Movie theater owners struggle as Hollywood delays release of blockbuster films

Movie theater owners say that their businesses are struggling as Hollywood delays the release of multiple blockbuster films because of the coronavirus.

News 12 Staff

Sep 25, 2020, 1:35 AM

Updated 1,476 days ago

Share:

Movie theater owners say that their businesses are struggling as Hollywood delays the release of multiple blockbuster films because of the coronavirus.
Disney announced that Marvel’s “Black Widow” has been pushed back to May 2021, more than a year after it was scheduled to come out. The remake of “West Side Story” – partially filmed in New Jersey – was also pushed back a year to December 2021.
“Somewhere along the line, somebody is going to suffer,” says theater owner Mike Sodano.
Sodano says that he has permanently closed both of his Showroom Theaters in Asbury Park and Bradley Beach. He says that the pandemic shutdown and capacity limits are making it financially impossible to reopen.
“We’re not in control of our product, which is movies. We’re not in control of our capacity, which is up to the governor,” he says.
Sodano says that he believes that the box office disappointment of the Christopher Nolan film “Tenent” will only drive studios to delay more movies, leaving theaters with too little to screen and empty seats for a long time to come.