For the first time in its history, the Grand Rex (IIe), inaugurated in 1932, closes in August. The mythical cinema of the great boulevards which has seven screens, must turn off the projectors this Monday, August 3 in the evening and will not turn them on again until August 26.
"We lose less money by closing than by maintaining the teams with this demoralizing attendance," says Alexandre Hellmann, director of the Grand Rex. And calls into question "the too low supply of films, especially American, which usually draw attendance in the summer".
"We are at a standstill, it is useless to open"
In another genre, the Nouvel Odéon (6th arrondissement), an art house in the Latin Quarter, has been closed since July 29 and will remain until August 18. “While in July 2019, I made 600 entries per week, this year I am at 200-250. We are at a standstill, there is no point in opening. Especially since August is always the worst month of the year ”, deplores Martin Bidou, manager of the establishment.
Very lucid about the causes of the slump, he explains: “The regulars are there but there are not enough films to boost attendance. As with large American productions, the releases of good arthouse films are postponed until September ”. The Balzac (8th) will also take a break from August 5 to 18.
Hit hard by the three months of closure (from March 15 to June 21) imposed by the government to fight against the coronavirus, the cinemas, whose staff benefit from partial unemployment set up by the State, do not arrive to come out of the doldrums.
60 to 80% drop in attendance in large complexes
“Since June 22, attendance at small venues has fallen by 40 to 50% compared to July 2019 and from 60 to 80% in large complexes. The situation is even worse in the provinces ”, announces Michel Gomez, general delegate of the cinema mission of the city of Paris, which has voted a budget of 400,000 euros to help independent theaters. The situation is such that “no Parisian cinema is making money at the moment. Most of them lose some, even if some are perhaps just in balance ”, adds Michel Gomez.
Like Studio 28 in Montmartre (18th century), some have even kept doors closed since June 22, waiting for the end of August as a promise of better days ... Others take the opportunity to do some work, at the image of the Escorial (14th century) or The Seven Parnassians (14th century) which will reopen at the end of August.
75 cinemas remain open
More than the fear of the public of being exposed to the virus, theater operators suffer from the absence of promising films showing. “There is no spectator psychosis in the face of the coronavirus. We are faced with a problem of supply and not of demand. For fear of too low attendance, distributors postpone releases until the fall. It's a vicious circle, ”concludes the cinema man from the city of Paris.
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Despite the impact of the crisis, Paris, capital of the seventh art, is not completely relaxing this summer. “Of the 90 cinemas listed in Paris, at least 75 are open even if it would be to show that there is light! Many have reduced the hourly amplitude, canceling the 22 hour session or removing the morning session, ”notes Michel Gomez.