New York (AFP)

New York and Los Angeles closed, spectators frightened by the pandemic: American cinemas, the driving force behind the dissemination of "blockbusters", desperately call on studios and politicians for help, without success for the moment.

A sign of the times, the Regal cinema network, the second largest in the country, was put to sleep on Thursday, after an inconclusive first restart at the end of August.

Its parent company Cineworld cited the prolonged closure of the New York market as a major factor.

"Studios need New York to make enough money on a movie," said Joseph Masher, No. 2 on another channel, Bow Tie Cinemas.

"We are not at the stage where we can resume a normal life", declared in mid-September the Democratic governor of the State of New York, Andrew Cuomo, to justify his refusal, while authorizing the reopening of the dining rooms.

"For me, a person sitting in a movie theater for two hours with a mask on is safer than sitting in a restaurant for an hour without a mask talking and laughing," protested Andrew Elgart, owner of three cinemas in New York.

To date, no case of this transmission in a movie theater has been documented in the United States, the world's largest cinema market.

And if nearly 400 operators, who weigh more than 33,000 screens in the United States (out of about 40,000), have adopted a strict health protocol called CinemaSafe, with distancing, reinforced ventilation and masks, not all are arguing for a reopening.

"Infection rates are on the rise, so the idea of ​​reopening now, when there are still so many unanswered questions, seems irresponsible to me," says Christian Grass, director of the Metrograph, cinema of arts and Manhattan test.

The spectators are also divided.

"It's ugly, but I do not feel comfortable going (to the movies) before there is a vaccine", abounds Julia, actress of 23 years.

"There is so much to stream. I can wait."

Michelle, from Brooklyn, took her son to see "Tenet" in neighboring New Jersey, which allowed her theaters to reopen.

"It looks very clean and it looks like they took every precaution," she said after the screening, which was attended by only a handful of spectators.

The first market in the United States, Los Angeles also remains closed, but the authorities do not rule out reopening if public health indicators improve significantly.

In this context, the studios have massively postponed the release of their films.

The sector had a train of blockbusters in November and December, from "Black Widow" to "No Time To Die", passing by "Dune", "West Side Story" or "Top Gun: Maverick".

But all were sent back to 2021.

- "Head above water" -

The studios should however "be ready to take blows by feeding the industry, to avoid that the operators do not collapse", urges Eric Wold, analyst of the specialized firm B. Riley.

Theater operators are also calling for a support plan for the US Congress.

Currently under discussion, it may not see the light of day in 2020.

Without political support, national or local, and without sacrifice of the studios, "cinemas will close definitively", warns Joseph Masher, estimating that a dozen at least have already thrown in the towel in the State of New York.

If the giant AMC, number one in the United States, should be able to hold out at least until mid-2021, and Cinemark, number three, until the end of 2021, according to Eric Wold, the small players in the sector are threatened.

Bow Tie Cinemas has already laid off about 900 of its 950 employees.

"We do our best to keep our heads above water, we watch our spending," explains Joseph Masher, "and it should pass."

Andrew Elgart also no longer pays his employees, to try to keep up.

Many are looking for alternative activities.

One of Mr. Elgart's buildings, Cobble Hill Cinemas in Brooklyn, has been converted into an annex to the neighborhood elementary school.

The Metrograph launched an online offer, which enabled it to triple the number of its subscribers.

"We adapt (...) by trying to find new ways to stand out in this new environment", says Christian Grass.

All, operators and spectators, however, assure that the cinema will not die.

“People want to see movies on the big screen,” says Christian Grass.

"It's a shared experience. I have no doubt that everything will come back and that we will look at it one day, saying to ourselves: it was a jolt."

© 2020 AFP