MENOMONIE, WI (KFGO) – Many film theatres have seen the pandemic shut their doorways in the interim.
Steven Van Voorhis is the supervisor on the Menomonie 7 Theatre in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The 24-year-old is a Fergus Falls native that has labored within the film business for 7 years. He’s labored at theaters in Fergus Falls and Breckenridge Minnesota and now in Wisconsin.
“I’m a giant film buff. I benefit from the huge film stuff just like the projectors and the way it will get on the massive display screen. I just like the buyer expertise half as effectively. Seeing their enjoyment, particularly the regulars is a good feeling.”
When COVID hit in March of 2020, Voorhis was pressured to close down the theatre.
Voorhis says, “With COVID, it put a dampening onto the enterprise itself, getting individuals to return. Additionally when the federal government shutdown occurred, that didn’t assist both. It was onerous to close the theatre down when COVID began.”
The Coronavirus shut down the leisure world throughout its peak, particularly film studios. Throughout 2020, many films shut down manufacturing, which affected launch dates. Motion pictures like Black Widow, Prime Gun: Maverick, and James Bond’s No Time To Die had been all pushed again. Voorhis was pressured to shut down once more in October 2020 when movie studios began delaying new releases.
The rise of streaming providers like Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix has additionally affected the film business.
“As streaming providers have gotten larger, they’ve affected us a little bit bit. I relate it to the rise of DVDs and VHS. Folks thought theatres would fall off the face of the earth. Theatres truly thrived as a result of individuals got here to see the film to search out out in the event that they needed the DVD. Streaming providers are simply one other bump within the highway. I don’t suppose it is going to have an effect on film theatres in the long term due to the film theatre expertise.”, says Voorhis.
When COVID-19 is over, Voorhis says households will come again to expertise an evening out of normalcy.
“Going into the theatre and watching a Marvel or Star Wars film surrounded by different followers is an expertise that individuals crave.”
In Fargo, Marcus West Acres Cinema and Century 10 theaters are open on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Fargo Theatre is closed however does provide a Virtual Cinema possibility.
