Movie Theater Foot Traffic (South)

Movie theater traffic is currently at around 44% of what it was pre-coronavirus. This is up more than 100% from where it was in mid April (20.75% of pre-corona traffic). With larger chain theaters opening up again, expect to see this number slowly increase as people begin to come back out for movies.

In the news

AMC’s CEO Adam Aron on coronavirus safety at reopened movie theaters

Kevin Stankiewicz

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron told CNBC on Thursday that the company has been pleased with the reopening of its movie theaters following coronavirus-induced closures, citing positive reactions from attendees.

“Our theater cleanliness scores are the best they’ve been in decades, an all-time high,” Aron said on “Squawk Box.” “I think you can eat off the floor,” he quipped. 

Popcorn farmers are sitting on mountains of unsold popcorn, in part due to closed movie theaters

Michael Hollan

Popcorn farmers who typically sell to movie theaters and other venues (bars, concert halls, sporting events, etc.) are struggling amid the pandemic, The Washington Post reports. For these farmers, the summer months usually mean big business. But this year, it’s a different story.

While microwave popcorn brands have reportedly seen sales surge, many farmers who provide corn to theaters and other similar venues (typically in 50- to 100-pound bags) don’t have the equipment or infrastructure to switch their sales models.

With the future of movie theaters still uncertain, many farmers are reportedly concerned that it will still be some time before popcorn sales return to normal levels. As a result, some companies are partnering with suppliers to sell smaller bags of their corn directly to consumers. Unfortunately, as Delish points out, this still leaves an estimated 111 million pounds of unsold and unpopped corn.