A blurry picture as cinemas reopen
As L.A. theaters reopen, owners attempt to lure audiences newly spoiled by the ease of streaming.
Drawing viewers who are used to streaming will be a challenge.
about 12:45 p.m. Monday, nearly a full year after the pandemic shut down Los Angeles movie houses, patrons finally began to trickle back into the lobby of the Cinemark Playa Vista and XD theater.
One of the first through the door was Ken May, a 58-year-old financial trader who hasn’t been to a movie since seeing “The Invisible Man” right before shutdowns took hold in March 2020. He’d been dying to get out of his home, where he stares at charts all day, so he got a ticket to the 1:10 p.m. showing of Sony’s “Monster Hunter.”
“I’ve been itching like I’ve got hives,” he said. “I miss my movie theaters. It’s just been a part of my life.”
Others slowly trekked into the ninescreen multiplex in what could almost be described as a normal midday trip to the movies. Pamelyn Rocco pushed a stroller with one hand while carrying an armful of candy on her way to find the auditorium playing “Tom & Jerry.”
She and her two kids were visiting Playa Vista on a spring-break trip from Nashville, where they moved just months before COVID-19 upended everything. They were all happy to return to their favorite theater.
“When we lived here, we would come once a week,” Rocco said. “We were really big moviegoers.”
For Cinemark Chief Executive Mark Zoradi, who was there to oversee the reopening Monday, the occasion was long-awaited.
Los Angeles — home of the movie business and the nation’s biggest box office market — is one of the last major metropolitan areas in the U.S. to reopen indoor theaters. For America’s theater chains, this could finally be the start of what’s expected to be a long recovery for the moviegoing experience.
“It’s gigantic,” said Zoradi, who splits his time between L.A. and Dallas, near Cinemark’s Plano, Texas, headquarters. “I’ve been back here thinking we were going to reopen in the late summer or early fall . ... It’s a very monumental time.”
Now the awaited reopening is happening, for real this time, albeit with strict limitations. Theater auditoriums are restricted to 25% capacity in Los Angeles County, and masks are, of course, required. To ensure social distancing, Cinemark’s online ticketing system auto
matically blocks off at least two seats next to seats already purchased.
Despite a glut of longdelayed Hollywood movies and the signs of pent-up demand in other markets including China, Japan and New York, cinema owners recognize it will take time for most moviegoers to get comfortable going back. Analysts say it will be at least 2022 before theatrical attendance in the U.S. comes even close to prepandemic levels — if it ever does.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter projects this year’s domestic box office will be a paltry $4.75 billion, compared with 2019’s $11.3 billion.
The big screen probably will always be attractive to film fans. But anyone paying attention can see real changes in consumer behavior after — as Disney CEO Bob Chapek described it — a year of consumers getting movies whenever they want in their living rooms. Theaters would do well to stay ahead of these changes.
Studios will continue bringing new movies to the home earlier, collapsing theaters’ exclusive window to three weekends (in the case of Universal’s PVOD strategy) to 45 days (for a Paramount Pictures release).
Despite fierce opposition in the past, some exhibitors have shown a willingness to compromise with distributors as they test out new models. Cinemark and AMC Theatres have inked deals with Universal Pictures for its early rental strategy, for example.
Zoradi has no illusions about the business returning to the days when audiences had to wait 90 days to see new films in the home. He said Cinemark is in discussions with Warner Bros. about the studio’s eventual return to releasing movies in theaters before sending them to streaming. Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate is going straight to HBO Max and theaters simultaneously.
“The world has changed,” Zoradi said. “Every studio is going to do it a little bit differently . ... The new world order will probably be somewhere in that no-less-than-30 to 45-day range, and then there will be some exceptions.”
Some theater companies probably will keep certain adaptations that served them and audiences well during the pandemic, including Cinemark’s “private watch parties,” allowing groups to buy out whole auditoriums for as little as $99. Such screenings could help theaters make money at less popular moviegoing times, like Saturday afternoons and weekdays. Cinemark also has transitioned to paperless ticketing, a shift that also is here to stay.
Smaller theater chains, arthouses and mom-and-pops hopped onto “virtual cinema” screenings — basically rentals through their websites — to help keep the lights on, and could benefit from the added revenue stream for years to come. Even independent theaters will have to catch up to the reserve seating trend.
The health of the business depends on the quality of the experience. Before the pandemic, theaters invested in electric recliner seating, craft cocktail bars, and seats that shake and spray mist.
What more can they do to get consumers back into the habit of going to theaters? One idea could be shaking up the dining options.
A studio veteran I spoke to recently suggested that cinemas could make better use of their real estate by bringing gourmet food vendors into their lobbies, in the vein of Smorgasburg and Grand Central Market.
Dynamic ticket pricing has long been floated but never fully embraced. Implementing the concept could boost attendance for less popular films and improve weekday attendance. AMC, Cinemark, Regal and other chains already have their own version of a subscription model to encourage customer loyalty.
While they’re at it, theaters could cut down the number of annoying preroll commercials.
AMC chief Adam Aron put a fine point on another big issue during the company’s last earnings call.
“This is something that our operations department shudders about,” he said in response to an analyst. “But I’m just going to tell everybody here now: The days of dirty movie theaters are over.”
Going to the movies without your shoes sticking to the floor? Now that’s a concept few tech innovations can match.
This is taken from the March 16 edition of The Wide Shot, a weekly newsletter about everything happening in the business of entertainment. Sign up at latimes.com/newsletters.