走过漫漫“求生路”的电影院，要开放了吗？

你有多久没去电影院了？

几个月前，没有人能想到新冠肺炎疫情对电影院的冲击会如此深远。

受疫情影响，从今年1月底开始，全国范围内的影院陆续关闭，春节档、情人节档直至“五一”档纷纷泡汤。

走过漫漫求生路的电影院现在如何了？会在6月份重新开放吗？

Several months ago, no one expected the impact of the coronavirus on cinemas to be this long and deep.

All cinemas across China have been closed since the end of January, meaning it missed popular movie periods including the Spring Festival, Valentine's Day and May Day holiday. 

How are the struggling cinemas? Will they reopen as many expect in June?

影院“求生术”

尽管低风险地区的500多家影院在3月底重新开放，但票房收入远低于预期。多数影院单日观影人数还没过百。

新疆一家电影院公布的数据显示，其每日票房收入仅在1000元到2000元之间。此后，国家电影局发布通知，所有影院暂不复业，已复业的立即暂停营业。

Although more than 500 cinemas in low-risk regions reopened in late March, ticket sales were far from expectations.

Most cinemas only had less than 100 viewers a day. A cinema in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region revealed their daily box office: 1,000-2,000 yuan (280 U.S. dollars). 

About a week later, the China Film Administration put this to an end, requiring that all movie theaters close again.

但一些影院等不了这么久，最终没有熬过“寒冬”。天津橙天嘉禾银河影城万象城店在经营了2752天后，于4月17日永久闭店。

生存还是灭亡？各影院纷纷采取措施自救。

But some cinemas couldn't wait any longer. On April 17, a popular cinema in Tianjin Municipality closed its doors forever after running for 2,752 days.

To live or to die? Cinemas have taken measures to save themselves.

Some cinemas sell snacks online to survive amid coronavirus. /VCG

早在今年2月，一些影院便开始在网上卖起了小吃，在微信和微博等社交媒体平台上进行宣传，并与多个外卖平台合作。

有的影院推出了零食饮品限时特惠活动；有的在网上开展直播活动，售卖电影兑换券、零食和文创衍生品等商品；还有的甚至将影院变成影楼，提供影厅拍摄业务，场地租赁可用于婚纱照拍摄、个人写真拍摄等。

Since as early as February, some started to sell snacks online and advertising on social media platforms, such as WeChat, Weibo, and partnering with food delivery platforms.

A Bona Cinema in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, introduced flash sales. Roasted sausages, soft drinks, and ice cream were for sale and if the total value reached 68 yuan, it meant free delivery. A staff member said the food sold well because of the low price.

Shrewd cinemas tapped into the increasingly popular tactic of livestreams. To retain customers, staff members at a Wanda cinema in Shanghai sold movie ticket coupons, cultural and creative products as well as snacks via live broadcasts.

Even some cinemas innovatively turned their space into scenes for photographers. The screening rooms have been offered for online bookings as the background for wedding photos and personal photos. The alluring advertisements read couples can review memories of their sweet love in this way.

A couple takes a wedding photo at a cinema. /VCG

国外的影院也在积极组织自救行动。据悉，英国泰恩赛德影院发起了捐款活动，日本的电影制作人发起众筹以拯救独立影院，韩国一家连锁电影院推出了私人影院租赁服务。

In other countries, cinemas also came up with imaginative solutions. 

UK's signature Tyneside Cinema started a donation campaign; Japanese filmmakers launched crowdfunding efforts to save independent cinemas; a South Korean cinema chain promoted private theater rentals.

开局艰难

韩国在4月底重新开放部分影院，是全球首批重开影院的国家之一，影院方采取了保持社交距离等一系列措施降低观影风险；全球第三大电影市场日本从5月中旬开始，分阶段在受影响最小的地区重新开放影院；一些欧洲国家和美国的部分州也紧随其后。

在中国，虽然电影院等娱乐场所已被允许可有序复工，但一些影院仍然迟迟未开，因为从业者担心低座率和消毒卫生费用会造成直接损失。

A couple watches a film at a cinema. /VCG

South Korea was among the first in the world to reopen some of its cinemas at the end of April, with various social distancing measures taken in place to avoid human interaction.

Japan, home to the world's third-largest box office, reopened its cinemas in phases starting mid-May in the least affected regions, followed by some European countries and even some states in the U.S.

In China, although the State Council on May 8 allowed cinemas and other entertainment venues across the country to reboot, many cinema operators are still waiting it out. Why?

A guideline released by Beijing authorities back in February stipulates that cinemas should keep seats in every other row and every other seat empty in the same row. It also requires a complete sanitation in the screening room after every movie.

Some operators feared that the low attendance and extra fees on sanitation would lead to a direct loss.

CGTN Infographic.

然而，观众是否愿意重返影院也是个问题。

中国电影家协会牵头的一份调查报告显示，疫情后多数观众最希望进影院观看“新片”，这与影院的需求相同。九成以上的影院认为无论是“国产新片”还是“进口新片”都是拉动观众重返影院的重要因素。

而在3月的短暂影院“复工”期，国内发布的都是《流浪地球》和《何以为家》等几年前的大片。

从日本到德国，重新开放的影院播放的也是“复映片”，比如好莱坞老电影、最近自制的热门影片，以及奥斯卡获奖影片《寄生虫》等。

截至目前，几乎没有电影宣布在6月上映，所以如果电影院重新开业，老电影似乎是唯一的选择。

Whether or not people want to come back is another question.

According to a survey initiated by the China Film Association, moviegoers mostly want to watch new films in theaters after the epidemic, which echoes the sentiment among cinema operators. More than 90 percent of theaters believe new films, whether they are home-made or imported, are the main factor to draw people back.

Back to the short reopening time in March, it was a batch of blockbusters from a couple of years ago, such as "The Wandering Earth" and "Capernaum," rather than new films, that were being screened in China.

From Japan to Germany, reopened cinemas have offered a mix of old Hollywood films, recent home-made hits and holdovers like Oscar-winning "Parasite" that were screened in cinemas before the closures.

Since few films announced to release in June so far, old films seem to be the only choice if cinemas reopen.

冬天来了，春天还会远吗？

尽管开局艰难，但希望尚存。全国各级政府出台了相关扶持政策，助力电影院走出困境。

2月以来，北京、上海、辽宁和陕西等地已通过提供补贴、减免社保、设立专项贷款等举措帮助企业渡难关。

4月底的一份调查显示，40%的影院已经受益于政策红利。

为支持电影业发展，财政部联合国家税务总局、国家电影局发布公告，对电影放映服务取得的收入免征增值税，暂免征收国家电影事业发展专项资金。这意味着，对于一个全年票房收入达1000万元的影院来说，该政策可以帮其减少约30万元的成本。

Photo of a cinema. /VCG

As rough start as it is, there is still hope. Governments of different levels have introduced favorable policies to help struggling cinemas.

Since February, municipalities such as Beijing and Shanghai and provinces such as Liaoning and Shaanxi as well as other regions have helped companies by providing subsidies, exempting social insurance and offering loans.

A survey shows that by the end of April, 40 percent of the cinemas said that they have benefited from the policies.

In May, the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration and the China Film Administration further announced they would exempt some taxes and fees for the movie industry, including the value-added tax (VAT).

It is estimated that for a cinema with a box office of 10 million yuan per year, the policy can help it reduce about 300,000 yuan in costs.

The exemption encouraged the whole industry and boost confidence, said Liu Jianxin, a manager of a cinema in Beijing.

Photocall of Niki Caro (R), director of "Mulan" and of Bina Daigeler (L), costume design director, in Madrid, Spain, January 17, 2020. /VCG

由于学生多在6月份返校，外界普遍认为6月或许是电影院重新开放的合适时机。

随着迪士尼真人电影《花木兰》等一批备受期待的电影定于7月上映，影院或将迎来“春天”。

“6月的票房可能很差，7月或许会逐渐回升，8月就会恢复正常。”北京一家影院的经理表示，希望电影市场在国庆假期恢复繁荣景象。

With the majority of students returning to schools in China in June, there is a popular belief that June may be a right time to reopen long-awaited cinemas.

With a batch of highly-anticipated films, such as Disney's live-action remake "Mulan," scheduled to release in July, cinemas may welcome their spring eventually.

"The box office in June may be poor. It may gradually rise up in July and come back to normal in August," estimated Manager Liu. "We hope the market will boom in the National Day holiday."

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