A former Bethesda movie theater space-turned-gym is now on the market for lease. The K-B Theatres Georgetown Square Twin building at 10400 Old Georgetown Road has sat vacant for over two years, after New York Sports Club moved out. According to the Cinema Treasures website, some structural or architectural remnants of the theater remain inside the 14000-square-foot building, but not having been a member of the gym, I cannot confirm this. The KB chain opened this two-screen cinema on December 21, 1973. Another reminder of the golden age of neighborhood movie theaters, which crumbled to dust by the end of the 1980s.
I used to think their demise was a real estate developer scheme, but it turned out that the biggest theater chains colluded with the major studios to make the profit splits so high for blockbusters, and the commitment of weeks to show them so long, that 1-and 2-screen cinemas like Georgetown Square couldn't remain financially viable and still obtain first-run movies. You had to have enough screens to A) show the movie a sufficient number of times per day to recoup enough money from ticket sales and snack bar concessions, and B) move the blockbuster into a smaller auditorium, if moviegoer interest in that flick began to wane prior to the 4-to-6 week commitment the studios demanded, and thereby have room for the next major release simultaneously.
