Cinema Owners stress over empty seats
The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, a student-led newspaper of the Times School of Media
By Sahil Kapoor
Ahmedabad: In India, cinemas reopened on 15th October, after being shut down for nearly seven months due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Despite the reopening, a lot of uncertainty surrounds the future of cinemas as many movie-theatres are barely surviving. According to trade experts approximately 10-12 percent cinemas in the country have shut down during this period.
“I’ve never experienced such a dire situation in my 18 years running this theatre”. Says Rakesh Patel, Director, Wide Angle multiplex, Ahmedabad. “Normally, we need to generate daily revenue of Rs. 2-3 Lakhs for survival. Currently, the revenue is next to nothing. We have to pay salaries to employees, pay electricity bill and download tax, and most importantly property tax. We are losing an average Rs. 35,000 to 40,000 per day”.
He says that people continue to fear the virus and it’ll only go once the vaccine arrives. He pointed to two major difficulties and said people will return to theatres once these problems are solved. “The release of new movies is vital for survival. People aren’t interested in watching old movies. We are having talks with the distributors and everyone’s priority is releasing new films...Various big movies releasing on OTT platforms has been damaging”, said Patel.
He further said that Government must provide relief in property taxes. Sharing the roadmap to future he said that there is no possibility of making profits till late 2021 but hopes to cut down on losses. “This is only possible with the release of new movies and relaxation in COVID 19. If this does not happen then surely a day will arrive when we will have to close theatres,” he said.
Livelihoods of thousands of people working in cinemas have been affected. Gaurav Chawda, a Wide Angle employee said that lockdown months were difficult with meagre income and it is still not sufficient. “The management has promised to pay 50 percent of income lost during lockdown, once normal occupancy returns, but there is still no clarity,” he said.
Cinemas across the globe stare towards an uncertain future. A US based firm PrincewaterhouseCoopers has projected a 65.6 percent drop in global cinema revenue in 2020. Hollywood directors Martin Scorsese, James Cameron warned “cinemas might not survive the effect of Pandemic”.
Hollywood director Christopher Nolan in his opinion piece in The Washington Post on March 20, 2020, described cinema as an exhibition of community and said- “They are a vital part of social life, providing jobs for many and entertainment for all... Movie theatres have gone dark and will stay that way for a time...Much of this short-term loss is recoverable”.
(The writer is a first-year student of BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) of The Times School of Media)
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By Sahil Kapoor
Ahmedabad: In India, cinemas reopened on 15th October, after being shut down for nearly seven months due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Despite the reopening, a lot of uncertainty surrounds the future of cinemas as many movie-theatres are barely surviving. According to trade experts approximately 10-12 percent cinemas in the country have shut down during this period.
“I’ve never experienced such a dire situation in my 18 years running this theatre”. Says Rakesh Patel, Director, Wide Angle multiplex, Ahmedabad. “Normally, we need to generate daily revenue of Rs. 2-3 Lakhs for survival. Currently, the revenue is next to nothing. We have to pay salaries to employees, pay electricity bill and download tax, and most importantly property tax. We are losing an average Rs. 35,000 to 40,000 per day”.
He says that people continue to fear the virus and it’ll only go once the vaccine arrives. He pointed to two major difficulties and said people will return to theatres once these problems are solved. “The release of new movies is vital for survival. People aren’t interested in watching old movies. We are having talks with the distributors and everyone’s priority is releasing new films...Various big movies releasing on OTT platforms has been damaging”, said Patel.
He further said that Government must provide relief in property taxes. Sharing the roadmap to future he said that there is no possibility of making profits till late 2021 but hopes to cut down on losses. “This is only possible with the release of new movies and relaxation in COVID 19. If this does not happen then surely a day will arrive when we will have to close theatres,” he said.
Livelihoods of thousands of people working in cinemas have been affected. Gaurav Chawda, a Wide Angle employee said that lockdown months were difficult with meagre income and it is still not sufficient. “The management has promised to pay 50 percent of income lost during lockdown, once normal occupancy returns, but there is still no clarity,” he said.
Cinemas across the globe stare towards an uncertain future. A US based firm PrincewaterhouseCoopers has projected a 65.6 percent drop in global cinema revenue in 2020. Hollywood directors Martin Scorsese, James Cameron warned “cinemas might not survive the effect of Pandemic”.
Hollywood director Christopher Nolan in his opinion piece in The Washington Post on March 20, 2020, described cinema as an exhibition of community and said- “They are a vital part of social life, providing jobs for many and entertainment for all... Movie theatres have gone dark and will stay that way for a time...Much of this short-term loss is recoverable”.
(The writer is a first-year student of BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) of The Times School of Media)
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