[hakfoo]

I think there's probably some room for more diverse options.

The last couple of times I went to the cinema were for when they'd do an English release of a popular anime film (One Piece Film Red and the Slime Isekai film). Those are not getting mainstream promotion. I don't think a couple of banner ads on animenewsnetwork.com count as meaningful. But they were in the "normal" multiplex with modest schedules. I feel like before the pandemic, those would exclusively get a one-week run in the art-house cinema by the college.

I wonder if it's a bit of a "flailing" response from an industry that 1) seems to have lost their cadence a bit after pandemics and labour stoppages, and 2) is still trying to figure out what's a viable draw when so much is heading straight to streaming.

The second-run cinema in town seems to be about a 50-50 split now between "second run of newish films" and a random assortment of classics and things obviously meant as family-friendly.