With theatres closed in New York and Los Angeles and would-be filmgoers across the country choosing to stay in, US cinemas are sending out a desperate SOS − so far unanswered by Congress, local officials and studios.
Regal Cinemas, the second-largest chain in America, officially shut its doors on Thursday for lack of profitability, following an August reopening. It mentioned closures in New York as a major factor in its decision.
“The studios really need New York City in order to get decent growth out of a movie. And without New York they can’t do that,” said Joseph Masher, chief operating officer of Bow Tie Cinemas, a medium-sized chain.
Governor Andrew Cuomo will not budge on the matter, even though he has allowed partial indoor restaurant dining. He said in mid-September that the state was “not yet at a point where we can get back to normal life”.
Andrew Elgart, who owns several theatres in the New York City area, disagrees.
“I honestly think that people sitting in a movie theatre for two hours with a mask on is safer than sitting in a restaurant for an hour with no mask,” he said.
Across the country, nearly 400 exhibitors − which account for more than 33,000 out of 40,000 overall screens − have adopted a strict health protocol called CinemaSafe, which includes rules on distancing, ventilation and masks. But Cuomo has not budged.
We’re looking for new ways to distinguish ourselves in this new marketplace
To date, no transmission has been linked to a film theatre in the US or elsewhere.
“Right now the infection rates are rising, so the idea of opening up with so many questions up in the air to me feels irresponsible,” said Christian Grass, CEO of Metrograph, an independent movie theatre in Manhattan.
[attach id=932494 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]The Regal UA Court Street & RPX movie theatre in New York City. Regal Cinemas, the second-largest chain in the US, officially shut their doors on Thursday for lack of profitability.[/attach]
Julia, a 23-year-old who lives in New York, says she will hold out for a vaccine: “There’s so many things to watch that are streaming, that I’d be able to wait,” she said.
For Michelle, a 42-year-old mother from Brooklyn, waiting was not on the agenda. She travelled with her son to the state of New Jersey, where cinemas are allowed to open, to see the delayed summer blockbuster Tenet.
“It looks very clean and it seems that they’re taking all the precautions,” she said following the showing, which was attended by just a few people.
In Los Angeles, the largest US market, theatres are also still closed but unlike in New York, authorities there tied their reopening to certain indicators.
Blockbusters release pushed to 2021
The film industry had a blockbuster line-up of movies ready to roll out in November and December but has pushed their release to 2021, including Black Widow, the 007 film No Time to Die, West Side Story and Top Gun: Maverick.
“Studios must be willing to take a hit to feed the industry and keep the exhibitor group from completely falling apart,” said B Riley Financial analyst Eric Wold.
Theatre operators have also turned to Congress asking for support as part of a US stimulus bill that may not even be approved in 2020. Without political support and barring the release of any studio blockbusters “we’re going to see theatres just go out of business permanently,” Masher said.
He said he has counted at least a dozen cinemas that have already thrown in the towel across New York state.
AMC, the largest US theatre chain, should be able to hold out until at least mid-2021, Wold estimates. The third-largest, Cinemark, should make it to the end of 2021 under current conditions, he added. But it’s the smaller players that worry him.
Bow Tie Cinemas has so far furloughed about 900 of its 950 employees.
"We're doing our best to keep afloat and watching our expenses and hopefully we'll be fine," Masher said.
While waiting for an eventual green light, some theatres are transitioning towards other ways to make money.
Cobble Hill Cinemas, owned by Elgart, has become something of an annexe for the neighbourhood elementary school.
And the Metrograph has staged online screenings, allowing it to triple its number of subscribers.
“We are adapting to a new market,” said Grass. “We’re looking for new ways to distinguish ourselves in this new marketplace.”
That said, theatres and viewers are on the same page about one matter: cinema will not die.
“People want to see movies on the big screen,” said Grass. “It’s a shared experience. I have no doubt that it will bounce back fully.”