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Popcorn at the movies? No, it is no longer possible. The General Directorate of Health (DGS) has banned the sale of food and soft drinks in cinemas. The measure aims to minimize the risk of contagion, as well as cleaning rooms, physical distance and the mandatory use of a mask.
The measure is causing a revolt in the sector, which accumulates an 80% loss of activity. The Portuguese Association for the Defense of Audiovisual Works considers the ban on the consumption of popcorn in cinemas “unacceptable”.
According to the decree-law that regulates the current state of emergency and which has been in force since Tuesday, it is forbidden to eat and drink inside cinemas, that is, movie theaters. In the areas of consumption of cafes, restaurants and drinks of these cultural facilities, the guidelines defined by the DGS for the catering sector must be respected, and the consumption of food or drinks is not allowed inside the theaters or in the exhibition of movie films, “it says on the diploma.
This was “the icing on the cake to put an end to the activity”, warns the general director of the Portuguese Association for the Defense of Audiovisual Works, Paulo Santos, after having already banned night sessions (which represented 40% of the box office revenue) and on weekends from 1:00 p.m., since the revenue of bars (which usually represents a third of the total), were often higher than box office.
“Decision violates constitutional provisions”
The official also warns of the possible unconstitutionality of the measure, since it is not being applied equally in different sectors. The “inconsiderate and thoughtless decision that violates constitutional provisions” it has already been transmitted to the guardianship and will be transmitted to other ministries, said Paulo Santos, without much hope of seeing the decision reversed due to the “confusion” of those who decide.
Paulo Santos predicts that more than a thousand unemployed will result from this measure, which will increase the queues of employment centers, and said that he has already been contacted by workers in this sector crying, for fear of losing his job and the source of income family sustenance. .
“This is terrible for anyone in this area who is watching these dramas, which are daily, they are real, they are with real people, and those who are not given answers that could be and in a very simple way: specific credit line” .
Last year 15 million people went to the cinema, while in October of last year 1.39 million viewers were registered, this year there were 249 thousand tickets to the cinema, contrary to the relative improvement in the September figures. , which represents a cumulative drop of 72.7% in the number of viewers in 2020 compared to the previous year, that is, 9.3 million less than in 2019.
