Probably will be converted to 8 apartments - each one with a BIG screen TV included.

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But a good distance from most of the Villages that have been here since 2005 or so. And not golf cart accessible.

Again. This is a retirement community and not Tampa, Orlando or some other place. We like old cars, old movies, old music and drive-ins. What is "old " changes though as the birth years of the Villages go up in decades.

There is a big demand for movies in theaters in the Villages. Still.

Sorry Tal. No matter how much you try to convince yourself that there is big demand for theaters, statistics are against you. Trust me. If there was enough of a demand to make the theaters profitable the developer would open them in a heartbeat. As far as marketing them as a perk to sell houses, they don’t need to. They are selling houses nearly as fast as they can build them.

There have been some very big crowds at movie theaters here in the Villages. When we moved here in July of 2005 there was only the Rialto which would sometimes have to turn away people. And that has happened since they added the Old Mill Playhouse at the end of 2005.

Big movies like the Star Wars one attracted very long lines at the Barnstorm when it opened. Small movies targeted at seniors also had very long lines at all theaters.

"Hollywood" took a big hit from COVID in the production of movies and it will take them a while to get up and running even if they make movies in Eastern Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, India, Georgia (USA and Russia), etc.

Sorry, Tal, but I don’t think that is as certain as you make it sound.

Tal, most retirees now love the comfort of their home, their friends, their furniture and their own pauses in the movies they watch, for bathroom breaks.

People can enjoy all those things if they DON’T go to a theater and many have media rooms in their home just for that pleasure. It’s also safer than coming out of a theater in Brownwood in the later hours of the evening.

Movie theaters are passe and it was surprising they built that one in Brownwood. But, as stated earlier, that building will make a great condo or apartment complex.;)

Tal, if it is such a great business to be in then develop a business plan and lease the closed theater in Brownwood with YOUR capital. It amazes me how people will tell the developer how to use their capital. I guarantee you the developer knows exactly how many people go to the theater in Lake Sumter. If there was so much demand and they could make a reasonable profit they would open Brownwood. At least for now in the US, no business is required to lose money on an operation just because some people on the internet feel the need for a specific business to open up.

The developers own the movie theaters.


They do not lease them out.

You can rent these for an evening for parties and the like. Rented Spaces - The Villages Entertainment

People have been voting with their feet to rarely fill up a theater. Wish they would reopen the other theaters but does not seem the demand is there.

My pea-brain tells me that it would have made more sense to have all the movies at Barnstorm rather than Sumter. For two reasons:

Brownwood is more centrally located.

The theaters are generally larger and much better condition.

Makes sense to me. I would believe that politics came into this. Merchants in Sumter perhaps lobbied for this. And perhaps more from Northern populations.

Sumter has Lazy Macs and Savanna and The Sharon is “up there”. I guess the Southern folks simply have to grin a bear it.

Just sayin’. All IMO.

I live near Lake Sumter Landing and I agree with you on all points. Although the Barnstorm theater does not have the latest and greatest seating and really large screens as other theaters not in The Villages, it is a better and newer theater than the Old Mill Playhouse. Barnstorm is certainly more centrally located for those folks who live in the southern villages. It just makes more sense to open Barnstorm and close the LSL theater.

They could keep both open.

It’s not just a problem with the theaters in TV. COVID accelerated the slow demise of the movie industry in general. In order to compete with the high def at home viewing options, theaters are installing IMAX screens and reclining seats that vibrate. This dramatically increases ticket prices and potential viewers only have to wait a couple weeks to stream from home.

I love to watch movies at the theater, but only catch 1-3 blockbusters a year, down from 5-6 in years past.

Regal Owner Cineworld Nears Bankruptcy as Theater Comeback Lags - WSJ

[QUOTE=Dond1959;2137534]Tal, if it is such a great business to be in then develop a business plan and lease the closed theater in Brownwood with YOUR capital. It amazes me how people will tell the developer how to use their capital. I guarantee you the developer knows exactly how many people go to the theater in Lake Sumter. If there was so much demand and they could make a reasonable profit they would open Brownwood. At least for now in the US, no business is required to lose money on an operation just because some people on the internet feel the need for a specific business to open up.[/QUOTE

Lighten up on Tal. Its an interesting thread that doesn't need a lecture

Heck, the Southern folks can go to the AMC theater in Leesburg which is better than any theater in The Villages. It’s closer than LSL and about 5 minutes farther than Brownwood.