Windsor Theatre temporarily closed

Published by editor on Wed, 09/02/2020 - 9:05am

The Windsor Theatre is now temporarily closed primarily because there are very few first run movies available. Patrons are also hesitant to return to a group social setting because of the coronavirus.

Many first run movie premi-eres have been moved to some future 2021 release date. Some studios have undermined local theatres bypassing them totally by offering 2020 movies via video on demand. Traditionally there has been a 90-day win-dow between a movie's release to a movie theatre and becom-ing available at home.

Since the Windsor Theatre opened in 1999, average week-ly attendance has dropped from a high of 691 in 2004 to an all time low of 279 in 2019. COVID-19 appears to be the "final nail in the coffin" for the Windsor Theatre.

What is the future of movie theatres, specifically the Wind-sor Theatre? How important is it to you to have the Windsor Theatre, the only first run movie theatre in Franklin County, open for business? What will it take to have you frequent the Windsor Theatre? "Use it or lose it."

Being the positive person I am, another idiom comes to mind: "Every dark cloud has a silver lining." Here is an oppor-tunity for the Windsor Theatre to reinvent itself. But how? Besides showing movies, the Windsor Theatre is a venue for live performance. I welcome any and all suggestions. "A penny for your thoughts."

Jim Davies, manager

Windsor Theatre