Kommersant learned about the reduction of operating cinemas in Russia by a third

According to the newspaper, in most cases, cinemas close part of the premises on weekdays and open on weekends,but some halls have not been used for three months

Against the backdrop of the absence of foreign premieres, the number of operating cinemas in RUSSIA has decreased by more than a third, Kommersant reports, citing statistics from the Association of Cinema Owners (AVK).

it follows from this that the number of cinema halls that showed at least one screening per day on weekdays in early June was more than a third less than at the beginning of the year. So, on June 6, the drop in the indicator was 36%, to 3.6 thousand halls against 5.7 thousand cinemas on January 5 of this year. At the same time, over the weekend, the indicator shows a less pronounced decrease - on June 4 and 5 it was 21% compared to January.

Cinemas are using fewer screens as content falls: Hollywood studios—Universal, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, and Paramount—have stopped film distribution in Russia since March. Against this background, the decline in revenue and attendance is also exacerbated. According to AVK, for the week from May 30 to June 5, compared to the average weekly figure for 2021, cinema revenue fell by 63%, to 681.4 million rubles, attendance fell by 57%, to 1.2 million people.

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At the same time, a representative of the united network of Cinema Park and Formula Kino specified to the newspaper that the statistics of a decrease in the number of operating halls does not necessarily mean their complete closure or conservation. “We will use the halls as needed. For example, from Monday to Wednesday in a multiplex cinema, four of the 12 halls may be closed, and on weekends all are open. Approximately 17% of the halls were closed for more than ten days in May,” he explained. According to him, the network has closed only two cinemas, despite the fact that the network's revenue has more than halved compared to June 2021.

Stanislav Demidenko, an analyst at Kinobiznes Today, pointed out that in the middle and second half of the summer the situation would worsen even more. “Traditionally, during the holidays and vacations, only Hollywood studio projects did the box office. There are no releases able to interest the mass audience at least until the end of the summer, ”he said. Cinema halls, in his opinion, will continue to close, because "the functioning of a modern multiplex in the current situation is meaningless."

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In early March, five major Hollywood studios - Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount and Universal Pictures - announced the cancellation of releases in Russia. As a result, the new "Batman" with Robert Pattinson, the movie comics "Morbius" with Jared Leto and "Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness" with Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as the continuation of the prequel "Harry Potter" "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets" did not come out in local rentals. .

Due to the lack of Western premieres, cinema attendance fell by almost 70%, Emin Agalarov, First Vice President of the Crocus Group, said in an interview with RBC in early June. According to him, there are 22 cinema halls in the Vegas and Crocus shopping centers, which means 12-17 thousand people per screening. Previously, these halls were packed, but now, in order for them to continue working, Russia must “overtake Hollywood, which has existed for 100 years, in a few months, and start producing films that the whole country wants to go to, and not just once a year, but every day,” said Agalarov.

“Most likely, we will not cope with this task. And instead of cinema halls, blank boxes will remain. We will play tennis there,” he said.

The Russian authorities, against the backdrop of Western sanctions, allowed Russian companies to settle accounts with foreign copyright holders in rubles. Payment will be made to accounts in authorized Russian banks, which will be determined by the government. In them, debtors will be able to open a special account of type “O” in the name of the copyright holder. The measure will be temporary and will affect settlements with those foreign copyright holders who are associated with unfriendly countries, publicly supported sanctions against Russia, and also stopped, suspended or significantly limited work in the country due to restrictive measures.