Cinema halls have already incurred a loss of billions of rupees. Govt still reluctant to allow them to resume services

Theater operators say it will take years to recover losses incurred in pandemic as this sector remains closed for nine months

KATHMANDU, Dec 11: In the last week of March, the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. But it had already been a week since the government had ordered to shut cinema halls in view of possible spread of the virus.

Nine months have already passed by since the government’s decision to close businesses of cinema halls. There are still no indications from the government authorities concerned when the movie theaters would be allowed to resume their operations even as almost all sectors are already allowed to resume businesses as usual.

Cinema hall operators complain that the indecision on the part of the government whether to allow movie theaters to resume their businesses has already made them incur a huge loss and it may take several years to recover the losses faced as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

Cinema hall operators estimate that the sector has already lost almost Rs five billion during the pandemic. They say it would be hard for them to survive if the government does not reopen the sector at the earliest.

“The sector has already lost billions of rupees. The government has already allowed every sector to open. Why are we left out?” questioned Madhu Sudhan Pradhan, Chairman of Federation of Nepal Film Entrepreneurs.

Currently, there are almost 200 cinema halls across the country. Of them, 120 halls are single screen theatres, while the remaining 80 are multiplexes. Cinema hall operators say it costs more than a million rupees to operate a single screen, while the cost exceeds millions to operate multiplexes.

“Is the government going to bear the losses faced by hall operators? If not, why is the government reluctant to allow resumption of the businesses of movie halls? We have made a promise to the government that we will strictly follow all the health safety protocols set by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health and Population,” said Pradhan.

According to the Federation, hall operators had submitted a memorandum to then Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada demanding resumption of the sector. “We have been left out, and are treated unfairly. The government has not given us a commitment yet,” he said, while sharing that they are mulling to take to the streets against the government’s move to treat them unfairly.

Cinema hall operators said that they are even prepared to resume operation of movie theaters with an arrangement to accommodate only 50 percent of total capacity of the audience. “We are well aware of the situation. Cinema halls have resumed their businesses even in India. So why don't we do the same in Nepal?” asked a multiplex operator in Kathmandu, adding the federation has told the government that tickets would be sold only through online.

Currently, the sector provides employment to almost 60,000 people. “Although the sector has already lost billions of rupees, the government is still not providing relief to cinema halls. Even if halls are opened, it might take a few years to recover from the shock of pandemic, given the fact that cinema halls may have to operate with only a few audiences for the next several months,” said the operator.

“How can cinema halls that operate with half the capacity be not safer than the market where people are hardly seen maintaining physical distancing? Cinema halls will be properly sanitized and all the audiences will be provided sanitizers,” said Pradhan, while venting ire over the indecision of the government.