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Regal in the news
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
December 10, 2008 at 10:41 am
Reuters examines the state of Regal Entertainment in two iinteresting articles. One looks at how they’re on pace for a great fourth quarter while the other shows an acquisition of National Amusements as a tough sell.
Comments (6)
I can’t fathom Regal acquiring NA. They already bought out Consolidated and if they get NA they will almost totally monopolize the DC/VA/MD Metro movie market. Other than AMC, there are no big movie chains here. If a sale is to them is pending, somebody at the FTC better be looking into anti-trust laws.
The quality at Regal’s original plexes was bad enough to begin with. Though I haven’t been to what was Consolidated theaters (Royale 14) since the acquistion, I can’t say if things have gotten worse, but it doesn’t bode well for patrons in our market. We’re already at the $10+ admission price for adult evening times.
Regal buying National Amusements would also reduce the Boston area’s number of major chains to two: Regal and AMC. (We’ve also got two Landmark theatres and a few very small regional chains and independents.)
in south jersey we have far more regals in a small area then amc’s the ritz was purchased by national amusment about 2 years ago and there is one cinemark which sticks out like a sore thumb
i run a single screen indie theater which no one knows about and classic films have been phased out due to lack of intrest, i took a pay cut to save the films
i worry about the future of this market.
In Connecticut the main chain is Showcase Cinemas a.k.a. National Amusements. I used to wish for more choices and competition and hoped for Regal or Cinemark to enter the market. After seeing movies at the Waterbury Regal, the Plainville AMC, and the Local bowtie cinema, all I can say about Showcase, be careful what you wish for, like James Bond, no one does it better. Lets hope redstone figures a way out to keep the New England, New York and New Jersey theaters.
tom
I would like for that to happen too tom, but National has already closed at least 3 multiplexes in the past 3 years here in New Jersey. The Amboys, (due to a major floor collapse in the lobby), the All-Jersey in Newark and Atco. And everytime I drive somewhere in the state, all I see is Regal and AMC. We dont need them 2 to get any bigger. Together they are everything thats wrong with the movie theatres today. newt up above worries about the future, so do I, but I also worry about the present. Things with this economy could hit this business hard, and then you’ll see every big chain have problems, which is why I think its going to be hard for Redstone to unload National.
According to this article National is keeping sites in MA and NY: View link
They’ve closed and opened theaters in between in CT, adding screens to Buckland Hills, buying a 12-screen at Enfield Mall, and opening a Cinema De Lux in Millford. I can imagine the CT being an attractive target for AMC which only owns two theaters in the state. As for NJ? It’s anybody guess – Regal used to own a theater that National now runs, Cinemark has a single South Jersey screen, and Kerasotes is attempting to expand into the market. The only theater chain I can think of that actively also deals in real estate is Reading Cinemas (the owners of the Angelika) which would be a good fit as they also run high quality theaters. Should be interesting to see what happens.