Smoky Mountain Cinema on the rebound after tough Covid years

Jul. 31—When Covid brought the world to a screeching halt, the movie industry was in dire straits with theaters shuttered across the country.

Now, theaters are bouncing back with the help of some blockbuster movies hitting the silver screen.

"It's great for us," Smoky Mountain Cinema owner Greg Israel said.

The habits of movie goers — and the movie studios — changed during Covid, with movies releasing straight-to-streaming and viewers staying home to watch. Israel is seeing those habit unwind, including studios giving theaters first run again.

"What you are seeing now is them trying to pivot back to theaters," he said. "The studios are slowly coming around to realizing that streaming isn't the golden child they thought."

He said the best way to support local cinemas is at the concession stand. For a matinee ticket that costs the viewer $6, the theater is only bringing in about $1 after licensing fees and taxes.

"It you want us to survive, buy some popcorn, buy a drink," Israel said. "If people want to support us as a business, buy concessions."

Last year, Israel joined forces with the small-town theater owner in nearby Franklin to purchase the old movie theater in Sylva — rescuing it from being shut down and saving Sylva's hometown theater.

Israel and the Franklin theater owner David Parlier had become friends while trying to work through the Covid years.

"We would call each other and talk about 'how do we survive?'" Israel said. "At one point I think we were the only two theaters west of Charlotte open."

The purchase of the Sylva movie theater — renamed Catamount Cinema — illustrates Israel's belief in the return of the movie industry.

"I would not have bought Catamount last year it if didn't believe in it," he said.

While this summer has the best run of blockbuster movies post-Covid, Israel said it was actually better business-wise last summer, with people were itching to get back into the theaters.

"We'll hang in there," Israel said. "We're still in recovery mode, but we're doing pretty good."

And that recovery mode is clear. Israel said he hardly has the chance to watch movies anymore, as he works seven days a week keeping his two theaters running smoothly.

Hinging on the studios

A new speed bump has jumped in front of the theatre business, however. The Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike July 14. No new movies are actively being produced, so things could crash right back down like they did during the pandemic that rocked the entertainment industry.

"We really need steady product," Israel said.

But Israel made it clear that he believes in the movie industry still. When Israel got his first job as ticket taker at a movie theater as a teenager, the original Top Gun was in theaters. Back then, it was common for movies to show in theaters for 10 months. And it would be a year before you could rent them.

Now, movies are available for home release within 90 days, with some moving from the silver screen to the home screen within 45 days.

During Covid, studios signed deals to put movies directly on streaming platforms, deals that are still being carried out to this day.

"When you announce production of a movie, it is two to three years out," Israel said. "Once they commit to something, they are kind of locked into it."

One major problem for small-town theaters — but a good problem to have — is the bombardment of blockbusters over the summer. For example, Smoky Mountain Cinema is not currently showing Oppenheimer, the movie that was set to compete with Barbie on their opening weekends.

With just three screens, they can't bring in every summer blockbuster all at once. However, in October and November, when things slow down, it keeps them from having empty theaters with no movies to show.

Israel said the initial weekend or two are crucial for movies. Most movies see a 60% decrease in revenue from their opening weekend to the second weekend. He said he anticipates Barbie will only drop by about 30%.

"The majority of our business comes in the first weekend," he said. "You've gotta be the first one to see it. You don't want to see or hear any spoilers on social media. If not the first week, definitely the second two weeks."