Cinemas in China start to reopen, with A First Farewell an early box office winner

Xinjiang art-house film A First Farewell racked up over US$220,000 in first-day sales as cinemas in China started to reopen on Monday

But there’s still a long way to go, with less than 10 per cent of China’s cinemas reopening so far and blockbuster films holding back release dates

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People watch a movie in a cinema in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei Province, on July 20. Health measures in place at cinemas across China include capping seating capacity at 30 per cent, no food or drinks sales, and no ticket counter sales. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:30pm, 21 Jul 2020Updated: 5:36pm, 22 Jul 2020

Cinemas in China were given the green light to start gradually resuming operations from Monday after a six-month closure triggered by the coronavirus outbreak, but only 8 per cent reopened, with the remaining unable to do so for reasons including staff shortages, incomplete cleaning and being located outside low-risk areas.

Mainland media reported that the 178-day suspension caused local industry losses of 30 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion), with over 2,200 cinemas going out of business during the pandemic period.

Of the roughly 10,000 cinemas still operating on the mainland, 835 cinemas reopened on Monday, racking up 3.6 million yuan total box office across more than 10,000 screenings, according to Alibaba’s online ticketing platform Taopiaopiao (Alibaba also owns the Post).

The box office champion of the day was Xinjiang art-house film A First Farewell, one of two new films opening Monday, racking up 1.56 million yuan in ticket sales.

Since the China Film Administration’s July 16 announcement that cinemas in low-risk areas could start reopening from July 20, cinemas and film distributors have been scrambling to prepare theatres to welcome visitors.

Wu Feiyue, co-founder of A First Farewell producer Elemeet, says they have been working overtime over the past week to produce publicity materials and make other preparations.