China-Singapore Jingwei Client, July 24th (Zhang Yanzheng) After 182 days, Beijing movie theaters finally pressed the restart button.
In the early morning of July 24, the Beijing Cinema welcomed the first audience since the suspension of business on January 24.
Analysts pointed out that after the resumption of work, theaters are still facing difficulties such as insufficient funds and brain drain. It is recommended that more financial support be given to attract social capital investment, and in response to the characteristics of film art against the economic cycle, the introduction of cinema support funds and disaster insurance, etc. Financial tools, this will help the theater to complete the restart in a short time, and then generate compensatory movie-watching consumption.
Audiences line up at the cinema to check the tickets. Photo by Zhang Yanzheng, New Jingwei
Field visit to the cinema to restart
On the evening of July 23, a China-Singapore Jingwei reporter saw in the CBD store of Wanda Cinemas in Chaoyang District, Beijing, that the Spring Festival movie "Detective Chinatown 3" and "囧Mom" and other promotional posters in the store could not be removed in the future. The electronic screen continuously scrolls to remind the audience to keep the distance, the cleaning and disinfection measures of the studio, and so on.
The audience measures their body temperature at the entrance of the studio. Photo by Zhang Yanzheng
At the entrance of the cinema, the cinema staff will check the health kit and take the temperature of the audience. The China-Singapore Jingwei reporter noticed that special boxes for disposal of hand sanitizer and masks were placed in self-service ticket machines, ticket gates and other places for audience use. It is worth mentioning that there are no service personnel in the studio's sales area, and the sign on the counter says "The studio has suspended the sale of food and beverages, and no eating or drinking in the hall"
Photo by Zhang Yanzheng, Zhongxin Jingwei, Snack and Beverage Sales Area
"The last time I came to the cinema was in January. The movie I watched with my girlfriend was "Manslaughter". It is almost 200 days since now. This time we are going to watch the premiere of the new film "Dolit's Fantasy Adventure". "In the ticket collection area of the cinema, Mr. Zhang from Chaoyang, Beijing, said to the China-Singapore Jingwei reporter.
According to the Meituan ticketing platform, "Dolite's Fantasy Adventure" is a digital IMAX 3D movie. The price of the movie in the studio is 41.9 yuan, of which the ticket price is 36.9 yuan and the service fee is 5 yuan. Another new film "Bloodman" 2D movie is priced at 31.9 yuan, of which the ticket price is 26.9 yuan, and the service fee is also 5 yuan. Scheduled data shows that the two premieres of the movie are almost full.
In the theater, the reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei noticed that in order to maintain the distance between viewers, the staff has used tape to connect the three seats together, and the tape prompts "please take your seat in the correct number".
Photograph by Zhang Yanzheng during the quarantine measures in the cinema
Among the first audiences were film critics and senior fans in the film industry. "Due to the nature of my work, before the new film is officially released, I usually choose to watch the screenings and then analyze and introduce the film. This epidemic has closed the cinema for more than half a year, and there are no new films to watch. I can only analyze the old films and income. It has also been greatly reduced. However, this time I can finally return to normal work." Beijing film critic Mr. Wang told the China-Singapore Jingwei reporter.
According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, as of 4 o'clock on July 24, Zhuying Erdong Legend Studios near Chaoyang Park in Beijing ranked No. 1, with a real-time box office of 41,353 yuan, and 561 movie viewers; Wanda Cinemas Tongzhou Store ranked No. 2. The real-time box office is 32710 yuan, and the number of movie viewers is 1110; the subsequent box office rankings are Wanda Cinemas Shijingshan Store, Capital Cinemas Xidan Store, Poly International Cinemas Tiananmen Store, UME International Cinemas Anzhen Store, Wanda Cinemas CBD Store, CGV Cinema Beijing Qinghe IMAX store and so on.
Expert: It is recommended to increase support for theaters
Previously, Wang Jiequn, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and director of the Municipal Film Bureau, introduced at a press conference on epidemic prevention and control that low-risk areas in the city can be restored in an orderly manner on July 24, provided that the various prevention and control measures of cinemas are effectively implemented. Open for business.
It is worth noting that even though the Beijing Cinema has pressed the restart button, some cinema professionals said that they do not have the conditions for resuming work and are worried about operational problems after opening. A Beijing cinema line manager told a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei that most cinemas across the country are still at a loss. "The daily schedule has been reduced to half of the normal period, the more popular hot films have not yet been scheduled, the attendance rate of the cinema is low, and the revenue is relatively small."
The cinema manager also pointed out that a group of cinema informants who were previously unemployed due to the epidemic have switched to other jobs. Considering the instability of the epidemic, they do not plan to return to the cinema for the time being. "We have been recruiting for several days, and very few people come to the cinema to interview, so when we apply for the cinema to resume work, we need to wait for the staff to be hired."
Ren Guozheng, a researcher at the Central University of Finance and Economics International Research Institute and Director of the Health Finance Laboratory, said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Jingwei Client that affected by the epidemic, the global film industry chain is in a state of stagnation. The business philosophy has had a huge impact and the brain drain is serious.
"When it restarts and resumes work, theaters are also facing difficulties such as insufficient funds and brain drain. The state can provide more financial support to attract social capital investment. In response to the characteristics of film art against the economic cycle, the theater support fund and disaster insurance Such financial tools will help the theater to complete the restart in a short period of time, thereby generating compensatory movie-watching consumption." Ren Guozheng said. (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)
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