Lancaster County movie theater owners and national experts forecast positive future for the cinema [column] (2024)

With a rare March Saturday off and nothing much to do, my wife and I decided to head over to discount second-run movie theater Kendig Square Cinema in late February tocatch a noon showing of the Oscar-nominated 2023 film “The Holdovers,” which we had somehow missed when it initially came out.

For $2.50 each we joined six other people in the 1,100-seat theater that opened in 1992, and it seems the seats may have dated that far back as well, all stiff-backed, no reclining. But this time the old-school seats served me well as the coziness of the film’s 1970s throwback setting paired with being horizontal would have sent me to dreamland.

We had no idea at the time, but less than a weeklater on March 5, Kendig Square would close, joining nearly 3,000 movie theaters that have failed in the U.S. since 2019, crushed by a combination of streaming’s rise, pandemic shutdowns, a writer’s strike and difficulty adapting their business model.

While the need to adapt – which may have played a role in Kendig’s closure – have led to sad days in Lancaster County like March 5 and late 2023 when Ephrata Borough’s two-screen New Main theatre closed, it also sheds a positive light on a number of other theaters that remain in the county. At many of them, owners have or will soon upgrade and expand offerings, and they are doing so as evidence mounts that ticket sales are on the rise.

Finding a new way forward

Penn Ketchum is a staunch defender of popcorn as the quintessential movie snack. When the theater temporarily converted to a drive-in in the initial months of the pandemic in 2020, employees could be seen hauling large bags of the stuff from the theater to cars waiting outside. However, 18 years into the Manheim Township theater’s life, Ketchum is seeing the appeal of an update.

“When we opened, we were very passionate about keeping it simple - we sold popcorn and soda and candy,” said Ketchum, managing partner of Penn Cinema. “And I personally defended that to the death store and died on that hill, but I'm smart enough to see and my partners are smart enough to see that people want more.”

To that end, Ketchum will be making a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Penn Cinema lobby this fall that will include a revamped concessions stand with more food options and the purchasing of a liquor license to sell alcoholic drinks.

Changes like those planned for Penn Cinema are the kinds of moves theater owners need to make, according to industry experts.

“People get a little bit more excited when they can sit down and have more than popcorn and soda,” said Phil Contrino, director of media and research at the National Association of Theater Owners. “Popcorn and soda are never going to go away, but I know I'm not the only one that feels like I'd rather spend more and have, like, a burger, fries and a beer. I feel like that's a more well-rounded experience.”

What is expected at a movie theater continues to evolve and adapt. In Lancaster County, The Reel, for example, has a brick oven for firing up 10-inch pizzas on demand, while Zoetropolis boasts a full-scale adjoining restaurant where you could hypothetically pregame a movie with a roasted cauliflower salad or socca battered mushrooms. Reel Cinemas, which opened in late 2019 with fairly robust offerings, is toying with specific food deal days, such as the classic “Taco Tuesday.” Owner Greg Wax is confident enough in his menu that he encourages people that aren’t even in a movie-going mood to come and hang out.

“The hardest thing has been getting people to realize that, like, you don't necessarily need to see a movie if you want to have a drink or eat something,” Wax said.

“The film companies hurt themselves,” Wax said. “Because what happens is, maybe you would have gone to the movies for a B-movie, right? Now you say, ‘OK, you know, what, I'll wait ‘till it streams.’ Like, why? Why would you do that? Why would you cut in your own pocket?”

Ketchum says that the Penn IMAX, the only one in the county, will soon begin doing official broadcasts of live sporting events, such as NHL games and the opening ceremony of the 2024 summer Olympics. After last year’s twin concert film releases from Beyonce and Taylor Swift, theater owners expect more concerts at the movies as well.

“The special programming piece is, is an increasingly important dynamic of a good movie theater,” Ketchum said. "I think that that goes to, you know, the question about some of these theaters that are falling away, is the degree to which they're able, and enthusiastically embrace, you know, the alternative programming.”

From its beginnings as “Zoetropolis Independent Film and Art” on West Lemon Street to itscurrent identity as “Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse” on Water Street, Zoetropolis has remained a local blueprint of how to continually reinvent itself to stay viable. Not only does the theater show a mixture of new indies and beloved cult classics, but it also holds stand-up comedy, concerts, trivia and karaoke nights, utilizing its screen for more than just movies.

In their own way, each theater in Lancaster County offers a varied experience – the Reel has “ReelMAX,” its answer to IMAX that features Dolby Atmos sound and dozens of speakers to pick up the nuance of sound. Penn Cinema not only has the only IMAX theater in the county, but also regularly shows special screenings and holds release parties for new releases. The Regal Manor, by proxy of being a corporate multiplex, will always have whatever new releases people desire.

Ticket numbers rise

The tally of ticket sales supports Wax’s view that those theaters that remain can expect increasingly healthy numbers.

In 2019, over one billion movie tickets were sold in theaters across the United States. In the half decade since then, theater owners have been anxious to reach that nine-digit haven once again.

In 2022, 705 million movie tickets were sold, and in 2023, that number increased slightly to 829 million, but still down from the pre-pandemicnumber of 1.2 billion.