Are there "fewer independent theaters than ever"?

Question

In his 09-Nov-2019 New York Times Opinion piece Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain. the director, writer and producer laments "the sameness of today’s franchise pictures", and says:

It’s a perilous time in film exhibition, and there are fewer independent theaters than ever...

this being one illustration of the author's point that formulaic and highly market-engineered franchise films that draw huge audiences and consume a large fraction of all available screens are making it difficult to get, for the lack of a better term, artistic film from big-screen time, and pushing it to the streaming world.

...the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they’re ready for consumption.

Of course literally speaking "fewer... than ever" can't be true, since several hundred years ago there were zero.

Question: But is there data available on the number of independent theaters or screens over time, and does it show that the number, either in the US or worldwide, is in decline?

@F1Krazy I've just asked Are questions about how the number and types of movie theaters change over time on-topic? — uhoh, Nov 05 '19 at 13:25
We can't be absolutely sure what he meant - but this was a general opinion piece in a newspaper, it should be interpreted as the meaning that most readers would ascribe to it. I don't think this precludes us attempting to analyze what he said. — iandotkelly, Nov 05 '19 at 14:09

score 22 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 04 '20 at 15:16

22

In general this is probably true

"Independent" (see below) theaters (chains) are less likely (for economic reasons) to be able to switch to digital projection as is now required by current practice.

The practice of projecting movies onto a screen via 35mm film reels is no longer the norm, as digital methods prove simpler and more versatile. As a result, the number of analog movie screens in the U.S. has dwindled whilst digital screens (including 3D) take over the market.

^Statista

However, the term "independent" is somewhat vague.

The term “independent” is a flexible one. NATO (National Assocition of Theater Owners) defines it as a theater or theater chain that has 75 screens or less.

^Variety

Overall, very small cinemas did decline for a while but have started back on the rise.

The total screen count of cinemas housing one to four screen was in decline from 2014 to 2017 ....but 2018 saw nearly a 6% increase in screens.

The number of actual sites has shown a marginal increase in the last few years but this considerably reduced from the 1990's

In 2018, there were 5,803 cinema sites in the United States, a similar amount to the 5,786 recorded a decade earlier. However, a look at the figures during the mid to late 1990s shows that there has been a significant decrease in the number of cinema sites in the U.S., dropping from 7,744 in 1995 to just over 6,100 in 2005.

^Statista

The number of actual screens though has seen a general increase since the late Eighties but has been relatively flat for the past few years.

^NATO

edited Jun 04 '20 at 15:16

Community

1

answered Nov 05 '19 at 15:07

Paulie_D

135,667
23
488
444

1

Thank you for the thorough and well-sourced answer! – uhoh Nov 05 '19 at 18:25
Do these figures include drive-in theaters? Just curious... – MissouriSpartan Nov 06 '19 at 03:51
The number of drive ins is shown in the image – Paulie_D Nov 06 '19 at 07:01
2

Good grief; that 1999-2001 drop is remarkable! (Although the graph's scale is very misleading) What caused this I wonder? – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 06 '19 at 12:01
1

@LightnessRaceswithMonica Anecdotally, a lot of mall based theaters disappeared as the first sign of mall retailing woes and/or consolidation by the big chains merging. – pboss3010 Nov 06 '19 at 13:50
@pboss3010 Ah, yes, a series of mergers in those years would explain it – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 06 '19 at 14:21
It would be interesting to see the data on the average number of screens per site looks like. Locally, in the late 90's the first "megaplex" theater (16 screens, as I recall, where the 2nd-largest theater had 6) opened. It was large enough that it could show basically all of the new movies at once, where previously they had to be spread between multiple theaters. Its smaller, older competitors went out of business within 3-4 years or so. – asgallant Nov 06 '19 at 22:18
fyi I've just asked Could removing the US DOJ's anti-trust Paramount Decrees hurt independent theaters? – uhoh Dec 07 '19 at 02:04

Are there "fewer independent theaters than ever"?

1 Answers1

In general this is probably true