Movie industry pivots during pandemic - Times Bulletin

The Saunders purchased the Van Del drive-in cinema and Van Wert Cinemas from the Boyd family in late June 2020. They hope that as the weather gets warmer, this The global pandemic of corona gorillas will disappear.

But when that didn't happen, the Sanders Theater opened anyway, hoping that people would go to the movies.

In early June, when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine allowed the theater to open at 50% of its capacity, Saunders hired theater staff and managers. However, when they are open to the public, few people show up.

"Even at 50% capacity, if we have $100 in box office sales, we are lucky, and we just can't operate according to these numbers," Donna said. "It costs more money to open than to close. But we stayed in this way for six weeks, just hoping and praying that customers want to return to the movie. But after losing a lot of money for six weeks, we decided to close. "

Since the closure, the Sanders have been looking for other ways to take people away from their homes and into the cinema.

In autumn, the movie theater began to show football matches. Rod pointed out that if people are willing to watch the game, they are also willing to participate in the basketball game.

In Van Del, the Sanders couple used the outdoor stage to provide entertainment. Some virtual concerts were shown, such as Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton and Metallica, and live performances, such as Hawthorn Heights. The Lima Symphony Orchestra also performs in Van Del, which allows one entertainment industry to help another.

"We are looking for other options to try to bring entertainment into Van Water County," Donna said. "Even if the coronavirus does not exist in the next few years, we hope to continue to hold these concerts."

Currently, the theater is open for private rental events. People can rent a theater and show any movie on the Blu-ray movie. To rent a theater, visit vanwertcinemas.com to select a time and date and find more information.

Even if people want to go to the cinema to watch movies, Hollywood has suspended many movie productions. Rod pointed out that the films in release were not released on favorable terms.

Rod said: "The film industry is not very friendly to any theater at the moment." "The movies they are showing, they are showing them in terrible conditions."

Rod pointed out, for example,

The screening condition is that the cinema must show the movie for eight weeks. Usually, theaters only contract to show movies for two weeks. Rod also pointed out that the rate of reduction in profit for film studios is also higher than usual.

Rod said: "They are not financially viable in opening up." "They are not distributing outstanding films, and they are distributing video-on-demand and streaming media."

Rodriguez said hopefully: "The situation will change." "When everything else returns to normal, it will return to normal."

Rod said he is grateful for the latest COVID-19 relief bill recently passed, which provides assistance to small theaters such as Van Wert Cinema.

When Saunders first purchased Van Wert Cinemas, they installed new luxury seats in all five theaters. The seat reclines and is heated. They also invested in a software program that can automatically implement social isolation requirements. In addition, Saunders has installed a system that allows people to pay with credit and debit cards.

Sanders hopes that one day guests can see new improvements.

"We deeply believe in our hearts that people want to leave their houses; they don't want to continue to sit at home after the coronavirus infection and watch more movies at home," Donna said. "We hope they can come out and visit the Van Wert Cinema to appreciate and experience the new chairs and enjoy the movie appreciation experience with others. We hope that will happen soon."

The Sanders don’t want many good new records to be released before the spring or so, but hope that once the vaccine is used by more and more people, people will be able to come back to watch movies in the summer.

Rod also stated that one can expect to see Van Del (Van Del) opening earlier this year.