Chicago officials closed four Chicago megaplexes owned by Meridian Entertainment Group for two days last week after the company had failed to pay nearly $300,000 in city taxes, the Chicago Tribune reported today (Tuesday).

The newspaper indicated that the closures are emblematic of the financial chaos that has stricken exhibitors in the city -- and in the rest of the nation.

The problem, film industry consultant David Sikich told the Trib, is that "there haven't been any movies with legs, and there are more and more screens too close to each other." Sikich, too, indicated that the problem is not limited to Chicago. "Every theater chain in the country is bleeding," he remarked. "I've never seen it so bad."

Source: Studio Briefing