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The year got off to a great start for theaters, and everyone was expecting from the cinematic offering that the sequel would be similar – the blockbusters were planned to be worth each other.
But the coronavirus epidemic overwritten everything, the state first maxed out audiences to 99, and since March 17, theaters were completely closed. They were reopened in the summer and closed again in November, and although the restrictions were in effect until early December, the government extended them for a month, which means that we can no longer sit in a theater this year and watch a movie.
We have a very difficult year, we have to make big losses, especially if we look at our optimistic plans at the beginning of the year. We were able to bring in a third of the audience and projected revenue by closing theaters for a total of five months.
– Tamás Liszka, director of Budapest Film, which operates the Corvin art cinemas and multiplex cinemas in the capital, told Index.
The strongest month has also been missed
Budapest Film was already prepared for a three-month cinema closure, which will open in February, because it was not possible to start again earlier in the spring, during the first wave.
Cinema City Hungary, on the other hand, was ready to open even from December, which would have been important because this period is the strongest, which is well demonstrated by the fact that December 2019 accounted for 12% of the annual audience and sales revenue.
Technically, we are ready to open in terms of operation. Even at the time of the first shutdown, the protocol was and still is for colleagues to go to all theaters every day and perform maintenance, turn on all the machines, and clean the chairs and upholstery in the theater.
Andrea Buda, director of marketing and public relations for Cinema City, told Index. He also added that it depends not only on the state’s decision on when to reopen, but also on whether another closure is expected afterward, because the constant change, the unpredictability, is also difficult for viewers to follow.
It also matters, of course, if there will be movie content that makes people come back and feel safe to go to the movies again.
Subsidies can only alleviate dropouts
The summer period has already shown that if there are good movies, viewers will go. Such was the case, for example, of Tenet, which performed well everywhere: where cinemas were open, it also generated a lot of revenue in Hungary.
The movie business currently has no income, but in the meantime, people have to pay because the company has not sent its permanent employees. Fortunately there is state aid, but we are very confident that the current situation will not last long
Andrea Buda said.
According to Tamás Liszka, it is gratifying that Hungarian cinemas receive more or less support, but this can only alleviate the loss, not compensate for it. Which, in principle, would not be a problem, after all, another sector is being hit hard by the crisis.
Cinema can be like a vinyl record
But hotels, restaurants and airlines have no long-term virtual alternative, but cinemas are also threatened by legal and illegal Internet movie services.
– Tamás Liszka drew attention to the problem, who revealed that the situation is dangerous, because it is not known how long the pandemic will last and what global decisions will be made between large studios and large distributors.
“If depression and meanness were to prevail in the world of international cinema, which is commonly known as a dream factory, theaters would become as layered a layer of success as vinyl records. But let’s keep in mind that even if all the households in an apartment block were to stack their smart TVs, it would not create the level of audiovisual experience that the technology and environment of a real cinema can provide. – added the director of Budapest Film.
(Cover image: A cinema auditorium in New Delhi will be disinfected on October 13, 2020 to protect against the coronavirus epidemic. Photo: Raj Gatta / MTI / EPA)
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