LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Members of the Bagby family have operated movie theaters in small U.S. towns for four generations. With the coronavirus outbreak forcing their 400 screens to go dark indefinitely, some of them worry that run could come to an end.
FILE PHOTO: A man cycles past a shuttered movie theater in Times Square following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
The family’s Missouri-based company closed its 50 B&B Theatres locations in seven states this week and imposed its first layoffs ever, affecting 1,980 workers.
“We’ve been around since 1924,” B&B Chief Executive Bob Bagby said in an interview. “We hope we can continue to be around, but we’re a little scared right now.”
The global coronavirus outbreak has put the biggest strain on movie theaters in the industry’s 115-year history. Most theaters in the United States, and many around the world,…
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