John Cox (left) during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
John Cox (left) during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
What is a movie-going experience without popcorn and a soda?
A money-losing enterprise that has fallen victim to over-regulation, according to former gubernatorial candidate John Cox.
Cox called out San Francisco County lawmakers for their lack of understanding of basic business concepts regarding regulations disallowing movie theaters countywide from selling concessions.
“It would be antithetical to open up a movie theater and lose money,” Cox said.
Movie theaters make 85% of their profit from concessions.
“These people have no concept of the real world,” Cox said. “Movie theaters make little, if any, profit on movies themselves because of the production companies. Most of the movie theater profits are from concessions. It really doesn’t cost $4.50 to make popcorn.”
In a stand of business solidarity, San Francisco theaters banded together last week and decided not to reopen until the regulation on concessions is lifted.
“I really believe that individuals who attend movie theaters are going to govern themselves in a way that is going to limit exposure,” Cox said.
San Francisco County announced the newly revised regulations on Oct. 7, stating that theater-goers were disallowed from lifting their masks while in a theater to eat or drink. Theater auditoriums are also limited to 50% capacity.
The move came just after the San Francisco County Board determined restaurant-goers are allowed to dine indoors again. While the public is allowed to eat in the enclosed environment of a restaurant, the rules are different for theaters.
“That is the problem with these rules, they are being applied extremely inconsistently and with little regard to the need of businesses to actually make a profit,” Cox said. “This is not just about business people who are ‘greedy’ – it is about servers, cooks, vendors and suppliers, all of these people who depend on the economy.”
Cox is a lawyer, venture capitalist and business owner. Over the past four decades he has grown his property development company to over 100 employees.
The longer each sector of the economy remains shuttered, the fewer the opportunities for businesses to return to normal post-pandemic.
Yelp recently released data noting that San Francisco has one of the worst small business closure rates in the country. A reported 2,900 businesses in the Bay Area have closed permanently since the beginning of the pandemic and an additional 3,300 businesses are temporarily closed.
Cox, who resides in the San Diego area, has noted the trend in his neighborhood. He said his local florist has remained closed for months due to regulations on his shop while crowds are free to purchase flowers from “essential” stores.
“Where is the fairness in that?” he said. “We benefit from big stores – CostCo and WalMart are OK – but small shops that may have had an advantage because they are specialized, are out of business. This whole pandemic response has been a study in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.”
Cox said such inconsistent treatment of businesses during the pandemic is a problem California will likely be recovering from for some time.
“It is the ultimate in arbitrary administration of the law,” Cox said. “I hope that Americans look at this and draw a lesson to resolve that this type of thing should never happen again.”
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