Movie Theaters Are About to Get a Major Upgrade
By Movieguide® Contributor
After COVID-19 shut the world down, many movie theaters wondered if they would stay in business, but a recent announcement reveals they won’t have to worry anymore.
“A group of exhibitors in the U.S. and Canada will invest more than $2.2 billion over the next three years to upgrade and modernize their theaters amid renewed optimism at the box office after a battering by Covid and Hollywood strikes, said industry trade group NATO,” Deadline reported.
“This industry has not had a quote ‘normal’ year in five years,” said NATO President and CEO, Michael O’Leary.
He added that what the industry needs “is just four or five months of normalcy. And I think that is what you are seeing now…So we’ll see in 2025 if we can actually have an entire calendar year without something that is beyond our control impacting our industry.”
The chains that are part of this investment include AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark USA, Cineplex, Marcus, B&B Theatres, Harkins Theatres and Santikos Entertainment. Together, they represent over 1,600 locations across the United States and Canada, accounting for 67% of the North American box office.
“There is no question that movie fans of all ages love heading to the local theatre to see great movies on the big screen. But the competition for consumers’ hard-earned dollars is fiercer than ever,” O’Leary added in a statement. “Going to the theatre is an unparalleled entertainment experience, and exhibitors are dedicated to making every visit to their theaters memorable. This investment reflects that commitment in a tangible way that every moviegoer will see and enjoy.”
These upgrades aim to give consumers the best experience possible for what their dollar is worth.
“Today’s consumers rightly demand the best possible experience when they visit our theatres. Operating a theatre today is a capital-intensive operation,” said NATO Executive Board Chair and CEO of B&B Theatres, Bob Bagby. “This investment of resources is the next step in our industry’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that going to the theatre remains a unique and special experience for generations to come.”
Movieguide® previously reported on theaters struggling to rebound from the last several years:
It’s been a year since the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, and movie theaters are still trying to recover.
“Marcus Theatres saw revenue and profit dip last quarter but is the latest exhibitor to report a soft April and May leading into a notable positive shift in June as the industry shakes off the impact of the Hollywood strikes last year,” per Deadline.
While on a post-earnings call with analysts, CEO Greg Marcus said of the movies released during the first part of the year, “It has to be what I call a normal slate. If you release 100 films and not one of them is tentpole, that is not a normal slate.”
He added, however, that he’s “glad they were putting movies out there” at the start of 2024. But they just weren’t tentpoles.
As the theater industry starts to rebound from the strikes and the lingering effects of the pandemic, it needs a combination of small and large films to help bring interest in going to the movies to a more normal level.
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