It will "become a home for the Noah Baumbach-directed Netflix film Marriage Story when the picture plays theatrical engagements in a handful of theaters in Los Angeles and New York on November 6." So you have a chance to enjoy the last "prestige" single-screen theater in Manhattan one more time.
But will Netflix keep the Paris going after that? Netflix, according to Deadline, will not comment on that question, but signs point to a possibility.
The Paris, along with its sister cinema the Beekman 1, 2, 3, shuttered in August after announcing non-renewals of their leases. Both buildings share the landlord Sheldon Solow.
One of the problems with the Paris was or is that the theater never operated a concession stand - those drinks and edibles sold at 300% profit, helping to keep other theaters running in the grey, if not the black. I would assume the Paris has been running in the red for a time and would now have to be subsidized. The alternative is to soak guests for $19 to get in and then serve wine and whatever snack for another twenty bucks, not unlike charging $11 for a brownie at Geffen Hall when the Philharmonic plays.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, how can you charge $10 for a ticket and show a film in the afternoon with eight people sitting in the house, while a small staff makes their $15/hr wage, insurance takes $2000/mo, and rent -- well, we don't talk about that in public? Never mind what it costs to keep the "film" (or the file) for a time or how much power it takes to run a digital cinema projector for two hours at a time, several times a day.
This said - the 1/10 of 1% could well afford to subsidize all this (Netflix included) so that a person could actually (G-d forbid) duck into a theater and see something good for a small outlay, as once possible in the great city. Otherwise, people are running out of money, free space, and options. Just keep moving, bub.