Bao spoke before the cinema’s first screening on Monday, as staff painstakingly wiped down seats and 3D glasses with disinfectant-soaked cloths. “Audiences are really looking forward to this too — to be able to enter cinemas, sit together with others and feel the happiness that movies bring.”But coronavirus anxiety remains in the air, with cinemas in Beijing still closed for now. Chinese film authorities had announced in March that they would reopen cinemas, which were shut in late January, but swiftly reversed course after fresh clusters of cases were discovered across the country. ADVERTISEMENTAmong the last businesses to reopen, cinemas have suffered a massive earnings hit. “Even if commercial films are released after cinemas reopen, they will suffer more than 50 percent losses compared to before the epidemic,” Fang said, predicting it could take a decade for the industry to fully recover.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 20, 2020 09:22 UTC