Regal Cinemas to start reopening on April 2nd

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Regal Cinemas to start reopening on April 2nd

Post by Brian Lutz »

https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/3/2150 ... bond-us-uk

Cineworld, the owner of the Regal Cinemas chain in the US and 128 theaters in the UK, will reportedly be closing down all of their theaters. The delay of the latest 007 film to April 2021 leaves it unlikely they will be able to stay in business.

With AMC in similarly dire financial straits, this is starting to look a lot like an extinction event for the movie industry as a whole.
Last edited by Brian Lutz on March 24th, 2021, 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by Alpha8472 »

Wow, things can change so much in just a short period of time. Cinemas and multiplexes have been packed for many years. I always thought that going to the movies was something that people would always want to do. Movie theaters seemed like a business that would be around and successful no matter what went on in the world. When September 11 happened, people escaped to the cinemas. When wars happened, people still went to the cinemas. These were places where you felt comfortable and where you went to escape the troubles of life. Now even these sacred places are abandoned.

There was a time when drive in movie theaters were not doing so well and they were being bulldozed to build megaplexes. Now it is the opposite. The drive in movie theaters are doing great while the indoor cinemas are closing down.

With all of the changes, there could be many dead cinemas spread across the country for years. This will rival even dead malls. People will tour the dead megaplex cinemas and remember a time when people used to flock to the cinemas like when they flocked to the malls.
Last edited by Alpha8472 on October 4th, 2020, 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by storewanderer »

Not real easy to repurpose a cinema either. There are a couple closed ones over in Sparks that repurposed into churches...

But I think churches have the same problem as cinemas as far as people going there...
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by veteran+ »

Good riddance Regal...............get to steppin....................!

I believe they were the worse of the worse.

I have read there is a small renaissance of Drive IN scenarios.

Resurrected Drive Ins and repurposed parking lots.

I especially would love to see old Drive Inn properties brought back (however many that are still around).
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by Super S »

If this is true, it is going to leave my area without a first run movie theater.

Regal demolished the former Sears at Kelso's Three Rivers Mall several years back and built a new theater. When the new one opened, Regal closed the still-vacant Three Rivers Cinemas outparcel on the mall property, as well as the Triangle Cinemas in Longview, which is being remodeled in to a church. The only movie theater left in Longview-Kelso will be the Kelso Theater Pub which is an independent.

Regal moving to the old Sears site was their answer to rejuvenate the mall, but it was built with outside entrances and this did not happen.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by jamcool »

Back in the early 50s the advent of television was supposed to kill off the movie theaters, then the drive-in theater concept took off. Viruses eventually burn out and movie theaters will come back in some form.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by reymann »

i don't think crowds are exactly going to be flocking back to the cinemas in 2021 when vaccines become available. at some point the MPAA is going to have to embrace a shotgun marriage with amazon and netflix and work a deal for some sort of pay-per-view deal on a digital format for new movie releases. The MPAA can only delay movie releases for so long before something has to give. MPAA may have to rely on a new revenue stream via digital release.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by storewanderer »

I am afraid the current movie theater operators will go bust drowning under a bunch of debt. They probably haven't been paying rent either. I suspect the spaces and equipment will go back to the landlords (unless the equipment was leased which creates another mess for someone entirely who is leasing the stuff to the movie theaters). Then after the virus goes away, whenever that is, and first run movies start coming out like they used to, new operators will rise up and take over these spaces for very cheap, and run them again as movie theaters. Maybe the studios will take some of them over. I feel like that ship sailed, once...

As for drive-ins, when Century was sold to Cinemark, the old Syufy group retained a few drive-in properties that Cinemark didn't want, and rebranded them as West Wind. There is one in Sparks, NV and it has been running for the past 40+ years doing the usual drive-in thing- movies at night, flea market on weekends in the mornings. I think they also have one in Las Vegas, one in Phoenix, and a couple in NorCal.
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by jamcool »

I wonder if this virus has just accelerated what was going to eventually happen with retail, restaurants, and movies... the move to on-line, at-home services
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Re: Regal Cinemas reportedly shutting down

Post by Alpha8472 »

Cinemas went through some ups and downs over the years, but in recent years they really brought back the customers with luxury leather recliner seats. These seats are very comfortable and have more room. It really makes the movie experience better. Many cinemas have also added better food options and many theaters added in theater dining with alcohol. There were also 21 and over only screenings to make the theater free of children and distractions.

The rundown Century Theater in Mountain View, California was on the verge of closure until they remodeled and installed leather recliner seats. The theater became one of the most popular theaters in the area. It was saved from closure.

All of this was done to get people away from Netflix, and it was working quite well until coronavirus hit.

Perhaps when a vaccine comes out and the virus rates go down, people will return to their normal routines. The abandoned theaters could be reopened under independent owners and remodeled. The megalplexes of the 90s went with tons of screens, but most of them were small screens. Customers want the big screen experience. If theaters could convert back to the olden days when there were fewer screens but huge screens. This will allow bigger auditoriums which allow people to spread out more and stay more than 6 feet apart. You do not need 7 screens playing the same movie. You can have bigger auditoriums playing one movie and provide a better big screen experience.
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