OELWEIN, Iowa (KWWL)- When the Grand Theater in Oelwein re-opened this past June, manager Cindy Kime said she thought it would be a downhill ride.
Instead, COVID-19 cases have risen, and the economic impact of COVID-19 on movie theaters has severely worsened.
"The longer it goes the bigger the challenge has become," she said.
Between COVID-19 capacity restrictions and a lack of new movies, many movie theaters are still closed. Some have even closed for good.
"It's been slow which makes it difficult," Kime said.
The issue is two fold.
"People are hesitant to come out into an environment where they would be with a crowd of people," Kime said. "But movies are not coming out. So with no movies, there really isn't anything to draw people back to the theaters anyway."
It has forced movie theaters to get creative. The Grand Theater has had shown retro movies and allowed groups to rent out the venue for small groups.
Like others in the area, the theater also offers popcorn to go.
"We do have a few regular customers that come every week and buy their three buckets of popcorn, which we appreciate," Kime said. "Every bit helps."
The small, not for profit theater remains above water because of the support of the Oelwein community.
"I do have a couple of small groups like three or four people that will come whenever we have new movies," Kime said. "But, you know, it'd be nice to have four or five more of those kinds of groups."
There is hope on the horizon. On Thursday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced the Movie Theater Relief Program.
"In so many small towns and rural communities, a movie theater can be the lifeblood of main street.," Governor Reynolds said in a statement. "This program will assist movie theaters in their day-to-day operations, alleviating some of the economic strain they are seeing as a result of virus mitigation and social distancing practices."
The state has set aside up to $5.5 million in CARES act funding to help local theaters with daily expenses. Starting Monday, theaters can apply for grants. The grant will provide up to $10,000 per screen. Nearly 150 movie theatres that house about 550 screens may be eligible for the relief.
For theaters, the relief can't come soon enough.
"We have ongoing expenses regardless of whether we're open or not," Kime said. "So the really the only thing that changed was being open is the cost of movie rentals."
Kime said she planned to apply for the grants first thing Monday morning.
Theatres with corporate ownership-based outside of Iowa must use the grant for their Iowa-based screens or operations. The program is an extension of the Small Business Relief Grant program offered through the IEDA.
For a full list of eligibility requirements, additional information, and to apply, click here. The application window will open on Nov. 9, 2020, and close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2020. Application questions should be directed to theatrerelief@iowaeda.com.
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November 09, 2020 at 09:45AM
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New COVID-19 relief program brings new hope for struggling movie theaters - kwwl.com
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