Jan 10, 2023 - Business

Des Moines' southside is a cinema desert after AMC Southridge closure

Linh Ta

AMC closing Southridge message — A screenshot of the message on AMC's website about the closure.

AMC Classic Southridge 12 permanently closed its doors following the holidays, leaving Des Moines' southside devoid of a place to laugh, to cry, to care — and to watch movies.

State of play: AMC's website notes the movie theater is permanently closed, leaving Wynnsong in Johnston as the only remaining AMC cineplex.

Cobblestone in Windsor Heights also shut down at the end of 2022.
The Fleur Cinema, the southside's other movie theater, also remains closed.

The big picture: The box office struggled to fully recover from the pandemic in 2022 — even sending one of AMC's biggest competitors into bankruptcy — but analysts are hopeful it will improve this year and beyond, write Axios' Sara Fischer and Tim Baysinger.

The box office ended 2022 with about $7.35 billion in domestic ticket sales, around 35% less than 2019, according to the L.A. Times.

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Des Moines' southside is a cinema desert after AMC Southridge closure

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