For example, in Palm Beach County alone, six multi-screen cinemas have shuttered within the past year. Others may be threatened by Muvico's soon-to-open 20-screen house at CityPlace in downtown West Palm Beach.

Moreover, what is said to be the overscreening of America may grow worse as excessive expansion undermines the financial stability of sizable exhibitors, say industry watchers.

"Theater owners who go bankrupt can cancel leases," Beth Azor, president of retail specialists Terranova Corp. in Miami, tells GlobeSt.com. "Older multiplexes are often in shopping centers and there could be a glut of hard-to-fill footage. We're talking about large spaces that would be costly to convert for say big-box retailers." Azor has heard estimates of as much as $300,000 to convert a typical multiplex.