Rosa closes its doors again
Rogers Cinema, which owns the Rosa Theater in Waupaca and five other central Wisconsin theaters, received a $423,976 COVID-19 Movie Theater Grant.
The grant program awarded $10 million to 54 movie theater operators across Wisconsin in response to the pandemic’s impact on theaters.
“Wisconsin businesses across industries and communities have felt the strains of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and movie theaters have been particularly hard as they also battle stalled movie production,” said Gov. Tony Evers. “Movie theaters are often a corner stone of our main street businesses, and I am glad we were able to get these funds out the door to help them keep theirs open.”
Rosa Theater
Rosa Theater announced Thursday, Nov. 19, on its Facebook page that it was closing in response to the pandemic.
After shutting down in the spring, the Rosa reopened on Sept. 3 after setting health safety precautions, such as limited seating, social distancing and requiring customers to wear masks until they were seated.
But the Rosa’s precautions were not enough to draw audiences.
On the Sunday the Rosa’s management decided to close, the theater served only two customers all day, according to its Facebook post.
“In order to weather the storm our industry is facing, closing now gives us the best opportunity to survive for the long term,” the post said. “We have struggled immensely since our reopening in September. With a lack of product from studios and the high number of Covid cases throughout the state, business has been light.”
Noting it is not economically feasible to stream big-budget films like the upcoming sequels to “Avatar,” “Ghostbusters” and “The Matrix,” the Facebook post predicted, “The last movie has not been shown at the Rosa.
CARES Act funding
Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Movie Theater Grant program is designed to help theaters survive the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds and administered by the state Department of Administration (DOA), the program provides awards of more than $14,000 per eligible movie theater screen in Wisconsin.
Grant funds can be applied toward pandemic-related operational costs such as facility improvements to provide appropriate social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing, and personnel costs necessary to provide appropriate COVID-19 safeguards.
“Movie theaters employ thousands of individuals throughout the state,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “We hope this funding will provide some relief to these institutions in communities large and small so that they can continue to provide Wisconsinites with employment and family memories in the years to come.”