Movie Theaters Brace For Profit-Slashing Winter Storm (CNK, RGC, IMAX)

It looks like the number-one movie in America is getting a new competitor this week: a major snow storm. The Rite (from the Warner Bros. division of Time Warner Inc. TWX) landed the top spot at the box office with $15 million. No Strings Attached (from Paramount VIA) earned just under $14 million, snatching the second spot, while Sony's SNE The Green Hornet came in third with $11.5. The forthcoming storm – brought to you by none other than Mother Nature – has been receiving a lot of buzz over the past few days. Now critics and meteorologists are weighing in. “Do not travel! Stay inside!” proclaims the National Weather Service. “Could [be] the heaviest snowfall since January 2005,” says ClickOnDetroit. “In some areas….snow plows will essentially be useless,” remarked Gino Izzi, a weather service meteorologist. But whereas movie studios have other means of revenue not impacted by the storm (Netflix NFLX streaming, anyone? How about a little Comcast CMCSA On Demand?), movie theaters aren't so lucky. Cinemark Holdings CNK, Regal Entertainment Group RGC, IMAX Corporation IMAX and other national chains rely solely on moviegoer attendance to make a buck. In many regions, the Daily Mail says that snowdrifts could reach as high as six to eight feet. In Colorado, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Kansas, Idaho and parts of Texas, temperatures could drop below 30 to 50 degrees. Over the next 48 hours, 30 states are expected to be affected by the storm.