Financial difficulties blamed for closure of 2 Guzzo cinema locations

Moviegoers will no longer be able to visit Guzzo cinemas in Marché Central shopping district in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough or in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.

The family-owned business announced the permanent closure of the two locations on Monday, calling it "a difficult decision that was necessary to ensure the sustainability of our business."

Without providing further details, Cinémas Guzzo cited the challenges of the global health crisis in recent years.

"The company's finances have been affected, understandably. And this despite all the efforts made by the team and our employees to find solutions," the company said.

Addressing the fate of employees, Guzzo noted in a statement on Facebook: "Although we have fought to preserve all jobs, certain measures have become inevitable."

Six years ago, the Montreal-based movie theatre chain was looking to expand to other major Canadian cities, including Vancouver and Calgary.

Back in November, Guzzo closed Cinéma Des Sources in the West Island's Dollard-des-Ormeaux. In December, it said it was working on restructuring after being placed under interim receivership.

Creditors, including CIBC and both levels of government, are seeking the reimbursement of more than $60 million.

Cinémas Guzzo president Vincenzo Guzzo told CBC his company has been trying to negotiate with Marché Central property owners for more than a year, as paying roughly $250,000 per month in rent is not sustainable.

That location has lost several million dollars annually over the past few years, he said. There are months when it fails to generate $250,000, negatively impacting every other location, he said. 

The accumulated debt during the pandemic coupled with the movie industry's shift to streaming has also hurt the business, Guzzo said. Then there was the writers' strike as well, he added. 

But more recently, people are showing that they are still interested in going to the movies, he said. It's just that 18-theatre cinemas may not be the ticket in Quebec.

"We will try to make a decent run at it with seven locations instead of 10," he said. "We have no other theatre closures in mind because everything else is a profitable theatre."