The Royal Theater in the city of Gifu, the only movie theater in Japan that shows 35-millimeter films every day, is on the verge of extinction.
The beloved movie theater with a history of half a century in the city’s Yanagase shopping arcade has been suffering, with its box office revenue having dropped to half of that of the pre-COVID period and not recovering.
Massive amounts of funds are needed to renovate the aged facility and people involved in the theater are seeking ways to keep the place alive, such as by raising money through crowdfunding.