Health pass at the cinema: distributors are alarmed by a sharp drop in attendance between Tuesday and Wednesday

It was a film awaited for years: “Kaamelott - First part” was, for the programmers of the cinemas, a small nugget which had to make it possible to bring back in theaters many spectators… It was without counting on the entry in health pass on Wednesday, the day of its release.

Tickets to theaters fell sharply by 70% between Tuesday and Wednesday, reports the National Federation of Film Publishers (FNEF) on Friday, which brings together the main French distributors - Gaumont, Universal pictures, Studiocanal, etc.

The situation is such that cinemas and distributors have launched an appeal for help, the FNEF calling for "a massive plan in favor of distribution" in the face of "an industrial disaster".

"If a signal is not given to the economic players in the sector in the coming hours, we will have to expect to have only a black screen in the theaters," says the FNEF.

“Without the investments of distributors, film production is doomed and theatrical exploitation cannot survive.

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The National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) is also calling for "massive emergency aid for cinemas", and the return of aid put in place during the health crisis, including the partial activity mechanism.

"Kaamelott" has more entry in preview than Wednesday

According to the company Comscore, which measures attendance at movie theaters, attendance fell another 60% on Thursday. "Kaamelott" which had conquered 320,000 viewers for its preview Tuesday, saw its number of entries almost divided by three (115,000), Wednesday, reports Les Echos. “The film did more in preview than the entire market gathered on Wednesday !,” comments Eric Marti, CEO of Comscore France, to the newspaper. A movie like this would normally have 400,000 admissions or more. "

The health pass (which attests to a complete vaccination or a negative test) is required at the entrance of all places of leisure and culture capable of accommodating 50 people or more since Wednesday. These include cinemas, theaters, concert halls, sports halls, swimming pools, marquees, game rooms, amusement parks, exhibitions, fairs or shows. The bill which provides for the extension of the pass in early August to bars, restaurants and large shopping centers passed the Senate on Friday after a first vote in the Assembly.