The incredible disappearing movie theater

By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 20, 2000

Good news for Tampa Bay moviegoers: No more local theaters went out of business this week.

That's a marked improvement over last weekend, when AMC Theaters locked the doors at Countryside 6 and Clearwater 5. A total of 13 local multiplexes have closed over the past three years. Calling ahead to check screening times has been replaced by calling ahead to see if the place is still open.

What the heck is going on around here?

First, be assured that Tampa Bay isn't the only area dealing with this phenomenon. Theater chains are halting operations nationwide as the exhibition industry deals with an economic slump. Industry analysts have estimated that 8,000 screens -- nearly one-quarter of the current U.S. total -- need to close to ensure a return to profitability.

Wait a minute.

Ticket and concession prices are higher than ever. Studios reported record ticket sales of $7.45-billion last year. More than 3,000 new screens opened nationwide as well in 1999.

Still, attendance is about 6 percent lower than last year's pace. And the red ink runs even deeper than that.

Why are theaters chains generally losing money? More to the point: Why is that convenient multiplex you attended for years now closed?

"Some people will say the industry is over-built," said Rick King, AMC senior vice president of corporate communication. "Others will say it's under-closed. The fact of the matter is that, in our industry, a lot of screens need to close."

Smaller theaters are being muscled out by the megaplex, a word coined to describe theaters with at least 16 screens, state-of-the-art mechanics and fashionable trappings. Five of those neon behemoths have opened locally in the past six years, and four more are under construction in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park, where United Artists Theater Co. closed a 10-screen location three months ago.

Many smaller theaters were built two decades ago, before home video and cable television brought movie-watching into everyone's living room. Those auditoriums resembled shoe boxes with seats, and not very comfortable ones, either. Megaplexes are designed to be cushier than your house, luring movie watchers out of their easy chairs and into stadium seating.

"Everyone realized you had to commit to megaplexes in order to survive," King said. "You either staked out your territory or else you got left out. Frankly, the increase in screen count ran a little ahead of total demand."

The boom turned into a bust for several large theater chains. General Cinemas recently announced plans to close theaters in nine states, including Florida. Carmike Cinemas, United Artists and California-based Edwards Theaters filed for bankruptcy protection.

Regal Cinemas and Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. -- Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in total U.S. screens -- warned stockholders to expect steep drops in earnings this year.

"The problems in the industry are very real and very tough," King said. "Nobody knows when we'll turn the corner again."

Regal Cinema continues to build theaters, including a 10-screen multiplex in Tampa's Channelside district scheduled to open next month. It was downsized from its original 15-screen design.

Last month, Muvico opened 20 screens at Centro Ybor, including the pricey Premiere section, with fancy cocktails and noshables. Next month, the chain is set to open 20 screens at the new BayWalk complex in downtown St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, construction continues at AMC's West Shore Plaza 14 in Tampa.

On the other side of the ledger, AMC closed Countryside 6 and Clearwater 5 as part of its plan to stay ahead of the industry slump. "We're working down our excess inventory and trimming back on planned expansion," King said. "We'll open between 100 and 125 screens per year, compared to last year when 450 (AMC screens) opened. That's almost an unsustainable pace."

AMC expects to close 350 screens over the next two years. No locations have been announced yet, but any older theaters with fewer than 16 screens are possible candidates, especially if they don't contain the luxuries regularly built into megaplexes, such as gourmet concessions and plush stadium seating. Upgrading existing theaters isn't an option.

"The (customer) traffic is just so low that internal additions like that aren't feasible," King said.

With audiences migrating from multiplexes to megaplexes, keeping those smaller theaters in business becomes a losing proposition.

Out with the old. In with the new.

"Today's megaplexes are much more in tune with what audiences want," King said. "They fall in love and leave older theaters behind."

Tell that to anyone who showed up at Clearwater 5 or Countryside 6 last weekend. Maybe it was just a short stroll away from home, or the scene of a memorable first date or a life-changing film.

Too bad. It's closet-cleaning time for an industry that got too big for its britches. And, as with all closet cleanings, there isn't much room for sentiment in deciding what to discard.

But, hey, at least it wasn't another drive-in theater biting the dust.

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