Movie Theaters Could Shut Down For Good if Congress Doesn't Pass The Trillion-Dollar Rescue Bill

There are a lot of individuals and businesses who are being hit hard financially due to the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses have shut down, people have lost jobs, the economy is tanking, and life as we knew it is falling apart in crazy and unexpected ways. Life is scary!

While I’ve been looking forward to the day when movie theaters reopen, there’s a very real chance that the movie theater business will die and that theater won’t reopen. According to John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners a.k.a. NATO, if congress doesn’t pass the trillion-dollar coronavirus rescue bill, that will happen.

In an interview with Variety, he said, “The situation is that dire. Overnight, we went from an industry that makes $15 billion a year — $11 billion in ticket sales and $4 billion in concessions — to one that is not going to make a penny for three or four months.”

He goes on to say that he hopes that the “final legislation will include provisions for federal loan guarantees, as well as expanded unemployment benefits and cash payments to the 150,000 cinema workers who have been furloughed.”

As of right now, theaters are struggling to stay firm without any income coming in. Even though they’ve let workers go, these theaters are still required to pay rent and utilities and they may face bankruptcy without government aid. Just like the rest of us!

Due to the state of the economy, banks are “unwilling to extend lines of credit to cinemas because they’re not sure how long the public health crisis will last and theaters will need to remain closed. It’s a bleak scenario that’s playing out for major chains such as AMC and Regal, as well as for smaller circuits and family-run venues. But it’s one that could be remedied if the Federal Government agrees to back the loans the theaters need.”

If this bill doesn’t pass most of these movie theaters will go bankrupt. Not all of them, but Fithian emphasizes “most.” The theater owners are also asking lawmakers to make loans more readily available to the smaller theater chains as well as independently owned cinemas.

Fithian explains, “Loan guarantees are literally what can keep companies alive so we can bring back workers when the virus is over. We want the government to help workers directly so they can pay rent and buy groceries while this is going on, but we also need help to survive so we will be there on the other side with a job for them.”

Fithian is optimistic that the legislation will pass and says, “I’ve never seen a process like this. It’s unlike the broken government of the last few years and all the partisanship that we’ve seen happening. It’s truly historic. My confidence is growing that they will put together something that will literally save large portions of the American economy. If it does, that will be one of the proudest days we’ve seen for the American government.”

He’s also calling on help from the studios to make sure they release these delayed films in theaters when the pandemic has subsided. “We need studios to help us out. We need their movies to be released theatrically later this year. We need to have something to play on our screens when we come back.”

Director Christopher Nolan recently talked about the importance of keeping movie theaters up and running and why we need them in our society. He makes several good points that I wholeheartedly agree with.

I understand that one of the big questions here is if there will be a movie theater industry when the virus has run its course. But a lot of us are asking questions like, Will I even have a job when this is over? Will I have to file for bankruptcy because I can’t pay my bills? Will I get kicked out of my home if I can’t pay rent? Then there are the people who are actually sick with the virus wondering if they will even survive. Many of us are all in the same boat.

While movie theaters have always been an important part of my life and I hope the industry survives this, I care more about if how this is going to affect my family and I! I have no idea what the future holds, the uncertainty is unsettling. But, like many of you, we are pressing forward and doing the best we can with what we have.