The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every business in some way. Most have adapted to the new way of life. Others have not been so fortunate. Movie theaters have faced many challenges in the last two years. Normally, a night at the movies is relaxing. Now authorities have advised the population to avoid large crowds and enclosed spaces. Theaters have had to get creative or temporarily close their doors.
Movie theaters in Bangor are back open.
In the spring of 2020, the pandemic had forced all movie theaters across the country to close. The U.S. had imposed lockdown safety measurements. Due to the lockdown, movie theater chain giant AMC closed its nearly 600 domestic locations. The lockdown also included Hollywood productions. The movie business had come to a standstill.
In the summer months, as restrictions eased, theaters slowly started to reopen. Theaters required masks and social distancing. Theaters struggled to draw traffic without new releases. The second largest movie theater chain in the U.S., Regal Theaters, decided in October 2020 to shutter the doors of its 536 locations indefinitely.
During this time, movie theaters continued to operate with lower capacity and less staff. These theaters had to adapt to keep customers coming in. According to Madeline Keefe, a manager at Premiere Theaters in Melbourne, Fla., they played classic movies at a reduced cost. “We were offering movies for $2 a show. I think the nostalgia of seeing some movies in the theater again had its draw. But people were still very nervous about coming back out.”
The box office totaled $2.28 billion in 2020. That’s the lowest box office record in nearly 40 years. In 2019, the box office totaled $11.4 billion. While physical locations suffered, digital revenue increased 33 percent. People turned to streaming services for entertainment. Some production companies took notice. They chose to release new movies directly to streaming services.
Warner Bros. and HBO Max struck a partnership. They would release new movies simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max app. Disney decided to do this as well. They gave customers the option to rent the latest releases on their Disney+ app. Consumers benefited from being able to watch from the comfort of their own homes.
Some theaters could not adapt to the challenges they faced. Arclight and Pacific Theaters closed their locations permanently in April of 2021. Cinemagic temporarily closed theaters in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts in February of 2021. They did reopen these locations in May 2021.
By the spring of 2021, Regal Theaters started to reopen their locations nationwide. By summer, theaters were seeing an increase in traffic. Keefe had noticed this trend as well. “Numbers have been continuously trending up since July. I think due to more and more people becoming vaccinated. The older crowd is the last to make its way back out, but we are starting to see more of our regulars again.” The movie theater industry had entered the fourth quarter of 2021. Sales have started to improve again. Big budget movies tend to come out in the months of November and December. The box office deficit should start to close.
Experts worry about another surge in the pandemic in the winter months. We most likely won’t see as many theaters closing their doors. But this will provide more challenges to theaters just as they are starting to recover. Hopefully, movie theaters will not be hit as hard this time around. Oscar Matute, an avid movie fun, is looking forward to returning to the theater. “Going to the movies is one of my favorite things to do. I can’t wait to get back to normal.”
