Back to the big screen

Lost theater habits must be recovered

Moviegoing is a habit, and it’s one that may need to be kick-started to get the engine running again. Despite my love of the movie experience, my reason for going that day was practical. The theater was the only place No Time to Die was showing. It’s that exclusivity that remains one of the drivers of ticket sales.

In a recent Where We Buy podcast interview, Kevin Grayson of production company STXfilms explained how important the windows of exclusivity are to theater chains. In the recent past, theaters could rely on a 90-day window of exclusivity. During the pandemic that dropped to zero and fans streamed Wonder Woman 1984 at home on its release date. Now, windows have returned. The new Marvel film Eternals opened last week with a box-office-boosting 45-day window.

Less screens, better screens

How many screens do we need? In the last decade, the U.S. lost 226 theaters, but we may need to lose a few more to create a new equilibrium. Just as ecommerce reduced the need for a percentage of retail space, streaming services have reduced the need for a certain number of film screens.

U.S. Movie Theaters
 

But we expect most theaters to remain profitable. Niche boutique and art house theaters that offer special events and screenings will continue to draw cineastes. So too will the blockbuster palaces draw superfans, couples on a night out and families catching the latest Disney release. Most resilient will be those theaters outfitted with the biggest screens, latest technology, and most advanced 3D experiences. 

What to do with an empty multiplex?

As some theaters close, they will become a new challenge to their landlords. The configuration of a multiplex theater, with multiple screening rooms, sloped floors and high ceilings can make adaptive reuse difficult. But some uses have been found.

• A nine-screen Harkins theater in Flagstaff, Arizona was transformed into government offices in 2016. 
• In Pittsburgh, SouthSide Works Cinema was redeveloped as a part of a mixed-use project with retail, apartments and office space.  
• U-Haul recently purchased a multiplex in Rome, Georgia that it will transform into 500 self-storage units, opening this spring.

Yet despite this creativity, redevelopment may often not make economic sense. Often the highest and best use is to demolish a theater and rebuild on the land.