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Cinemapocalypse Now

After an awful August, this year’s box office will likely finish at about $7 billion—up from last year, but about a third less than in 2019. A third. For movie theaters, the only solution is full-scale reinvention, meme-stock nonsense, or, as is increasingly common, Chapter 11.

closed theater
Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
August 22, 2022

Let’s chart the current state of the movie theater business in two headlines, just a few days apart, both from The Wall Street Journal. Last Sunday: “Movie Theaters Plot Revival as Americans Show Up for Blockbusters.” And then on Friday: “Regal Owner Cineworld Nears Bankruptcy as Theater Comeback Lags.”