Arlington Theatre will “not be impacted” by Metropolitan Theaters Chapter 11 reorganization

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Metropolitan Theaters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, but that does not mean it will close the Arlington Theatre on State Street in Santa Barbara.

Metropolitan Theaters Corp. President David Corwin said, "The Arlington is a treasure for us, not just the community. The property is owned by our family. While the parent company leases it from our other entity it will not be impacted. We are in complete control of that property."

It will operate as usual Corwin said by phone.

"It's a very special unique venue where people remember seeing their first movie with their kids and there is a wide variety of programming and a variety of things coming up in the next few weeks."

Metropolitan Theaters also operates half a dozen other theaters in Santa Barbara and Goleta, including Camino Real Cinemas, Fairview Theatre, Hitchcock Cinema, Paseo Nuevo Cinemas, Metro 4, and Fiesta 5.

They will be part of the company's debt reorganization.

"We are reviewing the theater leases with our landlords to keep the theaters operating." said Corwin, " We'll know more as the process evolves."

Corwin also said theaters looked forward the release of Dune 2 this year.

Dune:Part Two easily won the weekend box office, earning more than $81 million domestically and $178 million worldwide.

"We were waiting for Dune to sort of kick things off, as you probably know, there were a lot of films that were supposed to be released this year that were pushed back, the prolonged actors and writers strikes halted production, so, most projections for this year are off 10-15 percent from last year, which was 20 percent off of pre-pandemic numbers."

He said releases are not as consistent with 2 to 3 new movies opening per week as they used to do before the pandemic.

Moviegoers including Cam Camarena blame the behavior of many movie fans.

"They are struggling and it is shame because it is such a great thing to do and we are getting lazier I guess," said Camarena,"and we just don't seem to go to the theaters as much, I try to go, but I know we just get accustomed to the laziness of everything at home."

The Oscars could create a buzz that will help movie theaters.

Corwin said he will be watching with his wife, kids and mom.

"Oscar night for us has always been a family night, we have been in this business a long time."

And you can bet he will be rooting for box office winners.

"It is nice that this year there are actually some films that did well commercially that are nominated for the top award, which isn't always the case, so hopefully it is relatable to more people," said Corwin.

The Arlington Theatre is hosting a free Oscar Watch Party on Sunday.

For more information visit https://www.arlingtontheatresb.com