Socially Distant Theatres
There may be no clarity yet about when it will be business as usual, but at least one cinema chain appears to be gearing up to resume operations—if only in limited measure. PVR Cinemas, the largest multiplex chain in India, is reportedly making preparations to welcome patrons from June in what they’re describing internally as a ‘social distancing-compliant model’.
A senior executive from the chain has sent out a memo to partners saying the company is working towards resuming screenings but with an entirely new, never-before-tried plan. If they do eventually pull it off, PVR will sell tickets for only a sixth of its screen capacity for every show. The plan is to seat patrons at least six seats apart from each other in this experimental phase. New seating charts are being drawn up.
There is no word yet on what they plan to screen in this phase, given that it seems unlikely that producers will risk putting their new releases into cinemas in such uncertain times. Trade insiders say it’s a bad idea and won’t work even (especially) if PVR intends to screen older releases.
No big movie is going to want to release with this setting unless they charge a lot more for it.
Current Affairs
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