Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron Shares Insight on Declining Movie Theater Industry

@JaniceOCG Film expert #CynthiaAnnBaron offers insight on declining movie theater industry in interview by @EllieBuerk for @toledonews. Dr. Baron is live, Thurs., Jan. 20 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on TWN, for our chat on cults, cultures & religion in @HandmaidsOnHulu & other films.

A number of factors are contributing to the decline of the movie theater industry, and the pandemic hasn’t helped. Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron offers data on extent of the issues.  See linked article.  — LMO

A few excerpts from linked article:

“…In 1999, movie ticket sales yielded $1.49 billion in revenue, Bowling Green State University film professor Cynthia Ann Baron said. Despite population increases, $1.41 billion was made in 2009 and $1.24 billion in 2019.

“Ms. Baron cited television and streaming services, which are often far less expensive, as reasons for cinemas’ decline. She added that modern work schedules, which are longer and less predictable, have also made it more difficult to attend events with set schedules.

“Ms. Baron said industry experts anticipate AMC Theatres — the leader among cinema circuits in the United States and Canada that, according to Statista, operates over 8,000 screens — will be out of cash by the end of December. Regal Cinemas has closed all of its theaters and Cinemark, which has three locations in the Toledo area, has just $525 million in cash on hand and is burning through $50 million a month, Ms. Baron said.

“The pandemic exacerbated changes already in motion, said Thomas Castillo, another BGSU film professor. He and Ms. Baron noted that Hollywood theaters only served as the dominant space for entertainment briefly, from the 1930s through the 1950s…”  — Ellie Buerk

Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron is an Associate Professor in Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University, where she researches and teaches; authors scholarly books and articles on subjects related to the discipline; and provides keynote speeches and other presentations at conferences both domestically and internationally.  Her research and teaching interests include American Independent Cinema; Screenwriting; Taste Formation; Censorship; Food Studies; Women’s Cinema; and Actor Training, Stardom, and Screen Performance, among other subjects. She has taught courses on intersections between the film-media industry, national security, and cultural moments such as the Cold War and the Vietnam era.  Some other courses Dr. Baron teaches are American Independent Cinema; Hollywood, Censorship, and American Culture; and Performance and Theatre in the Americas. 

Most recently, she published Acting Indie: Industry, Aesthetics, and Performance (with Yannis Tzioumakis), (2020), which illustrates the many ways that actors contribute to American independent cinema and analyzes industrial developments; Modern Acting: The Lost Chapter of American Film and Theatre (2016), which, in part, highlights women’s key contributions to American film and theatre; and Denzel Washington (2015) where Baron traces the star’s persona and impact on mainstream society.  Current book projects include:  Recasting (White) Genres: Race, Ethnicity, and Performance in Contemporary Film and Television; Intersecting Aesthetics: Literary Adaptations and Cinematic Representations of Blackness, with co-editor Charlene Regester; and Imprisonment: Representation in Global Film and Media, with co-editor Karen Ritzenhoff.  She is co-chair of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Caucus on Class and has participated in events such as the Rethinking Realist Acting Conference in New York, and the Acting in Film Conference in Potsdam.  — If America Fails:  The Coming Tyranny, a TruthWorks Network Production

READ | Have we seen our last picture? The pandemic intensifies decline of movie theater industry | by Ellie Buerk | The Blade | 11/27/2020