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China will be reopening theaters next week, with strings attached Business and Technology
After nearly 180 days of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China's film theaters were officially given the official go-ahead to reopen next Monday.
In a notice (in Chinese) issued by the China Film Administration (CFA) on 16 July, the government's film watchdog announced that it would require coronavirus theater in low-risk areas to restart "orderly" operations starting on 20 July. Cinemas in mid-and high-risk regions — such as those in a few districts in Beijing where a cluster of new coronavirus transmissions was detected last month — were omitted from the opening programme.
The administration stressed that once a low-risk area has been reclassified due to new cases, film theaters in that region must immediately shut down to help reduce the spread of the virus.
The green light came at a time when thousands of movie theaters across China were struggling to stay afloat. But, despite the collection of standards and protection procedures laid out in the document, the industry is unlikely to see a fast and complete recovery.
As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, the notice stipulates that those eligible for re-opening need to implement 'a 30 per cent seating capacity cap and a 50 per cent reduction from the usual number of screenings held per day.' Furthermore, theaters need to limit the duration of each film screening to two hours, while customers are required to check their temperature at the door, wearing face masks,
As regards hygiene measures, the notice states that key areas, such as ticketing machines, bathrooms and public seats, should not be disinfected less than five times a day. Items frequently touched by customers, including armrests and 3D glasses, must be wiped out after each use.
However, some services, such as concessions and in-person ticket sales, will remain unavailable. Customers need to purchase tickets through online bookings using their real names.
Since the steady signs that the outbreak was on its way back, China's film theaters have been eagerly awaiting the reopening of the green light. But despite the short notice, it's not sure how many movie theaters will get it all in order next Monday. In an interview (in Chinese) with Informative Eyes, an online blog focused on China's film industry, the theater owner in Hebei Province said that after waves of furloughs and layoffs, he now had just six workers working for the location. "There are six screens in my theater, about 900 seats. We 're going to be seriously understaffed if we plan to open next week, "he said.
Another big issue for movie theaters is what movies they 're going to get to give their clients. In March, after a few film theaters were granted approval to re-open, China Film Group, the country 's dominant state-owned distributor, laid out a proposal to encourage theaters to screen former blockbusters. But before copies of the films were made, the film administration reversed the decision and ordered all the film theaters to close down again. When talking to the site, some theater owners in the provinces of Henan and Shanxi said they had no movies to show as of Friday.
This being the case, most people in the country's filmmaking culture saw the note as a positive message. The well-known ceo, Jiш Zhāngkē, who has been calling on the authorities to take steps to save the industry on months, has been swift to respond to the report. "I immediately said goodbye to my neighbors and popcorn. I'm going to take up my old work and make a film soon! "He wrote (in Chinese) about Weibo.
In January, China ordered around 10,000 cinemas across the country to shut down in response to the pandemic. The closures were a massive blow to China's film business, resulting in an estimated revenue loss of 30 billion yuan ($3 billion) according to the National Film Administration's calculations. Wanda Media, China's largest media chain operator, said earlier this week that it expected a net loss of between 1.4 and 1.5 million yuan ($214 and $228 million) in the first half of the year.
