Recovery Act grant keeps movies alive in Polson
Polson Theatres, Inc. operates nine cinemas throughout Montana, including the newly remodeled Stadium 6 in Polson. The local business recently received just over $1.3 million from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. It’s the second largest such grant in the state after Logjam Presents, which sponsors live concerts in Missoula. For Polson Theatres, the grant equates to about $50,000 per screen.
“If you had told me where we would be, or that this is what was going to happen on March 30 last year, I would have said you’ve got to be kidding,” said Becky Dupuis, who co-operates the family-owned business with her husband, Gary.
As soon as they were allowed to open theaters last summer, Polson Theatres opened with COVID safety protocols in place. For most theaters, they would open and close off and on, depending on whether they were drawing enough customers to cover expenses such as staff and movie rental. Even now, the number of showings per night have been cut back in several of the theaters.
However, whether they are open or closed, many large expenses still have to be paid to keep the buildings up.
“You cannot be closed and maintain the kind of infrastructure that movie theaters and live venues have to maintain and survive something like this,” Becky Dupuis said. “Everything from water, sewer, electric, insurance, equipment warranty, maintenance and the lease on those buildings, all those things had to be paid whether we were open or not.”
She said another strain on the movie theater business comes from large film companies postponing the release of their blockbuster films. For example, the new James Bond film, expected to come out last year, is now expected to be released in October. And “Top Gun: Maverick” was pushed out to November.
“This hasn’t helped us at all.”
Dupuis also is concerned there could be a movie shortage in a year or two, as many filming projects have been delayed by COVID as well. And now, with low vaccination and masking rates, COVID is on the rise again, bringing new potential difficulties.
“The movie industry kind of rode on the coattails of the live entertainment industry,” Dupuis said. “The National Association of Theater Owners approached Congress and said that in this business, we’re not just sort of closed, we’re totally closed. There’s no making meals for people to pick up, there’s no selling things online.”
“Congress said, you know, you’re right. If we want to see movie theaters and live performances around after all of this, then we’re going to have to do something,” Dupuis said.
All three members of Montana’s congressional delegation, Sens. Tester and Daines, and Rep. Rosendale, went to bat for the industry, she said, and financial assistance was added into the American Rescue Plan.
“It really sounds like a ton of money, but it is divided between nine theaters, all having those expenses while either being closed and making no money, or even being open and not making enough to cover expenses.
“Income over the last sixteen months is down over 80 percent. Without the SVOG money, we would have been making some tough decisions about just how much longer we could operate without selling theaters.”
Polson Theatres has qualified for two paycheck protection program (PPP) loans and help with loan deferments, interest payments and loan payments through the SBA, Montana Board of Investments and the state of Montana. Dupuis says without this support in addition to the SVOG, bankruptcy would have been on the horizon.
“The SVOG has made it so we are about 95 percent confident that we can reopen all of our theaters and keep them open.
“We’re so excited and thankful people are coming back to the movies, and we so appreciate all the support that we have gotten in each of our communities during the pandemic. Everything from people buying popcorn on Popcorn Night to people putting up with standing in line 6 feet apart while we tried to get everyone a seat 6 feet apart. It was complicated, but thankfully people hung in there with us.”