{"id":432990,"date":"2026-10-20T13:04:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T13:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432990\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T13:04:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T13:04:57","slug":"do-people-still-go-to-the-movies-in-tampa-bay-local-theaters-seeing-a-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432990\/","title":{"rendered":"Do people still go to the movies in Tampa Bay? Local theaters seeing a comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” wouldn’t be released in theaters for another year and a half when Tim Massett raised the idea of buying a 70-millimeter projector.<\/p>\n

Massett, a co-owner of Sun-Ray Cinema<\/a> in Tampa, knew the indietheater needed to capitalize on the release of Nolan’s long-awaited retelling of the Greek epic.<\/p>\n

The projectors would not only draw audiences to the nascent cinema, it would allow them get their hands on the film’s physical copies, often a challenge for smaller, independently owned theaters.<\/p>\n

So,Shana David-Massett and Tim Massett, the husband-and-wife team behind Sun-Ray, took a $130,000 gamble and bought a Century JJ, capable of projecting both 35mm and 70mm film. Alongside AMC Veterans 24 in Town ‘n’ Country, Sun-Ray was one of only two theaters in the Tampa Bay area showing “The Odyssey” in this covetedformat.<\/p>\n

The gamble paid off. Ticket sales spiked five times over since the summer blockbuster’s release in July.<\/p>\n

“This was like a quantum accelerator for our business,” David-Massett said.<\/p>\n

This summer’s box office has been lauded as the most successful since the pandemic. Financially, it wasthe best summer on record, raking in $4.76 billion<\/a> in ticket sales \u2014 just enough to break the $4.75 billion record set in 2013.<\/p>\n

It was a boon for Tampa Bay’s local theaters,too, where there was a 22.5% spike in revenue over last summer, according to industry firm Rentrak.<\/p>\n

Local cinema owners say they reaped the benefits from the slate of films hitting their screens this summer, but most importantly, audiences \u2014 fueled by Gen Z moviegoers \u2014 are finally rebounding after the pandemic.<\/p>\n

It’s a good sign for an industry left hobbled by the back-to-back hits of the COVID-19 lockdown, the actors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood and the ongoing proliferation of streaming at home.<\/p>\n

“The movies are definitely back,” said Hannah Hockman, who runs The Beach Theatre in St. Pete Beach.<\/p>\n

But the challenges theaters face aren’t gone. Independent theaters are competing with the large flatscreens in viewers’ living rooms and their chain counterparts like AMC and Regal. And those chains are shrinking fast, shuttering locations nationwide and in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Are the movies actually back?\"This<\/p>\n

This summer broke a record for the biggest box office revenue ever at around $4.76 billion. Every month this summer generated more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n

This summer’s success comes with an asterisk. Attendance is still down compared to before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

More than a billion tickets were sold domestically on average in 2018 and 2019. Fast forward to this year, where the average has dropped to around 750 million, said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak.<\/p>\n

Rising ticket prices ballooned this year’s total revenue figure, particularly owing to special formats like IMAX and Dolby Cinema. An average movie ticket cost $12.13 in 2023 but has jumped to $13.46, according to EntTelligence. Meanwhile, a premium adult movie ticket, for special seating or screenings, increased from $16.82 to $18.22. If you wanted an IMAX ticket to “Street Fighter” at a local AMC this weekend, for instance, that would run you $20.85 with tax \u2014 plus the potential of online fees. (Let alone ordering a large popcorn and soda for $18.)<\/p>\n

But Dergarabedian said comparing this year to pre-pandemic data is “comparing apples to oranges.” Today’s market conditions have made it a “leaner, meaner business,” he said.<\/p>\n

This year stands out thanks to high-powered releases like “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Obsession,” “Backrooms,” “Toy Story 5,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and, of course, Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which is still in theaters (more than three months since its original release date).<\/p>\n

And there’s more to come with major winter releases, including “Dune: Part Three” and “Avengers: Doomsday.”<\/p>\n

Studios have released movies that “demand to be seen on the big screen” in special formats, pushing people from their couches and into theaters’ reclinable chairs, said Tom Nunan, a lecturer at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and founder of Bull’s Eye Entertainment, a production company.<\/p>\n

Take how Nolan’s film, for example, was the first feature shot completely on IMAX film. Cinephiles traveled around the country to see the movie on IMAX 70mm \u2014 the way Nolan intended. Only 19 theaters in the U.S. are capable of projecting the special format.<\/p>\n

Independent theaters share the spoils\"A<\/p>\n

A Century JJ, the only Century projector that can project both 35mm and 70mm film, is poised at the projection window at Auditorium #10 at the SunRay Cinema on Dec. 10 in Tampa.<\/p>\n

David-Massett said this summer put Sun-Ray, a 10-screen multiplex at the University Mall, on the map. The theater ran 66 showings in 70mm film over six weeks of Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic.<\/p>\n

It was “an exposure opportunity for this cinema in a way that was not even remotely an accident,” she said.<\/p>\n

Tampa Theatre film program manager James DeFord has noticed seats filling up since the stall-out of 2020 \u2014 what he suspects is a push back against the algorithmic recommendations on streaming services.<\/p>\n

“When you are used to having a trillion options at any one time, nothing looks good,” he said.<\/p>\n

Independent cinemas do the work for the customer, choosing curated repertory films and classics. It allows them to build a connection with moviegoers, an advantage over the commercial chains, and create a reliable audience, DeFord said.<\/p>\n

The boon was limited at the Tampa Theatre, where a $30 million renovation effort shuttered the 1,238-seat Duncan Auditorium for seven months. Most movies ran in the John T. Taylor Screening Room, which has 43 seats, instead.<\/p>\n

The theater celebrated its 100th birthday on Thursday and welcomed patrons back into its historic auditorium.<\/p>\n

“Success for them is success for us, too,” DeFord said of competing theaters, even the ones that screened films like “The Odyssey,” which Tampa Theatre did not. Everybody wins, he said, “when the movies have a really good year.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Tampa Theatre staff member is seen in the projection room during the Centennial Celebration on Oct. 15 in Tampa. The Tampa Theatre reopened to the public after an intensive months-long restoration in time for its 100th birthday party.<\/p>\n

Hockman said the Beach Theatre’s showings of classic films outperformed the blockbusters they were able to screen like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” this summer’s best-performing movie.<\/p>\n

Hockman attributes that to a “nostalgia factor” that’s even more pronounced for the historical theater. But she said she’s also witnessed a generational shift, recalling a recent “Twilight” screening where the audience was mostly teen girls. Even as ticket prices climb, she said, the theater still comparatively amounts to an cheap night out.<\/p>\n

Gen Z has been one of the box office’s driving forces. Almost nine in 10 Gen Z moviegoers said they’ve seen at least one movie in theaters this year, compared to 58% of Baby Boomers and 70% of Gen X, according to a Fandango survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“People also just want something that is a safe environment \u2014 an affordable environment \u2014 and to be able to get out with friends and do something very low-stakes and fun,” Hockman said.<\/p>\n

Braeden Johnson has witnessed that firsthand. The 26-year-old Tampa resident founded the Tampa Bay Film Social. Members compile monthly watchlists, head out to the theaters in droves and host events to discuss the movies.<\/p>\n

The club has amassed nearly 2,000 followers on TikTok since mid-July. Between 50 to 75 people joined a recent outing to watch “Primetime,” featuring Robert Pattinson as “To Catch a Predator” star Chris Hansen, he said.<\/p>\n

Not only are movies a “cheaper escape” from day-to-day life, but they also give people a sense of community. “Everybody wants to talk about what they’re watching,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n

It’s not all Hollywood glitz and glamour\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner Mike Hazlett at the new Green Light Lounge + Kitchen next door to the Green Light Cinema. Hazlett said he’s not sold on the industry’s optimism that audiences are coming back.<\/p>\n

Mike Hazlett thinks the chatter of movie theaters making a comeback is “industry rah-rah.”<\/p>\n

“The actual numbers of tickets sold do not reflect what the industry is telling us. Period, full stop,” said Hazlett, owner of Green Light Cinema in downtown St. Petersburg. “We are in the ‘I’m trying to save my job’ part of the program.'”<\/p>\n

Streaming is the biggest hurdle for arthouse cinemas like Green Light, whose bread and butter are prestige and indie films that often don’t have big theatrical releases.<\/p>\n

“The audiences look at the films and they’re like, ‘That’s a streamer.’ Done,” Hazlett said.<\/p>\n

When booking movies now, Hazlett looks for exclusivity from the streaming platforms to ensure people will leave their homes and come to Green Light instead.<\/p>\n

Hazlett said this summer was “bad.” Green Light didn’t show any of the season’s biggest blockbusters, but their busy season is usually in the fall when movies garnering buzz for the Academy Awards near release.<\/p>\n

Down the street from Green Light lies another competitor: AMC Sundial 12. The chain theaters have taken a bite into the arthouse film territory for independent theaters because they have more screens to fill.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, local theaters had to find other ways to survive. Hazlett said Green Light is “basically a part-time theater.” He opened a lounge and kitchen next door to drive up revenue, offers acting classes and hosts events to draw people in.<\/p>\n

Hazlett took another step that he had hoped to avoid: turning Green Light into a nonprofit, which will help the theater collect donations, grants and money from the city.<\/p>\n

“I thought that at the scale that I was running Green Light \u2014 80 seats and a single screen \u2014 my expenses aren’t insane that I could make it profitable,” Hazlett said. “I just could not get it there.”<\/p>\n

The Tampa Theatre also operates as a nonprofit. Sun-Ray and the Beach Theatre do not. The Beach Theatre, however, is partnered with a nonprofit education partner called The Beach Theatre Initiative.<\/p>\n

Commercial chains, on the other hand, are feeling a different type of squeeze.<\/p>\n

AMC Theatres operates eight locations in the Tampa Bay area. The company’s revenue from North American admissions sales jumped nearly 35% for July and August compared to last year. But the theater chain recently announced it wrapped its restructuring of $3.97 billion in debt.<\/p>\n

More than 200 AMCs have closed since 2020 as the company sheds theaters that are losing money.<\/p>\n

The future of at least one AMC location in Tampa is murky. WestShore Plaza, home of AMC West Shore 14, is set to be demolished and redeveloped by its new owners.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An elevated view of the movie theater and restaurant area at WestShore Plaza in Tampa is shown in this July 22 photo.<\/p>\n

David-Massett said she’s not optimistic that a new theater will take AMC West Shore’s place. Developers are not “movie theater-hot,” and the growth at the box office is not sustained enough to change that.<\/p>\n

AMC Sundial in St. Pete also settled a legal battle with the owners of the retail complex last year. The theater’s operators had sued Sundial’s new owners, Paradise Ventures and Ally Capital Group, over issues with their renovation plans. The settlement allowed the construction of a courtyard bar named Drift to move forward.<\/p>\n

CMX Cinemas, which operates CMX Cin\u00e9Bistro in Hyde Park, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. It’s unclear if the company’s financial situation will affect the Hyde Park location. The company did not answer multiple emails from the Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n

All in all, the movie theater industry remains unpredictable mainly because it relies on the output of the studios and whether those movies will connect with an audience.<\/p>\n

Theaters are at the mercy of others in that way.<\/p>\n

“It’s less like running a restaurant and more like running a grocery store,” DeFord said. “You sell what other people sell you.”<\/p>\n

All David-Massett can do is make sure they’re on their game when those audiences do come \u2014 keep the popcorn perfectly salted and buttered, the rooms clean and tidy, the air conditioning brisk.<\/p>\n

“Now that the light is on us, we got to do our thing,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” wouldn’t be released in theaters for another year and a half when Tim Massett…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-432990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}