The problem is that the manager has no incentive to actually care. The job is boring, low-paid, you have very limited power to do anything, and profits to the theatre don't actually reflect on their paycheck. Given these conditions, from their perspective it makes total sense to put in as little amount of work as possible.

This story would be much different at a small family-owned business (or as some call "lifestyle business"); chances are the problem wouldn't happen to begin with, but if it did the manager would care much more because their wallet's contents are directly proportional to customer satisfaction.

The "manager" is just an hourly-rate employee with a slightly different set of permissions and duties. They have no greater investment in the outcome than anyone else on the staff.

But the same thing almost certainly applies to everyone at the remote "headquarters": why should they care either? They have no incentive to care: they're paid to show up and be there for their shift.

It's just a stage of the process that's been ongoing for decades. Companies treat staff as resources, and finally (at least 40 years later), staff at all levels are behaving the way they're treated.