The Council of the Association of Cinema Owners announced the possible closure of at least 50% of cinemas in Russia within two months in the absence of support from the state.
This is stated in the statement of the organization, published on the official website.
In early March, against the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine, major Hollywood studios announced the cancellation of releases in Russia.
According to the Association, “the events of February and March 2022 dramatically changed the Russian film distribution industry.”
The box office receipts of films released in Russia in March 2022 are 44% less than in March 2021, and 54% less than in March 2019.
The organization also noted that as of April 18, 2022, 36.4% of all cinemas that opened at the beginning of the year were closed.
Members of the Council of the Association predict a further drop in cinema revenue due to limited repertoire - more than 80% in two months.
It is expected that the total loss of cinemas in 2022 will be more than 11.1 billion rubles.
Possible collections of Russian films by the end of 2022 are expected to amount to no more than 6.142 billion rubles.
“Under the current conditions, for the first time, Russian producers and filmmakers have the opportunity to work in a market with a complete lack of competition.
But it is impossible to replace the volume of films that have abruptly left the box office in the short term, ”the statement says.
© Shot from the movie "Crime City 2"
The Association emphasized that screenings of Soviet and previously released Russian films, as well as new projects filmed by filmmakers from Asia, Latin and South America, “remain niche” and do not attract a mass audience.
They account for no more than 10% of the industry's lost revenue.
“I have nothing against it, there are probably fans of Chinese cinema and Korean, but these films are purchased by independent companies, which are not so many.
They are now, it turns out, the helmsmen in our business.
The films are interesting, somewhere authorial, festival, but, unfortunately, the viewer is used to watching a simpler movie, ”explained Mikhail Malakhov, a member of the board of the Association of Cinema Owners, in an interview with RT.
The drafters of the statement noted that "decisions on saving the film screening must be made within the next 30 days."
The Association's proposals on measures to support the industry have been sent to state bodies.
“The shutdown of cinemas will automatically lead to the cessation of the life of the entire film industry, since it is cinemas that are the guarantor of the creation of high-quality, large, ideological cinema ... In addition, the fees of the “big film distribution” are the largest source of income in the financial structure of filmmakers,” the Board of the Owners Association said in a statement. cinemas.
Ways of salvation
Mikhail Malakhov emphasized that, first of all, cinema owners expect financial assistance from the state, since “a cinema is a big mechanism.
It requires maintenance - household, communal, technical - and most importantly - remuneration of employees who are trained and are professionals in their field.
He explained that the state allocated a similar subsidy at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but it must wait nine months for its approval, while now this time is not available.
According to the interlocutor of RT, the funds needed by cinema owners to support their business are estimated at more than 6 billion rubles.
“In the pandemic, we were allocated 4.2 billion rubles, half went to the producers.
Now they have been given more than 11 billion. Well, of course, but we said: “Great, now the producers are making films, but there will be nowhere to show it.”
Here, if they gave it to producers, then it is necessary to support cinemas, especially since on a national scale this is not such a global money, ”says Mikhail Malakhov.
A significant support for business could be the zeroing of rents for cinema halls.
The Pushkin card also helps to cope with part of the losses.
However, as Malakhov noted, this project needs a good advertising campaign, since not everyone understands how it works.
“We are doing educational work at universities, in educational institutions (in the Tambov region. -
RT
), because children write on the site: “I don’t have five thousand rubles to get a card,” but you just need to register, and the state will give you 5 thousand, of which two can be spent on cinema.
Today it is support.
Not in such a volume, but still, ”explains Mikhail Malakhov.
© Frame from the cartoon Finnick
He added that the owners of cinemas are also pinning their hopes on Russian-made spectator films, since "foreign blockbusters made up the majority of the repertoire."
“There was such a collapse, but there was no movie.
There are films, but we need spectator films like Kholop, Upward Movement.
They will certainly appear, but not as fast as the industry needs, as we would like,” the speaker says.
At the same time, Mikhail Malakhov noted that at the box office at the moment there are projects that are attractive to a mass audience.
“From the moment the Hollywood studios left, the domestic cartoon Finnick showed good results, it is still running.
Cartoon "Buka.
My favorite monster "started yesterday, he also has a good prospect," Malakhov said.
Earlier, in order to attract viewers, cinemas began to release Soviet and previously released Russian films.
Alexey Balabanov's films "Brother" and "Brother 2", as well as "Office Romance" by Eldar Ryazanov were shown on large screens.
In the near future it will be possible to see the tapes "Brest Fortress", "Podolsk Cadets", "Liberation: The Last Storm" and others.