The Movie Theater Industry Believes It Will Rise Up and Be Stronger Than Ever

When I attended CinemaCon this year, one of the things I was most interested in was seeing how the movie theater industry is feeling after such a dark and hard couple of years due to the pandemic and cinema shutting down because of it. MPA chairman Charles Rivkin said:

“We have been through one of the worst years that the global economy — and our industry in particular — has had in a generation. Few took this harder than theater owners and their employees, across the United States and around the world. Theaters completely shuttered. Employees let go. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs or were furloughed. More than 96 percent of independently owned and mid-sized theaters lost 70 percent of their income. And just when things seemed to be coming back, and talk of recovery was everywhere, the Delta variant came in, making everyone fear once again for their health and their economic security.”

There was a big panic when studios started selling some of their films to streaming services and other studios like Warner Bros. and Disney made decisions to start releasing films on their own streaming services. As you know, they’ve even been doing simultaneous releases for their films in theaters and on streaming services.

Things are certainly changing in how films are being distributed, but some studios are holding fast and wholeheartedly believe that watching a movie in the movie theater is the best way for a movie to be seen. These studios and the movie theater industry, in general, believe that they will rise up and be stranger than ever now that theaters are opening back up and audiences are starting to flock back to theaters.

I will always support the movie-going experience. Ever since I watched E.T. at the movies when I was a kid I was hooked! You just can replicate the experience of watching a film on the big screen with other movie fans! It’s the only way to properly experience a movie!

MGM is one of the studios that is putting their support behind movie theaters and they are dedicated to them. The event opened with MGM Motion Picture Group chairman Michael De Luca telling the movie theater owners and managers:

“Thank God for each and every one of you. There is no industry without all of you. There is no Hollywood without all of you. Every filmmaker has a movie theater waiting at the end of their dream, and you’ve all made that happen. We held all of our movies for you. The world is going to recover and the MGM slate will give us optimism about the future.

“‘Life ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward. It’s about how much you can take’. We all got hit and all took an awful lot, but we all will move forward together.

“We know our obligation is to provide movies that clear a high bar for the theatrical audience. We are grateful for our franchises, but we know the future is all about originality, so we will work hard to give you what you need. We promise, we really promise we’ll work really hard to make sure it’s worth the wait.”

Other studios that shared their unwavering support for the cinema are Univeral Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Lionsgate. Universal had a pretty awesome presentation that made stars of the movie theaters owners and employees with a video that featured actors from some of their upcoming films talking about their favorite movie theaters then introduced the people who run those theaters.

When it came to Disney and Warner Bros. they didn’t really even bother to show up. Disney pretty much just showed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The Warner Bros. presentation featured domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein acknowledging the “tough and controversial choices” that the studio made by putting its entire 2021 slate on HBO Max at no extra charge on the same day they hit theaters. And when he said, “Going to the theater is simply in our DNA. And that will never change. That won’t be replicated in any way,” there were a good amount of laughs in the theater because it came off as being so disingenuous.

As for Sony Pictures, they slammed the hybrid releases as being “devastating” for film industry with Sony's Josh Greenstein saying, "Debuting movies simultaneously in theaters and at home is devastating to our collective businesses." This got huge applause from the crowd!

NATO chief John Fithian went on to talk about how exclusive theatrical release periods are a vital part to the survival of movie theaters saying:

“Exclusive release periods remain vital to the survival and success of the theatrical experience. Theatrical windows won’t be what they were before, but they can’t be what they were during the pandemic either. What the future holds is up to our members and distributors to decide, but let us be clear about one thing: simultaneous release Does. Not. Work. For anyone. A steady flow of strong movies released with exclusive windows is essential to exhibition’s recovery, and to the profitability of the entire movie ecosystem.”

Rivkin went on to inspire theater owners to get up and fight for a comeback:

“Ladies and gentlemen, for more than a hundred years, we have built one of the most successful and iconic industries in human history. And together, we will build an even greater one in the century to come. As movie lovers, I’m sure you’ll agree that we can all appreciate a great comeback story. Think of Rocky Balboa going the distance. Think of every superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Always fighting to regain their lost superpowers so they can save the world.”

For the most part, CinemCon was filled with positivity and hope. The people who showed up were excited and happy to be there. They believe that the future is bright for movie theaters, and with many of the studios having their backs, I believe that theaters aren’t going anywhere and that they are only going to get stronger over time. Theaters are going to stick around and they’ll be here for the long run.