Look For A New Angle; Malaysian Cinema Chains' Plans During Temporary Closure

Wire

Look For A New Angle; Malaysian Cinema Chains’ Plans During Temporary Closure

A few days ago, it was announced that all cinemas, nationwide, will be closed down temporarily due to the rising Covid-19 cases. I felt like it was only yesterday we got to finally go out and watch new and postponed movies at the cinemas but then this happen. How time flies.

It felt very quick. I haven’t even got the chance to go to the cinema yet. But it is what it is. The temporary closing for cinemas was announced by the vice president of the Malaysian Association of Film Exhibitors, Cheah Chun Wai.

“This is necessary for the cinema business to sustain in the long term as the industry has seen a 90% revenue loss since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Closing and reopening cinemas is extremely cumbersome, costly and disrupting not only for the cinemas, but also for our landlords and customers,” said Cheah.

However, the industry is not losing of to recover from this temporary closure as they believe that people will come back to enjoy their favourite movies on the big screen post-Covid-19. I believe them. A business as big as the entertainment business, people will always come back for more.

So while the cinemas are closed, what’s the plan in the meantime for them? There’s a few and 1 is from Finas. The national film development corporation is preparing a plan to assist cinemas during this temporary closure. The action plan is being prepared by Finas CEO, Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri and deputy chairman Norman Abdul Halim.

What about from the cinema chains themselves? They’re also coming up with their own plans in the meantime as well. Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) might open cafes in certain locations and offer the use of cinema halls for live events.

TGV Cinemas’s plan on the other hand is coming up with a delivery service. Delivering movies to your doorstep? No but that would be cool too. According to Mohit Bhargava, TGV sales and marketing general manager, the cinema chain is planning for a popcorn delivery service and selling merchandise, gift cards as well as vouchers.

It’s good to see they’re being optimistic about this and trying their best to support themselves. As citizens, we should support them so that one day we can go back to watching movies and eating fresh popcorn at the cinemas again.