Boxoffice Pro

EXECUTIVE LETTER
MOVIES
ARE BETTER
TOGETHER AND
SO ARE WE
“Now, more than a year
into this pandemic, having
gone through the worst, I
am realistic, but I am truly
optimistic.”
When I was elected NATO chairman
in October of last year, the movie
theater industry in the United States was
almost completely shut down. Europe had
fared somewhat better, and Latin America
was roughly in the same circumstances as
the U.S.; only the Asia Pacific region was
somewhat close to normal. Yet most of the
movie industry depends on global theatrical
releases, and with the Covid-19 pandemic
raging, they were nowhere in sight.
Early optimism that the virus could
be managed by business shutdowns and
swift, consistent government action had
given way to the sober judgment that
the movie theater business could not
return to normal until effective vaccines
were created and administered widely
and virus case numbers had declined
far below where they then stood. Since
April, NATO’s Executive Board had been
meeting weekly, and shortly after NATO
staff began conducting weekly webinars to
keep our members up to date. So, despite
our optimism, we had very few illusions
about what we faced.
It has been my privilege as NATO
chairman to see how this industry has
responded, from creating a nationwide set
of voluntary health and safety protocols—
CinemaSafe—to lobbying state, local,
and federal officials on reopening and
relief measures to continuously engaging
with the studios on the release calendar
and navigating a new coexistence with
streaming services, I have never seen this
industry so committed and engaged. And
that engagement has not just been for the
survival of individual companies, but for
the good of the industry.
Friends and allies of exhibition have
also been there for us. Studio executives,
directors, and talent agencies, particularly
CAA, have been instrumental in making
the case for aid to the industry. We cannot
thank them enough.
In this issue of Boxoffice Pro, you
can read about those enormous volunteer
exhibitor contributions in John Fithian’s
column. We also have the honor of hosting
a guest column from Senate Majority
Leader Charles E. Schumer, who has been
a key ally for exhibition, shepherding
important provisions for the industry
through the CARES Act, to the HELP ACT
in 2020, and on to the American Rescue
Plan this year. Furloughed workers have
received an unprecedented level of
financial support to get them through this
long, painful crisis. Important tax relief
through the Net Operating Loss provision
allowed companies to shift losses to earlier,
more profitable, tax years. Hundreds of
theater owners have received Paycheck
Protection Program loans and have now
applied for Shuttered Venue Operators
Grants, and that desperately needed
money will have started flowing by the
time you read this.
As I write seven months into my tenure,
we see real signs of recovery. Vaccination
rates, in the U.S. in particular, are soaring.
Cases of the virus are in rapid decline,
markets are reopening, and capacity
restrictions are being lifted. All of this
positive news has been accompanied by
a strengthening and solidifying release
slate, as, unlike last summer and fall,
distributors are not waiting for the entire
world to reopen at once. A strong May
and June calendar becomes an absolutely
packed summer and later half of the year,
with an unprecedentedly crowded 2022 in
view: #TheBigScreenisBack.
Now, more than a year into this
pandemic, having gone through the worst,
I am realistic, but I am truly optimistic.
Moviegoers around the world have
demonstrated that when they feel safe and
the movies are there, they will come out to
the movie theater. An industry that many
had counted out has survived the worst
that could be thrown at it. Together, we
have shown the strength, resiliency, and
importance of the movie theater industry
and the moviegoing experience. The core
of what we offer to moviegoers is simple.
Movies are better together. So are we.
Rolando B. Rodriguez
Chairman, National Association
of Theatre Owners
President & CEO, Marcus Theatres
Q2 2021
07