West Coast Cinema Chain Files Bankruptcy, Citing Industry Woes

Los Angeles-based multiplex cinema chain Metropolitan Theatres Corp. filed for bankruptcy, citing industry-wide difficulties stemming from the pandemic slowdown, labor strikes, and an expected 2024 decrease in box office performance.

Metropolitan, which operates 15 movie theaters and 85 screens located in California, Utah, and Colorado, filed for small business Chapter 11 relief Thursday in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California.

The 100-year-old chain, which owes roughly $500,000 in federal pandemic relief loans, said in court filings that it has failed to fully recover from an extended business slowdown that began during the pandemic when theaters were ...