How Much Longer Will Multiplexes Exist?

[ER]

Will there be one per large city, as many as always, will they dry up and die out, or go suddenly almost all at once, like drive-ins?

I can see any of these happening, but realistically I think streaming will replace "going to the movies" for everything except mega-blockbusters. One thing I don't foresee is their numbers increasing.

[Alex]

I think they are heading to extinction, much as they replaced the old music halls. Their time has come, although I think it will be a long slow and drawn-out death. My guess would be that by the time Ash is grown up, they will be mostly gone. A few might survive in city centres. Then again I tend to like the idea of going to the cinema more than the actual experience.

[RCMerchant]

I never cared for multiplexes. Small 1 screen theaters are more cozy. But even then, the last movie I saw at a theater was the Dr. Strange movie. What a waste of money.

[Trevor]

We have several of those in Pretoria: oddly the multiplex ones thrived while the single cinemas closed.

[M.10rda]

I am firmly rust belt (midway between Buffalo, NY and Niagara Falls) and thus won't pretend to predict anything about other (real, ahem) urban regions, but the trend around me has been away from major chains and their multiplexes and towards small(er) owners.

The Regals have been dropping like flies the past decade and there are three left in the region, I think - down from at least a half a dozen or more. AMC held onto a single theatre for like 15 years or something and right before the pandemic (!) opened a second, which also seems to be hanging in there. The majority of the theaters and screens in the region, however, are now owned and run by a large (former arthouse) local chain called Dipson, which I used to work for, as well as a handful of other single-theater owners. The two canny individuals @ Dipson (aka my former employers) have done well for 30+ years by purchasing theaters that have been abandoned by bigger owners (first General Cinemas, then the Angelika, and recently Regals) and running them... cheaper, I guess... for 15 or however many years until that location seems to be losing profitability, and then they buy a different one. I think they currently own at least half a dozen local theaters - probably the largest number in their history - and they seem to be doing fine.

Will they run out of content to screen eventually? Maybe - but there will always be a little juice in playing classics, genre flicks, etc on the big screen. If you can keep your overhead low enough, I guess you make enough profit to support two dudes and their families - if not, perhaps, scores of investors.

[Rev. Powell]

I am firmly rust belt (midway between Buffalo, NY and Niagara Falls) and thus won't pretend to predict anything about other (real, ahem) urban regions, but the trend around me has been away from major chains and their multiplexes and towards small(er) owners.

The Regals have been dropping like flies the past decade and there are three left in the region, I think - down from at least a half a dozen or more. AMC held onto a single theatre for like 15 years or something and right before the pandemic (!) opened a second, which also seems to be hanging in there. The majority of the theaters and screens in the region, however, are now owned and run by a large (former arthouse) local chain called Dipson, which I used to work for, as well as a handful of other single-theater owners. The two canny individuals @ Dipson (aka my former employers) have done well for 30+ years by purchasing theaters that have been abandoned by bigger owners (first General Cinemas, then the Angelika, and recently Regals) and running them... cheaper, I guess... for 15 or however many years until that location seems to be losing profitability, and then they buy a different one. I think they currently own at least half a dozen local theaters - probably the largest number in their history - and they seem to be doing fine.

Will they run out of content to screen eventually? Maybe - but there will always be a little juice in playing classics, genre flicks, etc on the big screen. If you can keep your overhead low enough, I guess you make enough profit to support two dudes and their families - if not, perhaps, scores of investors.

Mom and pop cinemas: I like it!

[Cult_Moody_Movies]

I personally believe the studios will turn around on streaming or have to alter patterns.

Examples:
- Back to sensible budgets. The era of 250 to 300 million dollar budgets are nearing an end.
- There are way too many streaming services and they dig into theatrical box offices.
- Bring back the celebrity and not just mantle characters.

With that being said I do think theaters will always exist but it will become a special experience. Fathom Events have brought continuing visits for me.