New Theatre Owners President Michael P. O’Leary on Challenges Facing the Movies and Why He Remains Optimistic
variety.comRebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Michael P. O’Leary certainly has a tough act to follow. He’s taking over as president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners from John Fithian, who has been a major force for two decades as the top lobbyist for the exhibition industry.
And, he’s assuming the job at a trying time for the movie theater industry, which was battered by — and has yet to fully recover from — the pandemic.
Attendance and ticket sales haven’t returned to pre-COVID levels and major theater chains, including the CineWorld-owned Regal have been forced to file for bankruptcy, while roughly 2,000 screens across the industry have shuttered.
Exhibitors that stayed in business have suffered from a supply shortage. Still, O’Leary, who previously worked at 21st Century Fox, the Motion Picture Association, on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Justice, believes there’s reason to be hopeful that multiplexes aren’t a relic of the past.
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