MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
By Justin Curto @ Vulture.com, June 3
When the coronavirus pandemic caused entertainment venues to close, small, independent theaters looked to be in the most danger. Now, with venues in most states still closed nearly three months in, the giants of the industry are beginning to worry, too. AMC Theatres, the largest movie-theater chain in the country, reported in a financial filing on June 3 that the company had “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business once movie theaters could reopen, according to CNN. “We are generating effectively no revenue,” the company wrote of its second quarter in the filing, while estimating first-quarter losses between $2.1 billion and $2.4 billion. In April, AMC had a cash balance of $718.3 million. While the company said it had the resources to reopen “this summer or later,” AMC wrote in the filing, “Our liquidity needs thereafter will depend, among other things, on the timing of a full resumption of operations, the timing of movie releases and our ability to generate revenues.”
Even if movie theaters are able to reopen across the country in coming months, it’s likely that they’ll operate at a reduced capacity to maintain social distancing [....]