Corona Movie Theater Thread: 49% Say Movie Theaters Are Now "Obsolete"

[Monterey Jack]

Oh, but SHAZAM 2 is safe on its designated weekend in 2023. Get your tickets today!!

Those kids will be like TWENTY by then.

[AndyDursin]

Does it matter? I've forgotten every single one of them already. And that movie came out a year ago. Add on another 3 years and nobody will remember, much less care, if they have to recast those roles. lol

The bigger question -- is anyone going to give a bleep about SHAZAM 2 in 2023?

See, this is why I have no sympathy for Hollywood. I truly don't care about these movies anymore. Am I supposed to start crying that the future of Disney's Marvel and Star Wars crap is in jeopardy? If they actually made something I WANTED to see, I'd care. But I don't.

Last year I probably went to the movies a handful of times give or take -- and that's been decreasing every year, long before COVID. And that's all on them. They made their bed with the formula they've set up for themselves, and the great irony is they no longer have any pipeline to support those mega-budget, mostly brainless behemoths they give us most of the year. Digital is there for some of it -- but it won't work for Bond or Marvel or whatever. Most of the crap they make falls into that category, needing 4000+ screens and IMAX and all of that to turn a profit, which is why they want to hang on to all of it.

At this point why even go into production with new movies when they've already staked out 2023 on the release calendar?

[Monterey Jack]

I still crave seeing movies properly on the big screen (I even rolled out for Corpse Bride today). And I'm not okay with the thousands and thousands of theaters owners and employees left to twist in the wind like this. Studios have to poop or get off the pot, and this constant nickel and diming of release dates is killing the only venue that will make expensive blockbusters profitable. Yeah, the studios shot themselves in the foot by gradually pushing out the mid-budget movie in favor of films that cannot possibly make a profit without a 4,000-screen nationwide rollout, and if theaters manage to survive the current crisis, I hope that they can learn from these mistakes and make cheaper films not exclusively aimed at 12-year-olds.

I just want to be able to see a movie with a decent crowd and without a mask on, instead of the Omega Man eeriness of often being the only person present.

[AndyDursin]

I hope that they can learn from these mistakes and make cheaper films not exclusively aimed at 12-year-olds.

Those are all going to Netflix and Amazon now. After this, it's more likely than ever theaters are going to be filled with super-hero crap, not the other way around.

I feel "bad for people who work there" but this state has very few locally owned theaters. National Amusements basically single-handedly destroyed every competitor in RI with their Showcase brand, even putting in screens near other facilities they own -- not because it was necessary, it's just so nobody else would show up there. It's basically a monopoly.

I have no sympathy for that chain. Where I grew up in northern RI, there was going to be a deluxe 15-screen movie theater in a new mall, opening about the time I was in high school. To prevent it from happening, Showcase came in, bought out this $2 bargain/second-run theater we had nearby and started showing 1st run movies there instead -- in this crappy old bargain theater they started charging full price tickets for (every screen in mono and tiny seating capacity), just so the new theater wouldn't open. When the new theater owners scrapped their plans (the town didn't need it now that Showcase was showing first-run movies), Showcase sold the bargain theater as fast as they could (they had no interest in actually keeping it after they successfully blocked the other complex from being built), it closed, was gutted and eventually became a gym. Suffice to say we never got a decent theater complex in that town before we moved away, and Showcase ruined the one bargain theater that was already there.

And they're a Viacom-owned chain -- so I don't feel bad for them either, and they haven't done a thing to improve most of their screens in at least 20-25 years by my count!

[Monterey Jack]

Do you feel bad about someone who still values the moviegoing experience -- as I do -- potentially facing the extinction of his church?

[AndyDursin]

I feel bad for anybody who is losing something they like doing -- we just have differing thoughts on the value of the movie-going experience in 2020.

I'm sure I'd feel a little different -- at least as far as the experience goes -- if I went to a chain that seemed to care about investing in audiences like Alamo Drafthouse does -- but they don't exist around here.

There is unquestionably, certainly value to going to a theater and seeing a movie on the big screen -- there always will be -- but IMO they've taken consumers for granted for too long, both in the product they serve and the general attention to the experience that's grown lacking. Or at least lacking in terms of viable alternatives consumers now have at their homes and at their fingertips. That's why my sympathy level is kind of decreased. I don't like to see all this shut down, but there's a great irony here because of how the business has been run.

[Paul MacLean]

Do you feel bad about someone who still values the moviegoing experience -- as I do -- potentially facing the extinction of his church?

Well, a lot of actual churches have suspended Sunday services, and their parishioners must now -- like movie fans -- rely on streaming to experience the "service" (which is usually the priest or pastor preaching to a camera in an empty room).

And for many churchgoers, Sunday services and other church functions are their only real opportunity for social interaction. I'm not trying to diminish your dilemma at all, Jack, but the world is pretty-much turned upside down for everyone right now.

I know that when a great movie is really "working" for an audience, there's an electricity in the air, and a sense of a shared experience which is like nothing else. But I have to say that has been a rare experience for me. The main reason I go to the movies is because it is the only way to see a new film. If new releases were offered in cinemas and via streaming upon release, in most cases I'd chose streaming -- cheaper, more convenient (and cleaner too!).

There is unquestionably, certainly value to going to a theater and seeing a movie on the big screen -- there always will be -- but IMO they've taken consumers for granted for too long, both in the product they serve and the general attention to the experience that's grown lacking.

I don't think cinemas are going to die altogether. Multiplexes might, but there will always be a call for places like Alamo Drafthouse and the like.

If theaters want to survive though, they are going to have to really work to make the theatrical experience special, and worth the trip -- nicer seats, nicer decor, bring back ushers (especially with today's kids), offer better conssessions (and how about a food try in front of each seat?).

[Monterey Jack]

And for many churchgoers, Sunday services and other church functions are their only real opportunity for social interaction. I'm not trying to diminish your dilemma at all, Jack, but the world is pretty-much turned upside down for everyone right now.

I rarely left my apartment for anything other than work even pre-Covid, and with theaters showing nothing but reruns and physical media on the wane, at least in brick & mortar locations (my local Best Buy radically reduced its movie section over the last few months), I have even fewer reasons to venture out into the world. I'm desperately lonely.

The fact that I can't even sit down and enjoy a meal in a fast food place or else find a park bench somewhere and read a book is maddening. I'm feeling constrained and boxed-in, and I don't have anyone in my life on a daily basis to alleviate my depression. Yes, my siblings are there to lend support when they can, but I still feel horribly cut off, as they all have families that take up most of their time that they need to keep safe, and I'm the only one who never had kids or even a girlfriend at any point in my miserable, misspent life.

[Paul MacLean]

Yes, my siblings are there to lend support when they can, but I still feel horribly cut off, as they all have families that take up most of their time that they need to keep safe, and I'm the only one who never had kids or even a girlfriend at any point in my miserable, misspent life.

Don't be down on yourself, Jack! You're good guy, and you're part of our community here. The fact we communicate electronically doesn't change the fact I think of you as a friend, and I am sure I am not alone in feeling this way around here.

Don't feel your life is misspent. I don't have a girlfriend either, and I drive a delivery van -- and I have a college degree!

This may be a bad season, but it's not going to last!

[Monterey Jack]

This may be a bad season, but it's not going to last!

It's never going to end. Corona will be around forever, it's gonna kill movie theaters and everything else I hold dear, and no one will be looking for casual dating in the midst of a pandemic.

[Johnmgm]

MJ, things will get better! Movie theaters will be back, no one is going to leave money blowing in the wind. It's funny, it's cheaper ( and many times better) eating at home; but those pesky restaurants keep sticking around. When this stupid virus is either gone, or people say the hell with it, folks will return to restaurants, bars, stadiums, churches and movie theaters.

Also, all those public places are perfect for casual dating.

It doesn't sound like your life is misspent to me. You have family and friends who love you. You have hobbies you love. And you have the talent to write wonderful reflections on the movies you love as well as the movies that...suck


Keep your chin up buddy, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[AndyDursin]

MJ we love you man. Once the election is over even the insane ones will start dialing some of this back -- I mean, they don't want some industries to die forever like restaurants, the arts, tourism, etc. Not even they are that stupid (I think, and certainly hope)!

Been a bad year for everybody. Hang in bro.

[BobaMike]

Montery Jack,

I always enjoy your posts, please don't let life get you down.

2020 has been rough all around, and I hope you know you're not alone. No matter if it's a bunch of nerds like us that hang out on another nerd's message board, you have friends, even if we've never met in person!

[AndyDursin]

Life support time.

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/amc-theat ... -the-year/

With a delayed release slate and wary COVID-19 moviegoers, AMC Entertainment, parent to the world’s largest theatrical chain, said it will be out of cash by the end of the year or early 2021 without renewed external infusion of funds.

Cash burn, or monthly use of cash to fund operations, is impacted by, among other things, the timing of resumption of theatre operations, the timing of movie releases and the slate of future releases, theatre attendance levels, landlord negotiations and minimum lease payments, costs associated with the enhanced safety and sanitation protocols, and food and beverage receipts.

“To meet its obligations as they become due, the company will require additional sources of liquidity or increases in attendance levels,” CFO Sean Goodman wrote in the Oct. 13 filing. “The required amounts of additional liquidity are expected to be material."

AMC said it has generated about $40 million to date selling new shares of stock, in addition to lopping off hundreds of millions of dollars owed on long-term debt.

The filing revealed what most observers already knew: The exhibition business is facing extinction if pandemic conditions remain the same and liquidity issues aren’t further addressed. And even if they are, the business realities facing theaters is dire.

“There can be no assurance that the assumptions used to estimate our liquidity requirements and future cash burn will be correct, or that we will be able to achieve more normalized levels of attendance described above, which are materially higher than our current attendance levels, and our ability to be predictive is uncertain due to the unknown magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Goodman wrote.

The filing stands in contrast to the confidence CEO Adam Aron has been projecting in recent weeks, including boasts that AMC, unlike rival Regal Cinemas, could remain open in the current business climate due in part to its groundbreaking distribution agreement with Universal Pictures. That deal allows Universal to significantly shrink the theatrical window in exchange for sharing revenue from early transactional VOD and premium VOD releases in the home.

As of Oct. 9, AMC had resumed operations at 494 of its 598 U.S. theatres, with limited seating capacities of between 20% and 40%, representing approximately 83% of the U.S. theatres and 77% of 2019 U.S. same-theatre revenue.

Since the resumption of operations in its U.S. markets, AMC said it has seen more than 2.2 million moviegoers frequent theaters, representing a same-theatre attendance decline of approximately 85% compared to the same period a year ago.

The remaining 17% of the U.S. theatres left to reopen are primarily located in California, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Washington State, and include some of the chain’s most productive representing approximately 23% of 2019 U.S. revenue.

Twenty-five theatres in North Carolina and Washington State are scheduled to reopen on Oct. 16. AMC says it has an “active dialogue” with local and state government officials in the remaining states, however, there is “limited visibility” around the timing for resumption of theatre operations in these locales.

Meanwhile, AMC’s fiscal situation not only affects employees and shareholders, but landlords as well. The company said it had resumed operations at 308 leased and partnership international theatres. This represents about 86% of its international screens and approximately 90% of 2019 international same-theatre revenue. Since the resumption of operations in its International markets on June 3, AMC has seen more than 5.2 million consumers return, representing a same-theatre attendance decline of approximately 74% compared to the same period a year ago.

“It is very difficult to estimate our liquidity requirements and future cash burn rates, and depending on the assumptions used regarding the timing and ability to achieve more normalized levels of operating revenue, the estimates of amounts of required liquidity vary significantly,” Goodman wrote.

Micheal Pachter, media analyst with Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, doesn’t expect attendance levels to begin to normalize until mid-2021. He said that with 30% of moviegoers in the 50+ age group and another 30% between 30 and 50 (according to MPAA, 2018), a significant portion of moviegoers are not going to be bold enough to return to theatres without a virus vaccine. Losing a substantial portion of this demographic, and especially their children, is driving studios to delay theatrical releases.

“We think the relatively lackluster domestic box office for Tenet, juxtaposed with the seemingly tepid response to Mulan as a PVOD release, have made film releases seem like a risky business in
the current environment,” Pachter wrote in a note.

[AndyDursin]

Well that answers that.

Warner Bros & Universal Bosses Say No Movie Theater Buyouts In The Works, But “We’re Rooting For Them”

Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of Warner Bros had the same reaction Thursday when asked if their companies had any interest in buying movie theaters.

They laughed.

https://deadline.com/2020/10/warner-bro ... 234598176/