Tara Murray
A Craigieburn cinema operator has warned it will likely have to turn people away from sessions because the cap on patron numbers is too low.
United Cinemas re-opened on Thursday, with 20 people permitted per session.
It is anticipated that cinemas will be able to welcome 100 people per session from November 23, when restrictions ease further.
United Cinemas Australia chief executive Sam Mustaca said he believed that the number of people allowed in each cinema should have been 100 straight away.
“It’s great that we can open our doors, but 20 people per cinema is not enough,” he said.
“They’ve left us out for a long time, so it needs to be 100 people per auditorium.
“It should be that now, not on November 23. It would be nice if they could bring it forward.”
The Craigieburn complex has eight cinemas meaning it can have a total of 160 people watching movies at one time.
Mr Mustaca said they were expecting that they would have to turn people away from some sessions.
“In NSW, it has been one person per four square metres and then no more than 50 per cent capacity which would be good in Victoria,” he said.
“On Friday nights we’ll have to turn people away and on Saturday nights we’ll have to turn people away.
“We will have allocated seating and limited ticket sales. Once it’s booked out, there’s no more tickets available.
“It’s not nice turning people away.”
Mr Mustaca said you can’t beat watching a movie in a packed cinema with popcorn in hand.
“We welcome the news, but we don’t understand why we aren’t treated the same as restaurants and cafes.
“Food and entertainment should be on the same page.”
Mr Mustaca said on top of the slow reopening, they had concerns about how the industry would cope the next few months.
He said some companies including Disney were putting their movies straight to pay to view or on their streaming services due to COVID-19.
Village Cinemas also welcomed the reopening of cinemas.
The cinemas, including Plenty Valley, reopened on Thursday.
“We can’t thank those who have supported us during the closure period enough. Loud and passionate voices allowed us to continue dialogue with the Victorian government, leading to an approved COVID-Safe cinema plan.
“We are grateful to the Victorian Government for welcoming these conversations and allowing all cinemas to reopen.
“The reopening also means that thousands of dedicated employees will return to work after eight months of closure. To say we’re ready for a giant popcorn is an understatement.”
