Movie Theaters’ Closure
 

Cineworld Group PLC, the world's second biggest theater chain and the owner of Regal Cinemas, is preparing to file for bankruptcy after struggling to rebuild its audience. The British entertainment conglomerate, which reopened theaters last year, said attendance has lagged due to a lack of blockbuster films and will likely persist through November, potentially complicating efforts to cut its debt.

Cineworld operates 751 sites in 10 countries, including more than 500 Regal Cinemas theaters in the US. It saw about 95 million moviegoers in 2021, compared to the 275 million in 2019. Earlier this year, the company said it was looking for new sources of liquidity, as it faces payment obligations to former Regal shareholders and a multimillion-dollar dispute over its failed acquisition of Canada's Cineplex. Cineworld had net debt of $8.9B at the end of 2021 and revenues of $1.8B.

Total box office ticket sales in the US have been down roughly 30%, compared to prepandemic levels (see comparison), partly due to some production companies choosing to directly release to streaming platforms.

It would have to be a fantastic blockbuster in order to get us away from our large flatscreen with surround sound. Able to pause, lounge, cheap popcorn and snacks etc.

Covid, $$$$, and a cozy home seriously impacted our desire to go to movie theaters. Looks as if a % of the TV and USA population agree.

If they want more people to go to the theater:

Ban cell phones
Remove people who talk during the movie
Start the movie on time, and don't allow late comers
Provide a headline jack to connect to your personal headphones

The market for people watching films in theaters has peaked and will never get to where it was.

This is why only one theatre in the villages has reopened and hope that one will survive

Have all of the above. Set up is good but can not replicate good movie experience at home. Still enjoy seeing a good movie at the theatre. We only go to the AMC theatre in Leesburg which has the oversized reclining chairs and with very few distractions(like I have at home) Hope same thing does not happen to them.

Digital photography took down the likes of Polaroid, e-mail and electronic billing would have taken down the post office without tax payer funded bailouts, video streaming already took down Blockbuster, now it’s also taking down the Movie Theater Industry and replacing it with a whole new business model of content delivery. Like it or not, stuff changes and there’s nothing we can do about it. I just wish streaming wasn’t so complicated and constantly changing. When we want to watch sometime we just want to have one remote, click the on button, and scrolling through the channels. We spend so little time watching TV anyways, we don’t want to allocate half of that time figuring out how the hell to watch stuff. Gotta love the free over the air content picked up with a high def antenna, local news and good reruns of old comedies. We are fortunate in the Villages to be able to pull in lots of free over the air content broadcast from the Orlando market.

It is very crowded when I have gone of late and the Villages' developers could easily afford keeping the other movie theaters open. They are part of the Villages' Squares and are, as far as I know, owned by the Villages. Theatres & Locations - The Villages Entertainment

I find it hard to watch movies without pause and replay features.

We also enjoy going to the AMC in Lessburg. The recliners are great and it's nice to be able to reserve your seats. We usually go to the matinees and there never seems to be more than 10-15 people in the theater. Hopefully their later showings are enough to carry them through.

I have a large screen TV and a high end surround system. Great for Game of Thrones or Stranger Things. Not for Jungle Cruise or Top Gun. Plus I enjoy the movie going experience.

Some things will die a much slower death in the Villages than in the rest of the real world given the demographic difference in a 55+ retirement community. Printed (versus digital) newspapers, people who still want to pay for things with cash, and watching movies in a Theater are some of the more obvious examples.

Movie theaters are heading to a slippery slope, same way drive in theaters did.

Amazed that the Barnstorm Theater is still closed with all the growth south and golf cart access. Maybe when the water tower and windmill are replaced.

That would be nice.:agree:

I don't want to hurt anyone who has good memories of going to the movies but let's face it. It will probably never be as popular as it was a short time ago.

I survived not seeing Top Gun. I think I'll be fine until it comes to a big screen in my little home.

I saw it twice at the movie theater and the sound and picture could not be compared to on a TV.

Also:
Turn the volume down
Remove commercials from the screening
Have armed security, (talk about sitting ducks with all the mass shootings out there…)

Ah, never mind. Watching movies at home is far superior for our tastes.

I awoke one day and saw Hollywood for what is was. Since then all of my beliefs have been reinforced. Actors, like athletes are grossly overpaid and think because of that, their options matter more than that of others with vastly superior intelligence and logic. Hollywood, like many evil establishments does not hire on meritocracy. Ask Harvey Weinstein et al

It looks like some movie theater chains have hired security.

Thirty years ago I used to see almost every film that showed up at the cineplex. In the five years before Covid I saw maybe one movie a year at a theater and resented the outrageous prices. I’ve gone to no theaters since Covid hit and don’t plan to return. Now I watch movies in bed on a screen six feet wide, and a month of Netflix costs about as much as one movie for two.

When I was in college there were half a dozen old theaters in town (Denver) that showed great movies of the past, two for a dollar, changing films daily. For example, a week of Bogart movies, or Chaplin movies, or Ingmar Bergman movies, or Screwball comedies, or Cary Grant movies, or John Ford movies, or Truffaut movies. It was a great way to gain an appreciation of movie history. But those days are gone.

Movie theaters
 

Agree
AMC is awesome. Cost is less too; and A-List membership or $5 Tuesdays reduce the cost even more, for a superior experience. We are lucky to have one so close.

I think when they invented TVs everyone thought movies would go away. Young people find going to a movie and dinner great places to go on a date. Others want to get out of the house and the movie is a place to get out of the house and enjoy one on a big screen! The pandemic ripple effect has affected everything and will take time to get back to normal. The virus isn’t over yet because it keeps mutating so some people may be hesitant to be inside with crowds of people. As soon as people feel safe and there are some movies released that are worth seeing, they will be back!

++++ & +++++.

They're going broke because people stopped going as they refuse to support the woke Hollywood elites.

They did play old movies at the Rialto and are doing that now at the Sharon on Tuesdays through Thursdays. Cinema Series at The Sharon - The Villages Entertainment

I saw about 8 horror movies at the Rialto during a film festival. Old Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, Dracula flicks. This was around Spring of 2020.

Pass the 🍿
 

well,

With most of the crap put out by Hollywood, it’s absolutely no wonder that their box office is suffering. On the rare occasions that we want to see something on a giant screen, we have to deal with a half hour of previews at an ear-splitting volume and too many people who don’t know how to act in public.

You mean by taking money out of their pocket and throwing it at a losing business? Not a great business model (unless you are the federal government:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:)

I would think the time is right for a Drive In comeback. In New York there was a one screen drive in (with a field of cows behind it. They now have three screens and are sold out on weekends up to an hour before showtime. Wish there were more in Florida.

They would be making money opening the Rialto and the Barnstorm. There is a huge number of movie fans in the Villages especially of movies popular in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and after. As well as before.

It is a very poor business model keeping those two movie theaters closed.

And I have no idea what people nowadays mean by "Hollywood" as many movies are made in Georgia, Great Britain, Ireland, Poland, New Mexico, New York State, and in many other places all over the world. With actors and actresses from all over the world. And by companies that are world wide in scope.

They’re talking about the “Hollywood” mentality, you can find that in other places than Hollywood, CA.

I look at movie theaters like landlines in homes, an extra expense for an outdated service.

If they were making money hand over fist, why are 2 theaters closed????

They are maybe worried about COVID coming back. There is also the problem that "Hollywood" did not produce enough movies while COVID was around and they have yet to catch up.

I can certainly agree with that assessment!

Normally, I would say that they are a bunch of weenies if they are still worried about COVID, but then again, we're talking about Hollywood :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

No. We are talking about the developers who could schedule all kinds of movies aimed at Villagers.

Most new movies are being streamed now, no? There really aren’t all kinds of movies available just for the old, over fifty crowd.

I can think of hundreds of movies that they could be showing. One of them for instance-- Dirty Dancing - Wikipedia

Or 27 of them with the various James Bond movies.
All 27 James Bond Movies In Order: How To Watch 007 Movies Chronologically << Rotten Tomatoes – Movie and TV News

Or Clint Eastwood movies.

Why pay out a fistful of dollars to watch those old shows? Better off to stay home and watch ME tv if that is what type of reheats one desires.

Another ReMake
 

Have they always remade every past hit with a new cast, or is this a new trend. It seems every movie that was a hit in the 70's to 90's has been remade with a new cast. They never measure up to the original.

This evening I received a notice from MoviePass which brought back memories of going to the movies almost every other day. Those were the days.

"We are so excited to announce that we are beginning our launch sequence to bring MoviePass back. For those of you who don’t know MoviePass was sold back in 2017 to a private equity group and due to mismanagement subsequently closed its doors. Last year I, one of the original Founders, bought the company back with the plan to relaunch it. Time Magazine did a great piece that does a wonderful job of explaining the sequence of events that lead to this point.

I want to thank everyone for their support in helping us get here. So many of you have called, emailed and even stopped me on the street to show that you still had your original MoviePass card and talk about how much you loved the service. So if you were a 2012 OG or caught the wave towards the end we look forward to welcoming you back.

We will begin relaunching the service beginning Labor Day - September 5th. But prior to that we are opening up our waitlist to be able to join."

It may not be the same this time around.