Marcus Theatres to shut down all cinemas
Announcement follows limits on people gathering
Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres Corp.'s cinemas are shutting down indefinitely — the latest in a series of closings that are affecting the nation's movie industry.
The theater circuit said it is temporarily closing its theaters starting Tuesday, with the last showtime at 8:30 p.m. The shutdown affects 6,500 employees.
“At Marcus Theatres and Movie Tavern, the safety and well-being of guests and associates remains our top priority,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres.
“We've had many precautions in place that were guided by best practices from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), state and local authorities,” he said in a statement.
“Now the guidance is clear that temporarily closing is the right thing to do. It's important that we help our nation's
preventive efforts with this outbreak for the benefit of our guests, associates and the communities in which we do business.”
Marcus Theatres, the fourth-largest theater circuit in the United States and the largest circuit in Wisconsin, on Monday said it was cutting seating capacity in half to create social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other major theater circuits were taking similar measures.
But later on Monday, Gov. Tony Evers banned gatherings of 50 people or more throughout Wisconsin.
And, hours later, President Donald Trump said the latest recommendation is to limit such gatherings to 10 people — with Evers on Tuesday modifying his order to reflect that guidance.
In response, the nation’s two largest theater chains, AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas, said they are shutting down completely.
In Wisconsin, AMC operates six cinemas totaling 73 screens, including AMC Mayfair Mall 18 in Wauwatosa.
Other chains taking that step include Landmark Theatres, the nation’s largest art house circuit. Its locations include Milwaukee’s Downer Theatre.
Marcus Theatres owns or operates 1,106 screens at 91 locations in 17 states under the Marcus Theatres, Movie Tavern by Marcus and BistroPlex brands. That includes 295 screens at 24 locations throughout Wisconsin.
A total shutdown brings even more bad news for an industry that was already facing a decline in business tied to the pandemic, and some underperforming films.
Marcus Theatres is a division of Marcus Corp., which also operates hotels.
Marcus Corp. in February reported fourth-quarter net income of $7.8 million for the period ending Dec. 26, a 10.5% decline from $8.7 million from the year-earlier period. On a per-share basis, earnings were 25 cents, a 16.7% decline from 30 cents.
Revenue was $206.9 million, an 18.2% increase from $175 million.
The company’s Movie Tavern theaters contributed to record revenue, “but overall results for Marcus Theatres were primarily impacted by a weaker film slate than in the prior year,” said Greg Marcus, Marcus Corp. president and chief executive officer.
The first quarter of 2020 was “off to a solid start, with higher admission revenues at comparable theatres compared to the same time last year,” said Rodriguez in that Feb. 20 earnings statement.
“This is due to a strong week between December 27 and New Year’s Day and an improved January and February film slate, with strong holdover movies from 2019 and new movies including “1917,” “Bad Boys For Life” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” contributing to the early first quarter results,” Rodriguez said.
“The remainder of 2020 is expected to include a larger number of films than in fiscal 2019 and will likely be less dependent on blockbusters,” he said.
But, weekend box office revenue for theaters in the U.S. and Canada began dropping steeply in March over growing concerns about COVID-19, according to SeekingAlpha.com.
This past weekend was the worst for the domestic box office in nearly two decades, with grosses in the U.S. and Canada totaling just $55.3 million.
Also, Disney announced Tuesday it is indefinitely postponing the release of “Black Widow” — which the studio hopes will be a major blockbuster. It had been set for a May 1 theatrical release.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Universal Pictures is no longer giving theaters an exclusive 90day period to show new movies.
“The decision, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic and likely to anger theater owners, makes Universal the first old-line studio to become more like Netflix in its approach to film distribution,” the Times reported.