By FilmInk Staff
Though it has been one of the most careful Australian states when it comes to easing COVID-19 restrictions, Victoria has beaten NSW to the punch when it comes to cinemas. The Victorian government has announced that their movie houses will officially be permitted to resume trading as of June 22. Whether the cinemas actually do re-open, however, is another question. The various cinema chains and independent operators will all have to make their own calls about the financial viability of their respective businesses. With restrictions of fifty-people-per-cinema (as in, the separate cinemas within a multiplex, as opposed to the entire multiplex) in place, as well as new conditions regarding social distancing in the cinema’s general areas, cinema chains will need to do some serious soul searching and hardcore calculations in order to determine whether they can turn a profit while potentially operating at a capacity of around 30%.
There is also the question of content. With no new films being released out of the US right now, cinemas will need to take a different approach with what they put on their screens. The test case for major new studio content is widely believed to be Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi espionage head trip Tenet, which still has a release date of July 16. If the film does indeed release then, and turns out to be a success, it could open the floodgate in terms of releases. At this stage, the cinemas in Australia’s other states seem to be eyeing mid-July as their best bet for reopening.
One cinema that will be reopening is Cinema Nova in Melbourne. “There will inevitably be some trepidation, and I think in the first week or two some people might hold back to see that we’ve got it under control,” Cinema Nova chief executive Kristian Connelly told The Sydney Morning Herald with regards to the cinema’s social distancing and hygiene practices. “But I think a lot of people feel like they have done their time, and if they’re confident we’re doing what we need to do, they’ll start to come back to the cinema.”
We’ll be the first in line…
If you liked this story, check out our opinion piece calling for cinemas to reopen.
