By Alicia Wallace, CNN
Minneapolis (CNN) — For more than 90 years, the Parkway Theatre has been a staple in South Minneapolis, drawing generation after generation of shoppers in front of its single movie screen.
Outside its walls, the years have brought many changes: wars, economic fluctuations, social movements, pandemics, technological inventions and the appearance of antagonists, from the immense multi-screen megaplexes to the bits and bytes that transported films to the public. fingertips.
But it wouldn’t be the movie business without some twists and turns, a little shock, and a lot of character development.
The movie exhibition industry continues to change as it faces a multitude of challenges, adding pandemic aftershocks, virtual streaming, content delayed due to strikes, conversion of customer tastes, and an era of peak inflation that has lasted for years.
In the United States, the number of movie theaters and movie screens has declined since the pandemic, falling by about 1% between 2020 and 2022, according to information provided to CNN through Omdia, a London-based analyst and consulting firm. In 2023, the scenario has worsened, with a drop in movie theaters and the number of screens of more than 6%, according to data from Omdia.
Larger operators have cut lower-performing sites, while smaller theaters that didn’t have as much wiggle room have closed their doors, David Hancock, Omdia’s film leader and film analyst, wrote in an email to CNN.
“After a Covid-like surprise, this is not surprising, and other adjustments are taking place in entertainment and media intake that are also having an effect on movie theaters,” Hancock wrote. “Our view is that cinema still has its foundations, but it’s going through an era of reset. “
The Parkway continues to show videos to the popcorn-eating masses — Saturday will see “Ratatouille” and, later this month, “Young Frankenstein” presented on 35mm film — but, like many other theaters at a time when cinema has undergone a seismic shift, independent cinema has had to become more flexible than it once was.
The current Parkway Theatre is a Renaissance theatre house, performing arts venue, and networked event space.
“There’s an opportunity to create that sense of nostalgia,” said Ward Johnson, who bought Parkway in 2018 with business spouse Eddie Landenberger. “Unfortunately, what we learned quite temporarily when we started looking in the area is that it’s very difficult days to build a viable business to screen videos seven nights a week. “
While some operators, giant and small, have given in, those that remain have turned to innovation.
For giant companies, this means everything from popcorn buckets to seats with haptic vibration. And for the little ones, it goes.
“I throw things against the wall,” said Christian Meoli, founder of Cinelounge Cinemas in California. “I organized a speed dating night for movie lovers so they could meet and then come watch movies together. I just took a breath of yoga elegance at Wim Hof and dipped into the ice in the middle of the room.
“I myself ‘why not?'” he added.
The economics of operating a movie theater — where at least part of the profits go to studios — has long forced movie theater operators to rely on the “by-product,” said Ricard Gil, an associate professor specializing in organizational economics at Queen’s. University in Canada.
These are concessions, he said. However, it has since evolved beyond high-margin popcorn into other offerings, he added.
“The romance of movie screening is gone, and film corporations have learned that they are genuine real estate corporations, that they have the capacity, they have to fill that capacity, and they will do whatever it takes to achieve that,” Gil said. .
While Hollywood had a big summer last year, largely thanks to “Barbie,” and crowds flocked to the thrill-packed movie “Inside Out 2” this summer, the film industry still hasn’t returned to its pre-Barbie form. the pandemic.
Due to strike-related content delays, box office and movie theater revenues are now expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2026, compared to the 2025 date projected a year ago, according to the most recent annual report. Global Entertainment & Media Outlook” from the accounting firm PwC. Training
In Minneapolis, when Ward, a puppy food industry veteran, and Landenberger, an advertising real estate agent and developer, bought the Parkway Theater in 2018, the single-screen theater looked old: the plaster crumbling, the seats broken , the paint peeling.
The duo stripped the construction down to its bare essentials and gave the building its first facelift in 40 years, highlighting Art Deco design elements and preserving, sanding, and upholstering a host of original seating (whose walnut armrests bring an herbal patina from decades of history). ).
The programming is also very nostalgic (after all, the Parkway has been a movie theater since its inception and received a “movie theater” license in 1931), so the theater shows old movies and hard-to-find films. But the overall offering is also because the way those films are presented and appreciated was motivated by the community.
In addition to occasionally converting old videos (a “Terminator 2” pre-show spelling bee; an interactive viewing of “Die Hard” where everyone was partying when the Nakatomi Plaza roof exploded), Parkway features live music and live comedy exhibitions. movie nights and network supply area for weddings, birthdays or even citizens who need to connect their game console to the big screen.
“I don’t think we knew going in that it would almost feel like a watch party, however, that’s something that came out when we looked at the audience, and everyone was super interactive,” Johnson said.
In Iowa City, Iowa, the nonprofit FilmScene theater presents a wide range of new releases in addition to offering a series of film events in partnership with nonprofit groups, advocacy groups, American organizations and others to “generate conversations and movements encouraged through cinema. ” Andrew Sherburne, CEO and co-founder of FilmScene, told CNN in May.
This is in addition to a free children’s series, a free in-park movie series, a limited-pay series and a series of community-focused screenings, he added.
“Our attendance increased by 50% between 2022 and 2023, at a time when the industry is facing serious headwinds,” he wrote. “We tried to tame audiences through original relationships, whose programming was tailored to our express audiences and large investments in network engagement. »
At Cinelounge, Meoli said he strives to be creative with the cinema itself, providing rooms for personal screenings, sports nights, concerts and quiz nights.
“I was on the brink of bankruptcy last year, and it was scary, and that’s why I think movie theaters in those days require a shared investment with the community,” Array said. “Because there’s never a time when you walk past a closed movie theater. ” and feel a sense of happiness. ”
Cinema operators are no strangers to existential threats to their businesses. Before streaming, megaplexes, and a sea of entertainment-focused competitors, there are big-screen TVs, DVDs, VHSs, Blockbusters, and Betamaxes.
In 2020, however, fears grew that it was the Covid-19 pandemic that would finally sound the death knell. Cinemas have been in the dark for months due to physical and safety restrictions and the growing demand for indoor events. The future looked bleak as film production also came to an abrupt halt, depleting the pipeline of new films.
There were glimmers of hope, however: drive-in theaters and cinemas experienced a resurgence.
While many movie theaters did not survive, those that did were hit by the next disruption: the Hollywood actors and writers strike, which pushed back more releases.
“It’s hard to recover our buyers from Covid in a normal way,” said Bill Campbell, president of the Independent Cinema Alliance and owner of the Orpheum Theatre in Sheridan, Wyoming. “We get off to a smart start, we draw crowds, and then we go into that waiting mode. Hopefully, we’ll get consistent content.
And he added: “We are adapting, we are holding on, some more than others. »
Some movie theater operators have had to “go back to showmen” to attract other people to movie theaters, said Rich Daughtridge, owner of the Warehouse Cinemas chain in Maryland and president of ICA, an industry organization for small, independent movie theaters. Operators. Array
“If they’re successful in this niche, they’re probably going to continue to do so,” Campbell said.
Still, theater operators want to be cautious in their approach, said Kate Markham, administrative coordinator for Art House Convergence, a coalition of community-oriented independent theaters.
If we were to “eventize” every new release, we risk wasting the uniqueness and special facet that attracted other people in the first place, he said.
“Because they’re generally networked organizations, they’re very entrenched in their audiences, their tastes and desires, and they want to differentiate themselves from those big chains and do anything that inspires audiences to come to them instead of going to the mall theater. “she said.
However, venturing too far into non-movie events also carries some risks, he said.
“Many of our members are on a mission, which also means they screen videos that can’t be seen anywhere else,” he said. “This could possibly be the only chance the audience has to see this movie, so it’s important to fill your schedule coming from the fact that you may not have the time or space to show some of those other things that you meet your mission. “
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