The death of the cinema?

By Clotilde Gros

Over the last six months, we have read a number of gloomy stories in the UK media about the impact COVID-19 is having on UK jobs and the economy. 

We should be pretty used to it by now, but daily news headlines about our consumer industries still break our hearts. The latest of the bad news being Cineworld indefinitely closing its UK and US venues affecting 45,000 jobs. 

There has been so much speculation over the years, following the rise of content platforms such as Netflix or Apple TV, that cinemas will eventually die out. Reading the news this morning led me to wonder whether the pandemic merely accelerated the process? 

I think it won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the cinema industry is destined for its worst year and is on its knees. New Hollywood blockbusters have had their release date postponed in the UK, pulling, quite literally, the red carpet from under cinema operators’ feet.  Movie producers and studios have to recoup their investments and would prefer to ensure audiences are happy to return to the big screen. Without that certainty, you cannot blame them for delaying new releases. 

Similarly, without new exciting content, opening cinemas is just not financially viable. It is a catch-22 situation. Cineworld’s CEO sums it up perfectly when, according to the Financial Times, he wrote an email to Cineworld’s UK staff which stated that audience numbers have “dwindled to tiny and unsustainable levels and the delay of Bond has been a huge blow”. 

Whilst it is bad news, the decision might be helpful to smaller players who could benefit from increased footfall following the closure of other nearby cinemas – but in my view, there is no doubt that the short-term impact of Covid-19 will be huge for the industry. 

So how can the industry really continue to survive? In the longer term, Cinemas can be anything they want to be. Cinemas have had to constantly reinvent themselves over the years, from different types of content to screens, hospitality, transition to digital cinema technology, or 3D screens. This means that there is no reason that the industry won’t evolve further. What is clear though is that Cinemas cannot just be about everyday escapism anymore, they need to be more than that. Our current way of life highlights the importance of togetherness. Cinemas could become a way to help us reconnect with each other or our families through the big screen, a hub for the local communities, a magnet for the British high street... Who doesn’t love a good movie on the big screen, with friends or family during the winter months? 

As a movie buff myself, I believe that the cinema is still a place where magic can happen every day. It’s a sacred place that needs to be protected.  Now is the chance for big and small operators to put their heads above the parapet, fighting for a mainstream cause to bring people back together, as well as flying the flag for talent, innovation and leading an economic resurgence.