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A regional theatre chain has entered voluntary administration this week, blaming a slump in film releases following the US writers' strike.
Majestic Cinemas chief executive Kieren Dell said the company had faced mounting challenges from natural disasters like floods and bushfires before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the industry.
"We had some government support, but the post-COVID-hangover was actually tougher for cinemas," Mr Dell said.
"Because movies weren't made during the pandemic, we didn't have enough movies to show once COVID was over."
Majestic manages nine cinemas across Queensland and New South Wales, at Inverell, Wynnum, Kempsey, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie, Singleton, Nelson Bay, Nambour and Sawtell.
The company entered voluntary administration on January 31 but said all its cinemas were operating as normal.
Writers strike 'final straw' for regional cinemas
The announcement comes after two years of the release of three of the top-grossing movies of all time in Australia, Barbie, Top Gun and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Mr Dell said the success of the historical biopic Oppenheimer and the cultural phenomenon Barbie helped bring audiences back to the cinema in 2023.
"Barbenheimer was really important because it actually changed the conversation," he said.
"People started to talk about cinema again, and people started to come back in droves,"
But he said the recent Writers Guild of America strikes caused Hollywood's film release schedule to slow to a halt in late 2023.
"It was the final straw," he said.
"The problem was, because of the actors and writers going on strike, after Barbenheimer, we didn't see as many movies released in the second half of last year."
Locals vow to protect historic cinema
In the beachside town of Sawtell on the NSW Mid North Coast, locals have fought to keep a historic Art Deco cinema open through floods and recessions since the 1940s.
It closed permanently in 2012 after being struck by flood damage in 2009.
After a group of community investors, including film critic David Stratton, joined forces to reopen the theatre, Majestic took on the management of the cinema
Former Coffs Harbour mayor Denise Knight said the cinema still had a profound effect on the local community.
"It's really the heartbeat of Sawtell. It's incredibly special," Ms Knight said.
"As you walk down the street on a Friday Night, you can feel the warmth of the village radiating out of the doors."
Majestic chief executive Kieran Dell has vowed that Sawtell cinema will remain open into the future.
Despite the company's economic woes and the existential threat presented by streaming giants like Netflix, he is optimistic regional cinemas can survive.
"It's just as Mark Twain said, 'The rumours of our death are greatly exaggerated,'" he said.