I wouldn't read too much into the removal of advertising from billboards, bus shelters, etc. A lot of that ad space is purchased in advance for a limited period of time to coincide with the opening of a film and then it is removed.
Similarly, anecdotal evidence about the number of people in the theater at any given performance can be misleading. Otherwise, based on seeing
Cold Mountain in the theater during a matinee several years ago, I would have to conclude that no one under 70 saw the movie and that I was the youngest person to ever watch it.
I went to a Tuesday 12:45 pm IMAX screening of
Dark Shadows this week, and my sister and I were the only people in the theater; however, (a) that particular theater is not anywhere near a shopping mall and (b) many of the local schools had not let out for the summer at that point.
The theater is beside an interstate, and they purchase space on the rotating billboard at the nearest exit. It currently features
Dark Shadows.