What's Up!

May 9, 2021

What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!

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6 WHAT'S UP! MAY 9-15, 2021 Silver Screens Shine Again Movie theaters hoping for best year ever COURTNEY LANNING NWA Democrat-Gazette T o say the pandemic has been unkind to movie theaters would be the understatement of the year, maybe of the decade. In normal times, movie theaters are a regular part of life. New films come out every Friday, and you get more popcorn than you can actually finish in one sitting. It's something lots of folks have missed for the last year. But with headlines that "Godzilla vs. Kong" had the best opening weekend during the pandemic (more than $30 million and still going), we decided to check in with some Arkansas movie theater owners/managers and pick their brains about what they see coming down the pike. Scott Gordon is the general/food and beverage manager for Skylight Cinema in Bentonville. It's an independent dine-in cinema that has had ties to the Bentonville Film Festival in previous years. He described the pandemic's impact on Skylight Cinema as catastrophic. "The pandemic was devastating to the entire industry, and we were no exception," he said. "We were closed for close to six months, and that wasn't necessarily government mandated." Although the theater had the option to reopen in summer 2020, there weren't any new films coming out. It's hard to get folks into the theater without new movies to show. That's part of the deal: New releases every week. "[It] made operating extremely challenging from a financial perspective," Gordon said. Fast-forward to present day, and Skylight Cinema is seeing great sales with "Godzilla vs. Kong." "We've had several sellout shows of that film. We operate in an incredibly supportive community, and people are chomping at the bit to get out of their homes and get back to some sense of normal life," the manager said. Gordon said he felt reassured about the theater's relevance with those sellout shows. And while he confirmed his staff can't wait for things to get back to normal, until then, they're all doing their best to keep moviegoers safe during the pandemic. "We carry a significant responsibility as a member of the greater Northwest Arkansas community to limit the impact of covid-19, and we take that very seriously," he said. With recent news Pacific Theaters won't be reopening, and Alamo Drafthouse having filed for bankruptcy, some might wonder how Skylight Cinema's potential rebound might differ from other chains in the area, Released March 31, "Godzilla vs. Kong" has made $406.7 million at the box office, the first blockbuster since covid-19 shut down movie theaters in the spring of 2020. (File Photo) BENTONVILLE See Movies Page 38

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