TheAllPurposeNothing

Agreed. Unless landlords are not going to change them rent while they are not in operation, which is highly unlikely, I don't think they can afford to take that big a hit. They had already lost an estimated $1.6 billion in the first six months of 2020, and that's with the theatres in full operation for nearly 2-1/2 months.

Shame too as their nearby theatre was probably my favorite local venue. Not as tricked out as some of the Cinemark and AMC locations, but always clean and their ticket prices weren't as extravagant.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, that's the problem.

Hollywood isn't going to want to release their tentpole movies until theaters are operating 100%. If they release a $300-$400M movie to 75% of the theaters who are operating at a reduced capacity, with half of the moviegoing public reluctant to expose themselves to a potential COVID infection, they're going to take huge losses on that movie.

Reopening movie theaters isn't something that can be done gradually. It's an all-or-nothing prospect. They might have gotten away with something like this in the 1970s when budgets were smaller and national rollouts were slower, but now the industry opens huge budget movies with a single release date, and recoups their costs as quickly as they can.

It's a shitty situation.

asianxcore

While it stinks to hear the news about Regal, opening theaters at limited capacity wasn't sustainable. As mentioned earlier in the thread, it was only a matter of time.

Definitely thinking about everyone who won't have a job for a while and hoping that everyone finds work elsewhere

Artman

Terrible news, but there really was no other option. Theaters should save as much as they can to (hopefully) open big next Spring/Summer.

DJariya

https://deadline.com/2020/10/cinewor...ay-1234590897/

So there's an update to the story. Cineworld is saying they are "considering it" It's not finalized yet.

Still the morale at the Regals for those coming into work today has to be pretty bad after this news leaked last night.


I haven't seen anything in about 3 weeks and I'd like to go to a Regal to show some support. But, there's really nothing to see right now.

hal9000

Hollywood is fucked with a capital F! Theaters can't make money at 25% capacity, technically they were barely operating above that level in 2019. And now that they've been shut down for the past six months they are expected to just reopen magically six months from now. Uh uh, not gonna happen. Multiplex theater going is done as we know it. Sure some small independents will open here and there for "art house" movies. Gone are the days of the $100+ Million box office. Look for lot's of multiplex cinemas and the land that they once stood on to be turned into mixed use housing.

The second negative effect - since movies (especially tent pole) will be relegated to streaming or "on-demand" - is the amount of money to produce directly translates into the quality of work going into a movie and the end result of the product, think Hallmark channel type movies. Minimal leads, minimal special effects, minimal locations. For all the steps forward, Hollywood hit 2020 like a brick wall. It's amazing how quickly the entire thing came crashing down. And it's going to take once giant Disney at least a decade to come out of this to some sense of normalcy. And one of the reasons that Bob Iger wanted to bail out when he could, go out on top. He even recently quit California Governor Gavin Newsom's Economic Recovery Task Force because of how fucked the situation is.

All the studios greatly relied on theaters to get a movie as close to being in the black as possible and now to rely solely on streaming? HA! not gonna happen.

RIP moviegoing.

candyrocket786

Basically, another nail in the coffin. This news combined with the additional furloughs by United/ American is definitely a grim outlook.

windom

I wonder if 3-D movies are gonna be killed off now. Will anyone want to deal with 3-D glasses that might fog up when wearing a mask? I'm not even sure if any 3-D releases would happen until everything gets cleared up and masks aren't required. Which movies still coming out this year would normally have had 3-D releases? Probably Soul, The Croods 2, Wonder Woman, and maybe Dune.

DJariya

https://variety.com/2020/film/global...ns-1234792590/

It’s now official. Cineworld and Regal is suspending operations temporarily effective Thursday.

Statement says they cannot function with no new releases.

rw2516

Going forward
Studios will release 2 maybe three films per year. All will be mega budget blockbusters.
Only single screen, IMAX theaters will survive. Minimum 3000 seat capacity. Sound systems as good as a Pink Floyd concert.
Reserved seats only. Must buy tickets on line.
Going to a movie will be like going to a MLB game.
Higher concession prices. Maybe have to pay to park.
Might take a month or two to get tickets.
These won't show up for streaming or physical media for maybe 2 years after release.
We'll see promotions like: "Two tickets to new Star Wars movie with a test drive", "Two tickets to new Bond movie with your free in home estimate".
The perceived value of the theatrical experience will be increased through technology and exclusiveness.
Back to the days of lines around the block and waiting weeks to see a movie as it was with Jaws and Star Wars. Only no waiting in lines because of internet.

Studios will still produce smaller films for streaming and DTV. Independent theaters could run them if they want but they'll be already available to view in home.
Oscars will change rules to allow these movies made for streaming eligible. The only way Oscars can survive without turning into MTV Movie Awards where everybody votes for favorite blockbuster. Any relation between Oscar popularity and ticket sales are a thing of the past. Will switch to streaming sales.

If you live in a major metro area, going to a movie will be like going to NBA or MLB game for first few weeks, then fall to going to a 70s has been rock concert as popularity wanes.
If you live in an outlying area be prepared to drive. Or wait a couple years until you can see it at home.

People in NYC and Vegas will know what is coming. Going to a uber blockbuster movie will be similar to seeing a Broadway show or popular artist Vegas show.

candyrocket786

I can get behind that if I'm getting a premium theatrical experience.

If it's the same old bullshit (pre-covid), then that isn't going to fly.

cultshock

Yeah, the way that Hollywood is now set up for the release of big budget movies is completely unworkable these days. They ended up painting themselves into a corner with their current system (but to be fair, who could have ever imagined the current situation that has unfolded in the world) and it's now impossible to make a profit on multi-hundred million dollar film budgets, I'm sure the bean counters are crunching the numbers, but it just can't work any other way. What a mess.

windom

Maybe the studios need to start funding vaccine research.

candyrocket786

You would think some of this Big Hollywood Actors would start bailing out these theaters.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieb.../#cadc82d112b5

DJariya

https://deadline.com/2020/10/cinemar...re-1234591565/


Cinemark will stay open during the pandemic.

Decker

The technical Oscars are going to really be pathetic this year. Best Visual Effects : Sonic The Hedgehog. Best Achievement in Make-Up : Birds of Prey, Best Cinematography : Underwater.
Either that or TENET just sweeps every technical category, I suppose. But this year's JV Oscars are really gonna suck.

DJariya

Andrew Cuomo is keeping movie theaters in New York closed indefinitely and he doesn't care if what you think.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/g...ZTTSMhOzoEDpKM

candyrocket786

Something tells me that Broadway will get fed up and pack their bags to go somewhere else.

Thankfully, I have no plans to go back to New York.

Use to spend my weekends in NYC. I'm good now 👍

DJariya

Without any form of entertainment, Times Square is a fucking ghost town. A lot of Manhattan revolves around entertainment, sports, movies, Broadway and live concerts.

I realize he thinks movies aren’t important, but without them, thousands of jobs are lost and other businesses around movie theaters are impacted.

candyrocket786

....and thats the problem with these folks making the shutdown decisions. The majority are wealthy and completely detached from reality. They can't sympathize with a single parent, who is unemployed and trying to support three kids or a college student out of work and waist deep in debt.

dex14

AMC as well:
https://deadline.com/2020/10/amc-sta...wn-1234591732/

We’ll see how long that lasts...

Cardsfan111

My local theater hasn't had showtimes displayed since Sunday, so I wonder if they didn't already shut down. Since they've reopened in August, they've done very little business. I feel bad for all the employees who are affected.

Noonan

Yeah, that will never happen.

E Unit

Yeah, same thought. Cause no one is going to Branson Missouri to get their high-end Broadway entertainment there.

asianxcore

It also doesn't help that unlike every other place in the world that has a better handle on COVID-19, we've been treating shutdowns like a light switch.