(WWJ) It’s been a staple of the movie theater experience for as long as they have been around…that big red and white striped carton of popcorn.
But now, that buttery or caramelly treat won’t be there. At least for the time being.
AMC Theaters, the largest theater chain in the country, was the first to reopen Tuesday after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services relaxed restrictions under their Epidemic Order, amid a decrease in COVID-19 cases.
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However, masks are required, and concession stands must remain closed under the order.
Phoenix Theaters is slated to reopen on Christmas Day. Owner Corey Jacobson told WWJ it will be hard to make ends meet without concession stands.
“It’s like saying I run a restaurant that sells ribs, and I only have fish to sell this week and ketchup. You can’t make any money doing that. You can’t make any money doing this.”
He said the decision to reopen was “a hard choice.”
“We just talked with all our employees. Everyone around the table felt we did not want to disappoint our customers. We did not want to give anyone the impression our business was not going to open at all, ever.” Jacobson said. “If all our competitors were opening, we felt we needed to do that as well.”
Jacobson said the movie studios retain about 60% of the profits, which means the theater only pockets 40 cents from every dollar.
Market Watch reported in 2014 that concessions account for about 40% of the theater’s direct profits.
Movie theaters were shuttered in Michigan from mid-March until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among the businesses shut down the longest to stop the spread of the virus.
When they did reopen, they could only operate at 20% capacity.
AMC Theaters announced in the summertime that the pandemic has left the chain with “substantial debt,” an estimated $2.1 to 2.4 billion.
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As of June, revenue was down 22% from the same time last year.
As for Phoenix Theaters, Jacobson told us Christmas and the days immediately after are the busiest times for him. He is hoping the blockbuster release of Wonder Woman: 1984, coming out Christmas day, will bring people back to the movies.
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