It’s Time for the Movie Studios to Step In To Save the Movie Theaters

M.G. Siegler, former reporter at TechCrunch and now a VC at Google Ventures, writes: […] It seems inevitable at this point that there’s going to need to be a new path forward. And that path may very well be one that looks similar to a path forged at the beginning of the business. That is, studios owning theaters. People will remember…

All Regal and Cineworld Movie Theaters To Close Until Further Notice

Regal Cinemas, a subsidiary of Cineworld Group, said it will shut down all 536 locations on Thursday until further notice. The closure reflects “an increasingly challenging theatrical landscape” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is temporary, the chain said. NPR reports: Regal is shutting down theaters again less than two months after it started to reopen U.S. locations in late August….

After ‘No Time To Die’ Postponement, Hundreds of US and UK Movie Theatres Postpone Reopening

An anonymous reader quotes the Hollywood Reporter: Following the delay of more Hollywood tentpoles — including James Bond film No Time to Die — mega-movie theater chain Cineworld is planning to keep all of its locations in the U.K. and the U.S. closed for the time being, The Sunday Times reported on Saturday. The British-based company is the largest circuit in…

California To Allow Movie Theaters To Reopen In Most Counties

California counties, including Los Angeles County, could decide to reopen movie theaters as early as Friday. The Los Angeles Times reports: Each local health officer has the authority to decide whether to move forward with relaxing restrictions on reopening theaters. While the state provides guidance on how businesses can reopen, counties decide when they occur. The new rules would limit the…

Movie Theaters’ Latest Gamble: Ads Mixed in With Trailers

H_Fisher writes: Movie-watchers (in the U.S. at least) already have to sit through 20+ minutes of commercials and other advertainment before showtime. Now, two major theater chains are mixing commercials in with movie trailers in a bid to generate more cash. According to the report, “regular commercials will run for five minutes after the lights go off and before the trailers…