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Although the University 4 Theaters closed in January, Moscow’s two remaining cinemas continue on.
Both Eastside Cinemas and the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre have continued serving Moscow residents, both seeing increased business since the University 4 was closed.
Jerry Reese from Eastside Cinemas said he was happy when he heard the news that the competing theater was closed.
“I’ve been managing this theater (Eastside) for 10 years and booking has always been a problem. There were always movies we couldn’t get because they had them and vice versa, but now we don’t have that problem,” he said.
Julie Ketchum from the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre said that the closure didn’t come as a surprise to her.
“I knew they’d been struggling for a while. It’s a tough business to be in,” Ketchum said.
As for the University 4’s closure having an effect on the community, Reese doesn’t think it will have any at all.
“We can handle almost any overages and now we get all the good movies. Plus we’ve got the new theater in Pullman, so whatever we don’t have, they will,” Reese said.
Ketchum said the closure won’t affect the community.
“Certainly if one theater closes more business will come to the others, but that’s inevitable. Everyone in town has been struggling, even nationwide. Movie attendance has gone down over the last couple years, but we continue on,” Ketchum said.
The decrease isn’t dramatic for the Kenworthy, but it is noticeable, Ketchum said.
She said she believes it is mostly due to the availability of movies online.
“Things like Netflix and other movie rental companies are making it easier for people to find other means to see movies. It’s a trend that is making movies more available for people to see without going to a theater,” Ketchum said.
Ketchum said that while it is a fact that movie attendance is decreasing, people will continue to go see films in the theaters.
“There’s nothing like seeing a movie on a big screen, and people still like that,” she said.
Despite the decreased attendance numbers for theaters in general, other Palouse theaters have seen one slight change since the University 4 was closed.
Both Reese and Ketchum have seen an increase in attendance since the closure, and while Reese knows it’s partially a result, Ketchum isn’t quite sure.
“We were busy in January, but I’m not sure if I can attribute it to the University 4 closing, although I would say it probably had some impact,” Ketchum said.
“We tend to have a niche because we don’t show all of the mainstream films, but more of the art and independent films, so we’re a little different.”
Reese, on the other hand, said that attendance has increased by maybe 25 or 30 percent.
“Things are back to the way they used to be. We’ve definitely seen an increase, but it’s hard to tell. There are good and bad movies out there, and that also has a lot to do with attendance rates, so it’s hard to determine whether that’s entirely because of University 4,” Reese said.
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