Will movie theaters ever reopen? AMC may not (article)

[disneysteve]

https://insidethemagic.net/2020/04/amc-closing-permanently-rwb1/?utm_content=buffere96f1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR2j0ZGMjXdDC0-mfBNc8X8LyNO8XWUbqonoGRNhuN272-6NSP2UxbuX6c4

It sounds like AMC was already on very shaky ground before the COVID crisis hit. Might this be the last nail in their coffin? Even if they reopen in a couple of months, many theatrical releases have been postponed or cancelled entirely with movies going straight to streaming instead. I know Disney+ has done this.

[TexasHusker]

A banker here who owns a large national bank that is 130 years old (the bank, not the banker) said that there will be many businesses that will never re-open. And then there will be businesses that re-open that probably shouldn’t have, and 6-12 months later they also will close. It’s going to be very ugly for a long time I’m afraid. Lockdowns stretching into summer are going to gut this country and it could take a generation for things to return. I’m talking 2040 and after. Wealth like this isn’t lost and re-gained quickly.

[rennigade]

Doesnt surprise me, about movie theaters in general. The last time I was in a movie theater was in 2014 to see interstellar. Most people now have large HD tvs. Lot of people even have some sort of sound bar. I have a surround sound system in our living room. My furniture is more comfortable, I can pause the movie whenever I want, the quality on the screen is better, its cheaper, and it takes a lot less time to pay for a movie through your cable company or online, you can start watching it in seconds. No need to drive to a specific location, its just much more convenient.

Families are getting tired of paying $60 for 4 people to sit in a theater with a bunch of strangers they do not know. Good riddance to theaters.

[Like2Plan]

I love going to the movies, so this makes me really sad. In fact, I still have some vouchers for movies at AMC. (Oh well).

[greenskeeper]

drive-ins will make a comeback !

[disneysteve]

drive-ins will make a comeback !

That would be cool. One of the only operating drive-ins is here in NJ but a bit too far from us (about 40 minutes).

[kork13]

Comeback of drive-in's would be AWESOME! There's one in OKC that we went to at least every month or two. It was great!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

that would be cool!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

It's been 28 years since I was in a theater.

[disneysteve]

It's been 28 years since I was in a theater.

I go once or twice a year. I don’t enjoy the communal movie experience. I can’t stand people talking and texting the whole time. I can’t stand how loud they usually make it. And I hate having a 2-hour movie be a nearly 4- hour event with travel and getting seats and watching ads and previews.

[bjl584]

I think the future is sitting at home and ordering a movie in your living room.
Coronavirus seems to have sped up the process

[disneysteve]

I think the future is sitting at home and ordering a movie in your living room.
Coronavirus seems to have sped up the process

I think this episode has sped up a lot of things. It will be really interesting to see what the world looks like in a year or so.

I think a lot of old habits and processes and procedures that were hanging on purely due to inertia have been forcibly disrupted and won't be back, or at least not to the extent they once were.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

maybe but how do you make money off movies? Or do you not make movies anymore?

[kork13]

maybe but how do you make money off movies? Or do you not make movies anymore?

Movies would have to transition to the model that music was forced to follow -- primarily digital sales & licensing augmented by physical sales, vs. the other way around. When's the last time you bought a CD? Most musicians are earning their money from digital sales, or licensing to music services like Pandora, Apple Music, & Amazon Music. Movie makers may be forced to rely more heavily on digital purchases/rentals, with a more limited presence in theaters.

[disneysteve]

maybe but how do you make money off movies? Or do you not make movies anymore?

You make money by charging to stream/download. That's already a thing. There are some movies that had just been released when everything shut down. The studios moved them to one of the streaming services as a paid download. A new movie might go for $19.99. Not great if it's just you but if it's a couple and even better if you've got a kid or two, it's actually a bargain. And the studio probably still does okay depending on how much they pay the streaming service vs. how much they were paying theaters. And if they own the streaming service, like Disney+, they might even make out better.