Mister President,
Finally the light at the end of the tunnel for the dark rooms!
After 201 consecutive days of closure, theaters will reopen on May 19.
It will be a relief and a joy for you, who represent the exhibitors, for the whole film industry and for all those who dream of seeing a movie again on the big screen.
For more than a year, we have been drinking images on the platforms.
Between March and July 2020, the number of users of Netflix, Amazon and other OCS has jumped 45%.
Today, 22 million French people subscribe to a subscription video-on-demand platform.
But the desire for cinema is there: according to a Vertigo Research study, 63% of French people dream of going back to theaters. Among 15-24 year olds who go to the cinema at least once a year, 83% even plan to remake a canvas "quickly". Good news: the films are jostling at the gate. From May 19, your cinemas will offer more than twenty-five “releases” and new releases. The poster will be diverse and very beautiful, between “Goodbye idiots”, “DNA”, “Poly”, “30 days max”, “Rag boy”, “Slalom”, “100% wolf”, “Falling”…
How, in this context, will the “last session” take place? Until June 9, we will have to respect a curfew at 9 p.m. The latter will then pass at 11 p.m. and should disappear after June 30. In October, when the government introduced the first curfew, you, dear Richard Patry, campaigned for theaters to be able to accommodate spectators until 10 p.m. The cinema tickets would thus have served as a certificate. You argued that 40% of spectators came after 7 pm ...
The government had refused you this exemption.
But, since February 13, in Guyana, cinemas can, like restaurants, welcome the public until 10:30 p.m., despite a curfew at 7 p.m.
This time again, you requested an exemption from the Ministry of Culture… Do you have any hope of obtaining it?
If not, until what time can we go to the movies?
And could there be screenings in some rooms earlier, as the MK2 cinemas had organized in October by opening their doors at 8 am?
The readers of Le Parisien - Today in France are impatiently awaiting your response.
Richard Patry's response: "There will be no cinema screening at 8 pm before June 9"
Richard Patry, President of the National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF).
SIPA / Jean-Christophe Tardivon
No, there will be no exemption from the curfew for theaters.
That's what Richard Patry told us.
On May 19, the day the dark rooms reopen, the curfew will be changed from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
And the cinemas "will strictly respect the law", assures the president of the National Federation of the French cinemas (FNCF).
Depending on the length of the films, the last screenings will therefore start between 6.30 p.m. and 7.15 p.m. and end at 8.45 p.m. at the latest.
As in October, when the first curfew was instituted, the FNCF asked the Ministry of Culture for an exemption. "We remain applicants ..." underlines Richard Patry. But he has little hope of winning his case. In Guyana, however, cinemas and restaurants can open until 10:30 p.m. despite a curfew at 7 p.m. "Yes, but there are only two cinemas in this department
(Editor's note: against more than 2,000 in France)
: these are not the same issues, ”notes Richard Patry.
The boss of French cinemas wants to be positive: “The cinemas reopen after more than six months of closure: that's the main thing. And from June 9, we can offer sessions at 8 p.m. On that day, the curfew will pass to 11 p.m. and on June 30 it is expected to be lifted. In the meantime, to compensate for the screening (sometimes both screenings) lost due to the curfew, the State will extend the financial aid granted to cinemas. And some cinemas will open their doors earlier: this will be the case for the thirteen cinemas of the NOE group headed by Richard Patry, which will welcome the public from 11 a.m.
"The restart will be done in stages", underlines the boss of the operators. Until June 9, there will be two empty seats in the rooms on either side of each person or group of people who have come together. From June 23, it will be an empty seat on either side. Hydroalcoholic gel will be made available, the mask will be compulsory and the cine-cafes will remain closed, even if take-out and consumption on the terrace will be authorized.