Dozens of screens have gone dark since Christmas. What’s next?

On Sunday, One Battle After Another and Sinners emerged as the biggest winners at this year’s Academy Awards, bringing Warner Bros. ten Oscars between them. Both films also enjoyed long and prestigious runs in premium formats at landmark L.A. theaters.

Streamers gonna stream, but will the migration to newer formats doom the moviegoing experience? Some say yes, with the Oscars themselves opting to stream on YouTube starting in 2029.

Look Dine-In Cinemas in DowneyCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols

The closure of several theaters in recent weeks has not helped the case. AMC, the world’s largest theater chain, has closed about a quarter of its locations worldwide in the last 5 years. Locally, Regency at Calabasas Commons closed after Christmas and Laemmle ended its Claremont operation at the end of January. Look Dine-In Cinemas in Downey and Monrovia shuttered in February, leaving only their Glendale location open. The AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills, as well as Regency’s Agoura and Westlake Village complexes, were recently torn down. Regal’s Big Newport in Orange County and iPic Pasadena and Westwood are next on the chopping block.

Worn seats at Look Dine-In CinemasCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols

“I think we’re going to see a lot more closures,” says Bill Counter, whose Los Angeles Theaters blog documents over 1,000 movie houses in L.A. past and present. “The business is in trouble. What can I say?”

Even as closures rock the industry, venues like Regal at L.A. Live are in the midst of serious upgrades, rebuilding auditoriums to contemporary luxury standards.  “They did a big upgrade with new recliner seats,” says Counter. “The auditoria are rebuilt and reterraced and their big house is now an IMAX-branded venue.”  Perhaps studios will reinvest in exhibition. Sony Pictures was the first studio to get back into the exhibition game in 2020 when the 1940s-era consent decree that barred studios from also owning exhibitors was lifted. The studio behind the Spider-Man movies bought Alamo Drafthouse, which operates one local cinema in Downtown L.A. and Netflix spent $70 million restoring Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre.

Regency’s Academy Theater in Pasadena is a 6-plex inside a former movie palace built in 1925Credit: Photo by Los Angeles Public Library

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Regency Theatres operates more than 100 screens, primarily in Southern California. Many of their venues are older, smaller and more modest than the flashier multiplexes. “We’re a family business and we just keep plugging away,” President Lyndon Golin tells Los Angeles. “Of all the negative press out there for theaters these days, it’s still the best value for your buck for entertainment. I don’t think you can beat It compared to a concert or live sporting event.” A ticket to their Academy theater in Pasadena goes for nine bucks and you can throw in an Eisenberg hot dog for two dollars more. That’s probably the best deal in town.

Look Dine-in Cinemas offers themed cocktails tied to the movieCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols

Neither Golin or Counter are big fans of the dine-in concept and think that its complexity may have contributed to the demise of the Look and iPic concepts. “I like going to weekday matinees,” Counter says. “When people around me aren’t chomping on their chicken wings.” Regency is not planning to put in an offer for those shuttered venues but they did acquire the Claremont Laemmle. “It’s a community that appreciates the independent and foreign films,” Golin says. “We’re putting in recliners and refreshing the building to elevate the experience there.”

CGV Cinemas in Buena ParkCredit: Photo by yunguyen666

Regency also stepped in to save the struggling CGV Cinemas locations in Koreatown and Buena Park. “It didn’t make a lot of sense for those to close when the Korean market is so big,” Golin says. “They were nicely built with ScreenX and good sight lines and nice amenities. We have 4DX with the wind and rain and that’s really popular. Kids love it. I’m 59 and it gets to me after a little while.”

Perhaps the future of exhibition will belong more to specialized cinemas competing on luxuries instead of locations. Golin, for one, thinks 2026 is going to be a banner year for his chain. “Mario is going to be big, and we have high hopes for Michael,” the theater owner says. “Project Hail Mary looks fantastic, and Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is going to be a real spectacle. Hey, I’m happy if anybody goes to the theater.”  

iPic raised the bar for luxury cinemasCredit: Photo by ray_explores