Regal and Cineworld closing

[jammindude]

As the article says...the dominoes are falling. This is very sad. 

https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/3/21500538/regal-cineworld-theaters-shut-down-james-bond-us-uk?fbclid=IwAR0Rsj5OFQ3qfGRPa_nuaodhvRW7SJSIQiGEzgvX0W0DAkGbjVM-p2rIXO0

[Phoenix87x]

Definitely saw this coming. Went to regal a few weeks ago and there was maybe 7 people in the building total, including employees.

It does suck though. Lots of great memories going there.

[faizoff]

From what I read, it's meant to be temporary but in all likelihood it just might be permanent.

[Stadler]

I put this in the "Bond" thread, but I'll add it here, too:  I'm sure there's data out there that can prove me right or wrong, but I approach this the same way I approach the complaints from record companies about downloading:  sounds like a scapegoat excuse for larger/deeper problems that have finally come home to roost.

I LOVE watching movies in theaters; it's an event, you get a nice comfy chair, someone else making you popcorn, great sound, immersive visuals...   and yet I'm lucky if I go once or twice a year.   It's expensive, it's a hassle, it's annoying (cell phones, talkers, walkers) and I just would rather stay home.  The movie theaters are not losing me because of COVID, just like record companies aren't losing me because of downloading (I just buy my CDs direct, or through eBay, pawn shops or Discogs, at about 20% of the list price).  I understand that there are artists on the other end, and I feel bad about that, but I also know there is a middle man in there that isn't really bringing value beyond scale.   

[Grappler]

I put this in the "Bond" thread, but I'll add it here, too:  I'm sure there's data out there that can prove me right or wrong, but I approach this the same way I approach the complaints from record companies about downloading:  sounds like a scapegoat excuse for larger/deeper problems that have finally come home to roost.

I think it's more comparable to the music industry in that they don't want to embrace new technology and/or be patient enough to get their returns via a longer period of time.  Studios spend 80 million to make a movie and they want to earn that back in the first week or two of release, where a picture can go to number one and sales go ballistic. 

Right now, if they put the film out in theaters, they'd earn barely a fraction of that in a week or two.  They'd have to leave pictures in theaters for much longer periods of time, or move to embrace streaming and make the money back through streaming....and Hollywood seems to really dislike streaming (hence the Academy not wanting to include films for awards where they debuted on streaming portals vs. in theaters). 

Maybe they think movie theaters will eventually go back in business, but there's definitely a chance that they don't, should they go bankrupt and/or vacate the leases for those theaters or sell the buildings.