“John Fithian, head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, believes that the main stumbling block preventing movie theaters from rebounding is Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to keep cinemas closed indefinitely,” reports the far-left Variety.
By most accounts, the straw that is breaking 2020’s box office back is MGM’s decision last week to move the latest James Bond installment, No Time to Die, to April of next year.
The hope had been, even after the failure of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, that 007 could save movie theater owners.
After a few moves caused by the China Virus, No Time to Die had settled into November 20. Theater owners, even of cinemas that are open, are desperate for a hit, for anything that will bring people back to buy popcorn and soda. Now they’re wondering if they can hold on until Wonder Woman 1984 opens on Christmas Day — if it opens on Christmas Day, which is highly unlikely.
“The Bond franchise is very important to exhibition, so we were disappointed with the move. The failure of Gov. Cuomo to allow movie theaters to reopen anywhere in his state was a principal, if not exclusive, cause of the Bond move,” Fithian said, adding, “If New York remains closed to theater operations, other movies scheduled for 2020 will move as well. And I just don’t understand it.”
Fithian goes on to praise Cuomo for his handling of the virus (a ludicrous statement) but points out that it doesn’t make sense to keep movie theaters closed in New York when “restaurants in New York are open, gyms are open, churches are open, indoor dining is being offered.”
What I’d like to know is why it was okay for a live audience to sit in a theater and watch Saturday Night Live this weekend, but it’s not okay to sit in a movie theater and watch a movie this weekend?
I think we all know why… Cuomo knows SNL will rip into Trump. He wants that out there. What he doesn’t want out there is the sense of normalcy that comes with going to the movies on a Saturday night.
Movie theaters were already dying off prior to No Time To Die‘s move.
Because North Carolina was stupid enough to elect a Democrat as governor, my local movie theater is still closed, even though there have been only 56 coronavirus deaths in my county and the four surrounding counties.
How long are people going to stand for this madness?
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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