What They Say
I reported when I visited the CineEurope show in 2018 that the market for private cinema rentals was a significant segment of the Chinese market – enough to justify an optimised system from Cinemeccanica. (CineEurope 2018 Roundup). Now, the BBC report, the trend has developed during the pandemic, to extend to other countries and it reported on developments in Korea. A top cinema can be hired for four people for two hours for $90, rising to $135 in the evening peak. The cinemas are being used for gaming and gamers particularly like the intense sound that can be enjoyed.
In the US, Malco Theatres has been doing the same for about three months, where the rental costs $100 for two hours, $150 for three, with up to 20 attendees allowed. AMC has the same kind of deal, for private movie shows.
What We Think
One of the attractions of ‘going digital’ for cinemas was the additional flexibility of alternate uses for cinemas. I have been to one-off video-driven music events at our local cinema and in the UK, the Royal Ballet, for example, has broadcast productions to 600 UK cinemas (before the pandemic). Sports events were also getting more popular before the lockdown restrictions. I found a release from before the pandemic that AMC in the US had been looking to offer this kind of event in 2020. (BR)
