Movie Theater Owners on Ways to Bring Audiences Back to Theaters

Are movie theaters still relevant?

It’s a question that’s been plaguing the badly bruised business ever since the pandemic and 2023 strikes.

Of course, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Barbenheimer” were glorious reminders of all that cinemas can offer. But along with those high highs were the low lows (like “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Borderlands”) and worse. There was no consistency to assure Hollywood that moviegoing remains a way of life and not just a semiannual occurrence.

This year, 2025, has been positioned as the Great Reset — the first period without any asterisks to excuse the industry’s lack of recovery. So far, though, box office grosses are grim. Year-to-date revenues are 5% behind 2024 and nearly 38% behind 2019, according to Comscore. Also, 2024 was the first year since the pademic that overall returns didn’t improve upon the last, though all the strike-related release-date delays certainly didn’t help.

But attendance is expected to pick up soon, and eventually propel the box office above last year, as summer blockbusters like “Superman,” “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” “Jurassic World Rebirth” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” as well as holiday offerings such as “Zootopia 2,” “Wicked: For Good” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” find their way to theaters.

“Depending on who you talk to, this year is going to be great, spectacular, or the last transitional year. But no one will tell you that it’ll be below 2024,” Regal’s CEO Eduardo Acuna says. “Granted, the first quarter is going to be tough. But we have high expectations for the second, third and fourth.”

As Hollywood heads to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual exhibition-industry trade show, Variety spoke to various theater owners about the ups and downs of working in a sector of the movie business that just can’t seem to catch a break.

Eduardo Acuna

Regal filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and emerged from Chapter 11 in 2023. What did that do for the company?

We came out of bankruptcy with a very strong balance sheet. We had to close 100 locations in the U.S., but most of those theaters were not economically viable. We were paying absurdly high rents. The company renegotiated during the Chapter 11 process, and that left us with more reasonable rents. We raised $250 million in capital to improve our theaters with recliner seats and also improve our technology.

Is cost a factor in going to the movies?

Tuesdays are discount days, and Tues- days perform a lot better than Mondays or Wednesdays. People are telling you, “I appreciate when it’s cheaper.”

How do you get people to go to Regal in cities where there are many options for moviegoing?

I won’t give away my secret sauce. We have to be the best at customer service and provide the best experience. Location is first. Then you go into who has the tastiest popcorn? How do you get tasty popcorn? Your popcorn poppers have to be well maintained. You have to purchase the best corn, best oil and best salt. Dirty bathrooms are the worst thing you can do; if someone comes and your theater has a dirty bathroom, that person may never come back.

Hiring more employees to clean the bathroom, getting the best popcorn — how do you manage all of that when things have only gotten more expensive?

That’s what keeps me up at night. For example, you can have the best-tasting hot dog, and that wiener is going to be very expensive. Or you can have the 20-cent crappy hot dog and save costs, but no one’s going to buy it because it tastes horrible. I’d rather sell two hot dogs with a lower margin. We’re trying to put analytics on everything. If we schedule way too much workforce, we’re spend- ing too much money. If we schedule way too little people, our service suffers.

Are studios keeping their films in theaters long enough?

Some windows are way too short, and it’s an issue. We’re training customers to know that movies will get to the home very soon. Windows should be at least 45 to 60 days. There’s data that shows the longer the window, the higher the perceived value of a movie. This is a concern of mine. I lose sleep over it.

Can you predict a sleeper hit for 2025?

“Lilo & Stitch” is going to be a lot bigger than expected. Family movies perform a lot better than we give them credit for, and families are starving for content.

How many trailers is too many?

People love trailers, as long as you don’t put too many in front of them. When you get to the fifth, that’s when they’re like, “OK, enough!”

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Christopher Escobar

What was your biggest takeaway from 2024?

We had a bad summer. That’s in part because the year before was “Barbenheimer,” which was especially strong. The strikes seemed to have a lasting effect on the schedule.

Which movie became an unexpected winner at your theaters?

“Thelma” [an action comedy starring June Squibb] was a huge hit. It wasn’t a surprise because anyone would enjoy that film. But we have an older crowd. More and more, films aimed at older crowds are either not fun at all or they’re too silly. “Thelma” had a point and great sense of humor.

Are there enough movies opening in 2025?

Not everything is relevant to us. We’re in the art-house space; we don’t play Marvel movies. It’s a little less tentpole-dependent and more acquisition-dependent, though that’s been lighter coming out of Sundance. There’s not enough I’m seeing that gives me confidence, but I’m holding my breath.

How are you offsetting the slower months?

Most of the things that paid the bills were repertory titles. We have 5,000 people a year who come to “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Any time we do staples like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Shining” — those are huge hits.

What can Hollywood do better?

I don’t think Netflix puts films in theaters often enough. They’re not taking it seriously as a real way to generate revenue. I would like to see more originality, more things that are taking a risk. People talk about wanting less reboots, but at the same time, people largely [don’t] put their money where their mouth is. “Megalopolis” was original and a spectacle, and I don’t think enough people saw it in theaters.

What part of moviegoing needs an upgrade?

Recliners are the worst thing that’s happened to theaters. The economics don’t make sense. People go to sporting events and pay north of $100 to sit in plastic chairs. We’ve created this exception where for someone’s $12 to $15 ticket, they should sit in a $600 chair. Are you there to take a nap or sit up and pay attention to the thing in front of you? They tend to be disgusting because they catch a lot of food on the sides. And they’re noisy.

What’s going to be the highest-grossing movie of the year?

“Avatar” will always do well, but I’m betting the third won’t do as well as the second. I’m a big James Gunn fan, so I’m curious about “Superman.” It’s the [one] superhero movie we’re thinking about playing, only because of Gunn.

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Alejandro Ramírez Magaña

How do you feel about 2025’s slate?

We’re optimistic about the summer. From May to August, there’s a big movie every week — sometimes two. When we had “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” they were awesome. But it’s better for the industry to have more movies performing really well than just a few that do exceptionally well.

Are there any gaps in the calendar that are being overlooked?

Studios didn’t put out a lot of content in the first quarter. “Captain America: Brave New World” performed as expected. Nobody thought it would do “Avengers”-level business. March is a little weak. We usually have a romantic comedy during the weekend of Valentine’s Day that performs well, but this year we didn’t have any. It was the same time as the Super Bowl, so maybe studios were afraid to compete. But it’s the perfect time to show something different — there are a lot of people who don’t want to see the Super Bowl.

Are studios keeping their movies exclusively in theaters long enough?

Windows have improved lately versus the last few years. Studios have tried doing day and date, and they saw that didn’t work. I think 45 days is good, but more than that would be great. It’s improving in the right direction. Studios see it really works.

How have you been offsetting the slower months?

We have several programs. One is called “Handpicked,” where every Wednesday we show a classic movie for $5 to $7. It’s popular.

How important are premium large format screens?

PLFs have become more important since COVID. Their share of the box office has really increased. We need to invest in things that make a difference between you staying at home and you seeing a movie in a theater.

What part of moviegoing needs an upgrade?

The food needs to be really good — on par or better than restaurants. For pizza, we make the dough from scratch, and the sauces too. You need quality products that are fresh. Clients don’t want product that was just in the freezer, fried and served.

How many trailers is too many?

It gets to a point where it’s too much. We try to do five minutes of ads and 11 to 12 minutes of trailers. So that’s between 15 to 18 minutes of trailers and ads — and that’s the max. We want to keep it at 15 minutes. Going above 17 to 18 is too much. That’s where you start having the clients who complain or arrive late.

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Mike Barstow

What was your biggest takeaway from 2024?

We’re on the right path. With “Wicked,” “Moana 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” breaking records, it hammered the point that when content is there, people will show up.

Is the summer movie season too crowded?

The notion that films can’t com- pete or will cannibalize each other is relatively new and has been disproven. “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” “Wicked” and Gladiator II.” Audiences want choice. It’s momentum-based. If I can get a big release every single weekend, where a patron is seeing trailers for what’s coming out next week and not what’s coming out in six months, that’s the true health of our industry. I can’t wait for summer.

How important is having “Avatar 3” open at Christmas?

It’s going to do crazy business at the end of 2025. But then, it’s going to have legs that helps us bridge the gap from the holiday season until the first big 2026 release.

How are you offsetting the slower months?

We’re a family business, so we’ve had to evolve. We’ve got full restaurants, arcades and sports bars with giant LED screens. We’re better equipped by necessity. We’ve innovated our offerings and experiences to where I maybe don’t need this crazy breadth of films, but I can get the ones that are going to really connect with our audience. Then I can welcome people into our restaurant or arcade to further stabilize things.

What’s been the most popular concession snack?

We’re seeing people experiment with Oreo popcorn, loaded nachos and Cheetos popcorn.

What’s going to be the highest-grossing movie of the year?

“Wicked: For Good.” What the first one did from a conversation perspective — I’m not the target audience and I’ve seen it three times. When you have that marketing support behind a film, it opens a whole new world of what’s possible.

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Chris Johnson

What was your biggest takeaway from 2024?

Disney’s comeback. “Inside Out 2” was the biggest movie we ever played from an attendance and dollar stand- point. We did $2.2 million on “Inside Out 2” and $1.5 million on “Deadpool & Wolverine.” It lapped the competition.

Has Thanksgiving reemerged as a huge time for moviegoing?

Thanksgiving was out of this world, with “Wicked,” “Gladiator II” and “Moana 2.” We’re not a huge circuit, but we had 42,000 people on Black Friday. We could have sold more tickets, if we had more seats. [Hollywood] can release multiple big movies in the same period and not have each weekend be a one-trick pony.

Are there enough new releases in 2025?

I never want to say there’s enough because I always want more, but there’s a solid foundation to get us through and reestablish moviegoing as a viable night out. You’re going to have week- ends where you could have done a little more. I’m hoping to have boring consistency instead of wild spikes and droughts.

Between Marvel and DC, four superhero tentpoles will open through July. Is that too many?

It doesn’t matter the genre, as long as the movie is good. If there are good superhero movies, we’re in good shape. There’s always enough room for good movies. I’m very excited about “Superman”; having James Gunn reestablish this franchise could be big.

How important are tentpoles to your business?

They’re important, but quantity is more important. I’ll take six movies that are doing reasonably over a giant movie that creates a vacuum. More is better.

What issues are exhibitors still facing?

The cost side is challenging, whether it be labor, maintaining employees or price of goods. We’ve worked hard to maintain reasonable prices, but it’s challenging when your costs rise. We do free refills on any size item, even if you get the kiddie combo. There is elasticity of demand. You can’t keep driving up the prices even if your costs go up. When we have increases, do I want to pass that on to the consumer? Most of the time, I don’t. You lose trust.

What’s going to be the highest-grossing movie of the year?

“Avatar 3” is the safe bet, but I’m going to say “Jurassic World Rebirth.” It’s in the summer. It’s got Scarlett Johansson.