Two days ago, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) and the film and Motion Pictures Distribution Association of Nigeria (FDAN) paid a visit to Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, concerning the re-opening of cinemas due to the continued devastating impact of the pandemic on the creative industry.
Recall that in the wake of COVID-19 in Nigeria, mainstream cinema exhibitors in the country; had announced a temporary closure of their operations.
The cinema owners, including Genesis, Filmhouse, and Silverbird, in separate statements, said they acted in compliance with the government’s COVID-19 guidelines, which restricted large gatherings to curtail the spread of the infectious disease.
“In response to State Governments advice concerning the spread of #covid_19; we are temporarily closing all our Lagos cinemas to ensure maximum safety of all our guests and staff.
“In the light of the latest development with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we are taking precautionary measures to suspend all operations at our LAGOS sites effective immediately,” a statement from Filmhouse read in part.
Following the suspension of film production projects in the country, long-scheduled cinema releases have been stalled. This includes Namaste Wahala, Nollywood’s first-ever collaboration with India’s Bollywood.
Dwindled revenue
Before cinema operators obeyed government directives however; statistics indicate that Nigerians had begun to stay away from the cinemas and this translated into a significant reduction in revenue.
According to records released by CEAN, movie enthusiasts spent a total of ₦6.7 billion ($17.5 million) on movie tickets in 2019; a 200% surge of figures from the previous year.
Between January 17 and 19 2020, cinemas in the country grossed N75.9 million, an indication that the year held a lot of promise.
But things started taking a different turn shortly such that by the first weekend in February, the figure had declined by 20.8%.
At the beginning of March, it dwindled further to N54.9 million and N45 million the week after. By the third week of March, the Coronavirus pandemic had already taken a huge toll on the industry.
Noting the devastating impact of the pandemic, Moses Babatope, co-founder and Group Executive Director Filmhouse Cinemas and Managing Director FilmOne Entertainment recently told eelive.ng that the industry may have lost as much as N5billion.
“Considering figures from 2019 and factoring in gross box office (GBO), retail and alternative revenues. If we say that GBO alone accounts for 60% of that figure and consider that we account for 30-35% of the region’s box office; that would bring our loss in revenue to a little over a billion naira in ticket sales alone,” he informed.
This is not to speak of the hundreds of thousands of practitioners who have had their livelihoods on hold as a result of the pandemic.
The Threat of streaming sites to Cinema
With cinemas closed and nature not in favour of vacuums, streaming sites have currently become the new bride not just for many film lovers.
The safety of sitting down at your home or office to watch blockbusters in comfort has boosted the patronage of these sites and every party to the deal is apparently satisfied in the circumstance. Compounding the misery for cinema owners is that film makers are loving the trend and putting their recently released films online.
As a result, VOD platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime now have the compliment of late 2019 films; like Love is War and Living in Bondage: Breaking Free both of which recently premiered on Netflix. Nigerians now fill the long hours of isolation watching content originally made for the silver screen. Audiences have increasingly been consuming more films at home and many are questioning whether the culture of cinema going will resume in the same way once the pandemic abates.
Indeed, while cinemas are on their shut, streaming platforms are smiling to the banks. Demand for home entertainment is so high that services such as Netflix and Disney+ have announced that they will reduce their picture quality in order to cut the data going to homes by 25% to avoid a crash. Netflix has now gained over 16 million new subscribers bringing its market value to $196billlion. Since its launch five months ago, Disney+, has exceeded 50 million subscribers.
Cinemas will still thrive, Some Say
But for all the sense of impending doom, some people still believe that cinemas will adapt and bounce back because there is something elemental about gathering together to watch a great film.
“It’s impossible for a home screening to match the technical quality of a film projected in the cinema; and there is also the indefinable adrenaline rush that comes from viewing a film in a large group,” Lizzy Philips an actress told eelive.ng
By the same token, filmmakers will continue to affirm that they want their films seen in a cinema; because it’s a unique experience.
Niyi Akinmolayan, the movie producer/director behind Nollywoood blockbusters like Wedding Party 2, The Arbitration and The Set Up, strongly believes that this pandemic isn’t enough to distort the growth of cinemas in the country.
According to Akinmolayan, although cinemas are currently running at a loss because of the closure things will change as soon as they are allowed to open, and people feel safe enough to visit. “What the cinemas need to do is to ensure that they are prepared in terms of safety regulations. It is not as bad as people think,” he said in an interview with Tecchpoint Africa.
In the meantime, drive-in cinemas have been presented as an alternative. This was recently experienced for the first time in Nigeria when filmmaker, Charles Okpaleke; pioneered the concept with the screening of the Living in Bondage sequel at the Transcorp Hilton car park, Abuja.
Silverbird cinemas also had its first drive-in cinema experience; when it screened the Legend of Inikpi on Sunday June 7, in Abuja. It plans to replicate it in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Genesis Cinemas has also announced similar plans to commence the drive-in cinema experience.
Nigerians Want cinemas back
True to Akinmolayan’s assertions, Nigerians seem hungry to get back to the cinemas. To show this, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) recently carried out a survey. It was responded to by over 1,000 film lovers from 12 states (where cinemas are located).
According to the responses, 95% of film lovers miss going to cinemas 88% of these emphasised that they specifically miss the cinematic experience.
CEAN stated that when film lovers were asked about their willingness to return to cinemas after the lockdown; and with adequate safety measures in place, 68% were affirmative while 22% were skeptical.
During the Friday’s visit to the Lagos State Commissioner, Chairman of CEAN; Patrick Lee indicated that his association was ready to reopen and explained that this lockdown has taken a huge toll on the industry.
“As you know, cinemas have been closed since the middle of March. If you look at it from an economic point of view; we generate over N1 billion every month from the cinemas. That means we have lost over N6 billion in terms of revenue.
“We employ over 5,000 people most of which are currently unemployed. We don’t have the means to pay them and we are not getting help from the government. So, we need quite lot from the government right now,” he told the commissioner.
In the same vein, President of FDAN, Joy Odiete, said the need for government’s support has become imperative; considering how long it would take for cinemas to fully get stabilised after reopening.
“Even when cinemas are eventually allowed to resume, it may take as much as 6 months for businesses to stabilize because the production of films has also been stalled,” she said.
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The association said that its members have already put in place necessary safety measures to ensure strict compliance with the government’s COVID-19 guidelines when cinemas are finally asked to reopen. It has also educated the public on safety precautions that would guide movie-going POST-COVID-19.
This position was corroborated by Moses Babatope in his interview with eelive.ng. According to him:
“The good thing is that we are posing a united front, under the auspices of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN); we are looking at common factors that would affect the sector and the cinematic experience generally. For instance, we have outlined a guideline of precautionary measures which would ensure the safety of movie-goers POST-COVID 19. Also, there is an international disruption with the film-release schedule. So, we are working with our local movie producers and foreign studios on adjusting the schedules to soothe our realities.”
Operators like the aviation sector seem all set to get back to their grind. Yet, it cannot be business as usual. Whenever government flashes the green light at cinema operators; the experience of film love at the cinema all will certainly possibly never be the same again.
What Cinemagoers Should Expect Post COVID-19
To start with, expect to wear a mask. While health guidelines might vary state by state; common COVID-19 measures everywhere will have to include the use of face masks as you approach the cinemas and in the entire duration of your film. CEAN clarifies as much on its official Instagram page when it says:
“Only movie lovers wearing masks will be allowed entry into the Cinema. So prepare to protect yourself and protect everyone else.”
While there are expectations that some cinemas might provide disposable masks at the front door; patrons would do well to prepare their own masks.
Temperature checks
Cinemagoers should also expect to be subjected to temperature checks as part of the process of admittance into the cinema. While these checks are not totally perfect at eliminating infections, they can weed out obvious suspicious cases of the coronavirus.
It is expected that there will be an increase in the time clean-up between shows. This is to allow for deep cleaning, which would make the halls safer for patrons. In addition, all movie schedules are expected to take the existing curfew laws across the country into consideration. This means that cinemas would no longer have late night screening time.
Cinemas will also have to recalibrate their space management strategy as part of the Register-to-open initiatives before they can be allowed, according to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwolu during a recent press briefing. This could mean anything from taking some seats out of the cinema halls, to completely altering the hall arrangement. Physical distancing will be strictly applied at the ticket offices to ensure that no one is within a two-metre distance of another person.
Specifically, the cinemas are no longer allowed to seat more than 50% viewing audience per screen; and physical distancing is to be strictly enforced.
The 20 minutes end-time in between shows will also keep traffic in the foyers in check. CEAN stated that the foyers at cinemas will not take more than “30-50 persons at a time.”
Things May Not be the same even Post covid-19
Even after the virus outbreak is under control it is very possible that people may not immediately flock to the cinema.
Ultimately the consumer demand will determine how this plays out, and trends suggest viewing at home is what people prefer at the moment. Cinemagoers who spoke to eelive.ng indicate that the restoration of hope in cinemas will take a while even after they reopen.
“I don’t think cinemas would be the same when the government lifts the ban and I won’t be visiting either. I would rather stick to my Netflix at home. How effective would the safety measures be? There would be a price hike on ticket sales because of the few people that would be allowed in,” said Tolani Yusuf a cinemagoer.
Similarly, Joy Munachi, a film lover told eelive.ng that: “the days of packing into a chilly; air-conditioned cinemas at midnight are in the past for me, at least for now. Even though I would still visit the cinemas, I would wait till after six months or a year.”
Cinemas around the world kick off phased reopening
Recently, there has been good news of cinemas reopening in different parts of the world, in countries such as Australia, Czech Republic, Finland, South Korea and China (partial opening). Safety measures have been put in place including plastic screens to keep staff and patrons apart and spacing out seating.
Cinema operators in Australia, have rolled out contactless booking and check-in services, including cashless transactions on site, hand sanitizer stations; social distancing in the foyer and more frequent cleaning. They have also limited ticket sales to 50% of capacity because patrons will be separated from each other with at least two empty seats.
“The well being and comfort of our customers and teams is always our number one priority. And as we reopen our doors we do so with these tailored sanitisation and well being measures in place. So that movie lovers can return to our cinema with confidence,” Luke Mackey; Event Cinemas’ Director of Entertainment for Australia, said in an interview with Huffpost.