Building Community: The Salvation Of Movie Theaters

This is a deep game changer. Coronavirus is impacting every aspect of our lives. In the world of cinema, we are staring into an abyss. Industry prognosticators are putting forward surveys that claim people will come running back to the theater once Coronavirus exits. They are waving their arms and making claims that are not based on human nature. They say that at the end of all of these movies are ingrained in human nature and they will keep coming back. They will not, some demographic groups are never ever coming back.

I have spoken to some casino operators and they let me know the seniors that are their regular customer base may no longer be the foundation for their business. They fear that family pressures and isolation may forever condition their customers to stay away in droves. They are going to be in a malaise for a while.

Many industry leaders are telling theaters, “Hey people will always come to the movie theaters.” It ain't true. We have had a significant loss of audience over the past couple of years. Audiences are trained and movie-going is a habit. Habits can either be built or habits can be broken. To suggest anything other than that is a deep failure of leadership. What is NATO going to do if Cineworld, AMC, and Cinemark go into financial reorganization? Every analyst I have spoken to thinks that this is inevitable.

In these days of the virus, bigger is not better. In fact, it is a deep detriment to survival.

As a drive-in owner told me a couple of weeks ago “Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.” Good quote.

This week Sony announced a massive altering to their release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their large potent movies like Uncharted, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Peter Rabbit 2 are all being moved into 2021. The upcoming third Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movie appears to be staying put but I think that will change as well, just too many moving parts.

•  Fatherhood – 1/15/2021 (from 10/23/2020)
• Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – 1/15/2021 (from 08/07/2020)
• Ghostbusters: Afterlife – 03/05/2021 (from 07/10/2020)
• Morbius – 03/19/2021 (from 07/31/2020)
• Uncharted – 10/8/2021 (from 03/05/2021)

Sony is betting on a feeling that we as an industry have lost the summer. Other studios are being a bit more cautious with their movies. Warner Bros, for example, moved Wonder Woman 1984 to August 14th from its planned June 5th release date. Disney's live-action version of Mulan is being indefinitely delayed while the latest James Bond movie No Time to Die is now set for November. I suspect that Sony, which rumor has it is up for sale, is more concerned about having assets on the books rather than a box office failure. History has shown us that at the best of times, the studios are self-serving pragmatists.

Our society is going to change. Change profoundly. The fear and anxiety people have will be within them for a long time. Foundations have to be rebuilt. A more organic movie exhibition industry will have to arise out of the ashes. Hopefully, some people will begin to realize that the money offered by Wall Street is in many ways a form of corporate crack.

There is a cure for what is coming down, it is a path that will be hard, but will be enduring. That cure is community.

If a community or an individual for that matter identifies a theater as something that is an important part of their lives it will command loyalty. That loyalty will create a sense of personal and communal ownership. That sense of ownership will lead to a sense of urgency and action when that thing, in this case, a movie theater, is threatened.

Large corporate ownership does not affect this kind of loyalty. The Historic Artcraft Theatre, The Bengies Drive-in, and The Shankweiler Drive-in command this kind of loyalty. Your local Regal does not

Human beings from an evolutionary perspective need to be connected to other people. This ensures our collective survival as a species.. Humans are deeply social animals that have a deep and profound instinct that tells us that human connection is safe and disconnection or alienation from your neighbors is dangerous. Although you have probably not given this much thought, it does guide much of what we do. Modern advertisers have attempted to inject fear into our society in order to control the buying habits of consumers. Politicians also have eroded society by injecting a similar sense of fear.

Human beings when they feel connected, feel safe. We perform better. When we know we are a part of the community we feel safe and connected, we spend less of our time being preoccupied with our fears. Community is our foundation and community is what can save us during this time. I would encourage all of you to engage your community. While you are closed, it is time to build a deeper community.

We are entering the dark territory. The independent movie theaters and the drive-ins have to work closer together. Unfortunately, I think there is an absence of imaginative and expansive thinking leadership within this industry. I do not think an organization exists currently that is prepared to give theaters the inspiration and leadership they need in order to face these times. It is time to create a co-operative model that can build the community within the industry itself.

If we do not reinvent a culture of community within the exhibition industry, we are in real deep jeopardy.

Be safe