcorn smell and not buy some, but at $6.50 for their smallest bag I just started waiting till the films came out on video. With a few exceptions that were made and needed to be seen on the big screen. But we had such a movie house in Ashland Oregon. Sure they would cash in on the occassional blockbusters, but a lot of the time they were showing the films from Sundance and bringing back older movies, or obscure stuff.
By the way, I do believe that concession stand pricing is responsible for most of the audience loss.
“Where talking is prohibited.”
Discouraged, more like it.
Most churches (lot of old higher risk people) are being quite timid about reopening, and otherwise the parishioners are.
Notable exceptions are formed by some right/fundamentalist leaning churches.
Alamo Drafthouse type places with food and drinks will probably weather the storm better than the big chains, which have gotten so big (so many screens in one location)….those rents have to be astronomical.
There is still something about a big screen experience that makes movies better….but the industry might have to further re-invent itself after COVID.
I think I’ve been to one movie since the lockdown (Tesla) ….but I wasn’t keeping the industry in business anyway……I lean toward documentaries and art house fare. Spare me the Marvel superheroes.
GOOD! Movie theaters are stinky dirty places…last movie I saw a woman was changing her babies diapers on the adjacent seat!
I’ve never understood why anyone would take a baby to a theater. If you can’t sacrifice not going to movies for the sake of your baby, you shouldn’t be a parent.
I think they are open here, but would you go? We had record cases day before yesterday, and just missed the record for deaths by a couple.
Gave up going to the movies well over a decade ago. Paying to watch commercials, previews and struggling for arm wrest control or being able to see over the guy in front of you seemed like a loser. Covid-19 is just a catalyst for the inevitable. Hollywood is dead too. The best talent is now on Amazon and Netflix as well as showtime. Once home TV ‘s passes 42 inches and got hung on the wall it was over for theater chains
I have not seen a movie for perhaps a decade. And before that it was about 1-2 per year.
“cinemas where talking is prohibited.”
If only…
I read this
For Mish,
Cineworld have just announced they’re shutting here in the UK as well.