Is this the year that theaters die?

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‘Mission: Impossible 7,’ ‘A Quiet Place 2’ to Debut on Paramount Plus After 45 Days in Theaters

'Mission: Impossible 7,' 'A Quiet Place Part II' and more Paramount releases will be available to view at home sooner than expected.

variety.com

So, is the future dimming on the theater experience or is this year just an off year and come 2022,they will bounce back?

 

[payn]

Off year, but probably a lot that will be closing down and not coming back.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I don't know that they will go away completely. They make a lot of money when things are normal.

I think, that for us olds, we overlook a big part of the movie-going experience. While this might change from place to place, in the Before-Times, it was common for the teen community to go and see movies together and "hang out" (kind of like a big social date) where I live- in fact, that was the #1 activity for a lot of them.

When things get back to normal, I'm guessing that they would like to go back to doing that. IMO.

 

[Professor Murder]

I think the largest movie studios have been watching the returns on streaming as a replacement over the last year. Unless it is viable for them, they have a vested interest in physical theaters returning. What is likely is less theater chains and the possibility of said movie studios buying them up on the cheap and branding them. So you will get all your Disney films at a Disney branded theater. I expect there will be legal entanglements.

 

[embee]

AMC got a big infusion of cash in January. Basically, if it didn't, it would have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

It's still not out of the woods but it may survive.

There's a reason it, along with GameStop, was targeted for a short sale. It's in a very weak position with increasing liabilities to depressed income.

Another thing to look for is how consumer electronics manufacturers and big box retailers did this quarter. Income and consumer spending were up. If the spending went to TVs and streaming boxes, that could be bad for theaters. Why spend $100 to take the family to the movies when you can pay $15 a month for Disney+?

 

[embee]

I think the largest movie studios have been watching the returns on streaming as a replacement over the last year. Unless it is viable for them, they have a vested interest in physical theaters returning. What is likely is less theater chains and the possibility of said movie studios buying them up on the cheap and branding them. So you will get all your Disney films at a Disney branded theater. I expect there will be legal entanglements.

Hard to get less than what we have now. There's AMC, Cinemark, Regal, and Carmike. That's pretty much it.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I think the largest movie studios have been watching the returns on streaming as a replacement over the last year. Unless it is viable for them, they have a vested interest in physical theaters returning. What is likely is less theater chains and the possibility of said movie studios buying them up on the cheap and branding them. So you will get all your Disney films at a Disney branded theater. I expect there will be legal entanglements.

Weirdly, you might not be wrong. But this is a very recent development.

For most of Hollywood's history, studios (think Disney) have been prevented from owning the distribution theaters (think AMC). However, at the end of 2019 the government agreed to end the consent decrees that prohibited that ownership. Weirdly, this happened right before the pandemic (although it was the culmination of a longer process).

As for why studios are streaming right now, it's not because of the money. They are losing a lot of money doing this. Instead, its because they know they won't be getting a full box office this year, and they are using their movies to promote their own streaming services in order to compete with Netflix, et al.

Take the short-term hit for the long-term gain of sweet, sweet subscription dollars. Because when it all shakes out, I don't think there will be this many major subscription services.

 

[MarkB]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the major distributors are quietly buying up any of these sites and companies as they fail, in anticipation of consolidating / monopolising the market once things open up.

 

[Umbran]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the major distributors are quietly buying up any of these sites and companies as they fail, in anticipation of consolidating / monopolising the market once things open up.

Yeah. Controlling the chain from raw materials through production and distribution is a capitalist's dream. It also leads to monopolies, lawsuits, and companies being broken up. So, we'll see how that shakes out.

 

[Ryujin]

I sure hope that it won't be the case. I also fear that it'll be so. We've already lost the magic of going to a tiny 1, 2. or 3 screen theatre to the megaplexes and now it certainly seems like everything will be moving into the home. I saw "Return of the Jedi" in a beautiful, large, 1920s style one screen theatre that I think is now a block of condos.