The ‘green shoots’ of the cinema: theaters resist inflation and the lunge of COVID

Are there bad times for cinemas? The devastating effects of the pandemic have ended up giving a practically lethal blow to small and medium-sized theaters that were already facing a difficult economic situation. This is reflected in the Insight View data published by the company Iberinform, which indicates that at least 28% of cinemas are at risk high or maximum default. Specifically, they have increased their debt ratio by more than eight points (until reaching 44%) to strengthen its financial capacity in the face of the drop in billing caused by the global health crisis and confinement, as well as the subsequent measures that were taken and that fully damaged the Spanish and international cultural sector.

The situation is no better for another 61% of the rooms, which according to the aforementioned study present low or minimum values ​​in this matter. There is more data that defines this complex situation: this risk of non-payment has particularly affected 38% of movie theaters built over the last ten years; on the contrary, those that have been active for more years can withstand the pull a little longer: the debt ratio of premises with up to 25 years old stands at 26%, and lower, at 24%, is the index that the rooms collect They have more than 25 years of experience behind them. Even so, all of them, on a small and large scale, as well as internationally, They have suffered this harsh scenario.

Not only in Spain. Internationally, the film industry has been one of the hardest hit, and hardest hit, at a time when COVID-19 caused curfews, limits on capacity and, gradually, increases in film prices. tickets. At the same time, billing improves, but does not reach the desired levels: according to the aforementioned report, the levels are 40% below the pre-pandemic In our country.

Of these very pessimistic data, the Ministry of Culture and Sports warned just a few months ago through the ‘Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices 2021‘, a document that seeks to generate indicators in the periodic relationship of Spaniards with the activities and cultural products promoted in our country.

In this study the most alarming figures were given: little more than 27% of the total of spectators who went to the cinema before the pandemic broke out did so in 2021, more than 30 points less than what was indicated in the previous survey. Added to these negative data is a trend that, although it has not had a sufficient scope for analysis due to its relative novelty, does seem to have a lot of weight in this matter: streaming platforms have exploded in recent years (Subscriptions are up almost 14%). The services offered have caused a change in the way that, until recently, viewers enjoyed or consumed movies and series.

Green shoots and hope for what comes

Is the situation as worrisome as it seems? This is indicated by different sources in the sector with which laSexta has contacted, but they qualify: there are green shoots, and therefore room for optimism and hope: “Since the pandemic, almost starting from scratch with cinemas closed, the public has been recovering. In the comparison with the previous year, the result in 2022 is positive. The comparison with the year 2019, which was great, is still negative But that year has turned out to be a very high measuring rod because it was wonderful. That’s why an average is made between 2015 and 2019, with data more similar to the point where we would like to be. You can see that, Although we are below three years ago, it is going up”.

These same sources add: “They will continue to arrive commercial titles, both national and from other nationalities that will boost the sector. Avatar is coming in the short term, and it has to be a recovery for the sector in general.”

This optimistic position is also shared by spaces of ‘new creation’, as is the case of Cines Embajadores. In March 2020, they opened three new theaters for independent premieres when a massive closure was taking place due to the ravages caused by the coronavirus. And, as they tell us, the percentages are improving. “We created our cinema at a time when She was probably the worst in movie history to do it.but it’s true that it doesn’t cost us much to fill up,” says Fernando Lobo, from the Cines Embajadores press team.

Lobo recalls that the crises that cinemas are going through are usually “suffered more in small cities than in large cities like Madrid”, and he does not downplay the data that theaters have produced in the years after the critical peak of the pandemic: “The The figures are what they are, and compared to 2019, 40% fewer people are coming. The situation is worrying for many cinemas. At the moment, the measures that many are taking is to close theaters because they cannot cover expenses. When we talk about cinemas multiplex, you can’t imagine the bills: they are thousands and thousands and thousands of euros. These are impressive expenses and there are cinemas that are facing a lot of vulnerability. The next step would be to close ten theaters instead of five.”

Even so, he insists on that light at the end of the tunnel: “You cannot say that you are living a good moment, it is being too optimistic, but you could say is that it is living a better time. In other words, the figures for now are still worse than those obtained in pre-pandemic times, but the scenario is better than the one we were in a year ago.” Lobo elaborates on this statement: “It is not a good time, but obviously there is a process, since the cinemas were reopened, in which the number of spectators is growing; very gradually, and not in the expected and desired figures, but there are green shoots and reasons for illusion and hope that the good data can be recovered”.

Not only have the most powerful sessions (those held at 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.) grown, but the rest of the sessions and days have also experienced growth”

This is confirmed by Fernando Lobo, who exemplifies this approach with the case of Cines Embajadores: “We are better than in November 2021. October 2021 was a very good month and we have stayed there because it was very difficult to overcome it, but in November we have grown, which is actually what we’ve been doing all year, growing between 20% and 30%. For a cinema, aim, this is a very good sign: “Although it is a humble cinema like ours, it means that not only have the most powerful sessions (those held at 6pm or 8pm) grown, but the rest of the sessions and days have also experienced growth”.

But what is the root of this problem? Why is it that, having recovered a certain normality in a still crisis scenario, the percentage of moviegoers has not grown to 2019 levels?

For Lobo, there are still people who are not going to the movies “because perhaps he has lost that habit, or out of fear“, and affects this problem caused by COVID-19: “Being in a situation of confinement for so long, with time limits and capacity… All of this is what has made people think that going to the movies was dangerous . How can you not think about it if it is mandatory to wear a mask? Is it mandatory to keep social distance? What if I can’t go at ten at night? It really wasn’t dangerous, because respecting the security measures it was an activity that could be carried out without any type of risk. But it’s hard to get that across to people. For this reason, he believes that “continue working so that people continue to trust the cinema as one of the main leisure alternatives” must be carried out.

Does the ‘small screen’ damage the sector?

In no case, say both Lobo and other sources in the film industry, is this reduction in the percentages of viewers related to an upward trend in the exploitation and consumption of streaming platforms: “What this shows is that people consume more audiovisual product, in whatever form it may be. Before COVID, everyone was already watching Netflix, HBO… And the cinema attendance figures were higher than those of 2018, and those of 2018 were higher than those of 2017… What has killed, or seriously injured, the cinema has not been the platforms, but COVID”. An argument similar use those other sources consulted, who also believe there is a complementation, and not a competition scenario.

“The platforms are realizing that, for a film to work, the theatrical release is essential, because it is the first link in the chain. If the film has been released correctly and with an adequate theatrical window, it will have more visibility on the platforms. That is very important. People go to the cinema if they are brought movies that interest them, because they are looking forward to it. They are seeing works like ‘As bestas’ (Rodrigo Sorogoyen, 2022) or ‘Los reglones torcidos de God’ (Oriol Paulo, 2022)”. Precisely, in light of the films mentioned, another piece of information provided by the industry gives rise not only to a substantial improvement in the collection of the theaters, but also to the projection of our cinema itself: “Spanish cinema has been extremely important for the recoveryat a fundamental level.”