Posted on 11/17/2020 2:05:33 PM PST by EdnaMode
Movie theater executives don’t usually quote Winston Churchill on earnings calls.
But during his company’s most recent quarterly report to analysts, AMC chief Adam Aron dusted off one of the prime minister’s most famous speeches to describe the financial cataclysm engulfing the exhibition industry and the resilient spirit he hopes will rise up to meet the challenge.
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills,” Aron said.
A touch melodramatic? Perhaps, but Aron is correct in noting that cinemas have never faced a threat as grave as COVID-19. In 2020, theatrical box office revenue will plummet 65.6% to an estimated $15.5 billion, the worst result in decades.
But then, on Nov. 9, there was something of a deus ex machina. News broke that Pfizer had developed a promising vaccine that was 90% effective in the trial phase, an announcement that sent theater stocks surging on the prospect that the world could be returning to some sort of normal within months. Moderna followed a week later with news that preliminary results showed its vaccine was 94.5% effective.
“It’s a huge game changer,” says Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, CEO of Cinepolis, the biggest chain in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. “It was going to be difficult for movie theaters to recover to pre-pandemic levels without an effective vaccine or treatment. We’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel finally.”
That said, a majority of theaters in small and midsize towns across America face going bankrupt or closing before a vaccine ever arrives.
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
Movie theaters will soon be going the way of Blockbuster video and the VHS tape.
Actually, social distancing might be a good thing for us who were previously seated next to the slobs that talk during the movie, eat like hogs during the show, text, and anything else. We gave up on such venues long ago. PPL are slobs.
Return of the Drive-In
They were on the slide before COVID what with the drek Hollywood was putting out.
THIS! My wife and son had never been to one. Me, I used to pretty much live at them. Took them to their first one and now it’s a weekly thing. I’m only dreading winter; don’t know if it’ll close them down or not.
Agreed. A local drive-in in our area is doing well. And several have been set up in mall parking lots to capitalize on the trend.
+1
It’s well over 20 years since I’ve seen a movie in a theater. Even then, a lot of people had no idea how to behave there.
Yeah, they don’t much like people starting their engins during the show to run the heat or AC. Maybe we’ll get creative and come up with an alternative that doesn’t disrupt other viewers.
Ooh, an intermission! We can bring intermissions back.
Drive-ins used to be sort of slumming it, didn’t they? An inexpensive alternative to indoor theaters? A group in my area started up a drive-in and sold out weeks in advance. $30 a car, proceeds to charity. Hardly slumming.
My family used drive-ins for babysitting. lol The younger kids would go into the playground in front of the screen, we’d park right behind them so we could keep an eye on them, and watch the movie. We didn’t consider it slumming; even back then it was a way to get away from inconsiderate folks. Right now, adults are $10 and kids are $1, but for two movies, that’s a steal!
Drive-ins in high school and college were a cheap date and a place to make out with your girlfriend.
They usually only showed "B" movies but then who watched the movies anyway with the car windows all steamed up?
Had many a good time in the back seat of my parent's big Chrysler.
Movie Theaters, much like newspapers are a thing of the past.
They priced themselves out of business.
The theaters just need to raise the price on their popcorn a few bucks.
I was surprised when a new AMC theater was built nearby years ago; I didn’t think it would do well, but it did. I think young people keep them afloat; couldn’t imagine why an older person would want to be around some of the mutants that frequent them...
Would you like a movie to go with that popcorn sir?
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