I called this months ago, that the movie theater industry as we knew it wasn’t going to survive this pandemic and it’s starting to happen. They were in trouble before all this with the experience going downhill, high prices, crap movies and the fact that you don’t really need to leave your home anymore to have a nice movie viewing experience but Covid is hastening their demise.

AMC Theaters Will "Run Out Of Liquidity" Within Six Months: S&P

Regal Cinemas Suspending Operations at All U.S. Locations

Yeah we are seeing it first hand, Been going to some movies and there are less than a dozen people in the theater on a Sunday afternoon for a first run movie. Now local Marcus theater opens up only 4 days a week. IMO outlook for restaurants around here are not much better. By this time next year I doubt there will be anywhere left for us to go out to see a movie and probably a fraction of the restaurants that are open now.

All the movies I want to see are postponed.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
All the movies I want to see are postponed.

Covid even put porn on hold??!!

Meanwhile, I hit the drive-in last night and that place is decently crowded. Color me impressed!

It was pretty evident that the movie theaters would have trouble surviving this thing. I am still thinking the restaurants have a chance. Most of the big chain restaurants are open but with distance seating. They seem to be holding their own for now, barely. The fast food places are still closed but the take out lines are pretty long. Not real sure how long they can keep this up though.

In addition to ending the shutdown in many states, the Federal government needs to strike down the anti-trust statutes preventing movie production companies from owning the movie theater outlets. As a result of those laws, movie theaters have for decades relied on in-house sales of refreshments to earn a profit as they have to pay a premium for movie distribution rights. This arrangement is why candy & soda-pop is so ridiculously expensive in theaters.
Streaming services have placed a greater strain on the movie theaters and production companies (NetFlex, Disney, etc.) own the distribution channels. With fewer people going out to see the latest productions and Covid-19's arrival, it's a disaster for the industry.

Can't remember the last time I went to see a movie in the theater. Most movies coming out now are utter garbage. All the SJW messaging in them makes new movies not worth the time. But add on top of that the awful experience. Go to a movie and there will certainly be one or more of the following
1 - Group of teens giggling and playing with their cell phones
2 - Parents who let their little urchin run around the theater screaming the entire time
3 - Group of people talking like they're in a sports bar
4 - Baby crying endlessly
There was a time when people knew better. Ushers would escort you out of the theater if you were disruptive. Now, they don't care. And any theater that might attempt to correct that would likely not last long. Attempting to remove someone now would likely lead to a 20 minute Karen tirade or a bunch of SJW's protesting outside your theater afterward. Theater owners are too timid to deal with it.

quote:

Originally posted by XinTX:
Can't remember the last time I went to see a movie in the theater. Most movies coming out now are utter garbage. All the SJW messaging in them makes new movies not worth the time...

Couldn't agree more. It'd be nice if some movies were produced that told a compelling story without some social commentary, filled with actors and actresses that aren't loud-mouthed, reality-detached shills for progressive causes. And some movies that have nothing to do with Marvel characters, or Star Wars.

X hit the nail on the head for me.

Like many people (regular folks, polite folks) I bristled at the behavior exhibited in many establishments. Movie Theaters, fast food chains, and some other public places put me "ill at ease" most of the time. That is why I started going to "high end" movie theaters if and when the urge to see a movie hit me. The same lack of basic manners (combined with bad food and worse service) was the reason I quit going to fast food places (Chik-fil-A excepted).

It'll be interesting to see what develops from this.

Let's see..... crappy movies and take out a mortgage for a coke and popcorn.....I don't care if they're gone. Haven't gone to a movie in years.

My wife and I saw Empire Strikes Back yesterday at a huge (and brand new) theater yesterday for a dollar each. We were two of six people in the theater. We ate beforehand and skipped the concessions. My wife just wants to get out of the house.

If my wife hadn't found it, I'd have never seen it because I never look.

COVID may be the final blow, but this downward trend started with Hollywood actors continually giving mainstream America the middle finger.



.

I have been going to movies with the family pretty regularly over the last 2 months. silverspot lets you rent the whole theater for $100 and gives you $75 in food credits. You stream the movie off your phone to their apple tv.

IPIC is a bougie place here in boca, they are distance seating but that is working

Cinemark is running movies for $5 a head local and there is no one there. I see the implosion ahead, but my wife loves movie popcorn so we just go by ourselves or take the kids and it really is very clean and you have the whole place to yourself.
what's not to like

Since Mrs. Cooker and I met, in 2004, we have gone to see the following movies in the theatre:
Spider-Man (first official date)
Some Star Wars movie
Taken
Avatar (IMAX 3D)
Some hobbit movie
Another hobbit movie

The movies have kind of sucked, and the experience has always been quite underwhelming, with the exception of Avatar. More than once I think I ducked because the 3D was that good.

I do think the restaurant industry will survive. It’s been a rough go, but slowly we are getting more and more orders from more restaurants. Some of the really good ones didn’t make it though. I hope the rest of them can pull through.

Good riddance. I sincerely hope the shitty leftist, anti-American actors and actresses quickly follow suit. Imagine them having to live like the rest of the little people- it's a travesty I tells ya!

The last time we were in a movie theater was 2004 to see "The Passion of the Christ ". Small theater in Sierra Vista Arizona.

I hope this has a major negative impact on the leftist loonies in Hollywood and their financial backers.

We are finishing our basement right now. I had it wired for surround sound. We have a 86" TV going in too. I'm not sure we will ever go to a theater again.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
The last time we were in a movie theater was 2004 to see "The Passion of the Christ ". Small theater in Sierra Vista Arizona.

I hope this has a major negative impact on the leftist loonies in Hollywood and their financial backers.

Exactly what I was thinking. Until a couple of years ago, we took our granddaughters to see the animated releases, but now that they are past that stage, I doubt I'll ever set foot in a theater again.

I'm torn. I'm pretty anti-movie-theater for various reasons, but even still, I go about once a year for certain specific films.

I have a nice home theater system, but there's still no substitute for the full "big screen" experience on some epic films. (Especially when you get up into IMAX.)

1917 is a good example of a recent film that's not quite the same at home, even with a good home theater.