Just like COVID over the past years, the current economic crisis has once again put cinemas in a difficult situation.
While Cinema City, Hungary’s largest cinema network, is trying to make sure that its audience can watch the latest blockbusters on the big screens, it had to make the tough decision to cease all weekday screenings before 3PM in Budapest cinemas and before 4PM outside the capital. The change came into effect on 17 November.
Andrea Buda, Cinema City‘s PR and marketing director, told IGN Hungary that the measure does not impact the pre-Christmas period and the winter break, where highly anticipated movies, such as the sequel to James Cameron’s “Avatar” will premiere. The company has chosen this solution because the screenings between 10AM and 3PM are the ones that generate the least revenue.
Some of the smaller cinemas in the city operated by Budapest Film decided to stop screening films on the first two days of the week altogether, as they weren’t able to afford the increased overhead. The higher operating costs also forced Cinema City to increase the price of their tickets by 17 percent in October.
Source: IGN
Cover credit: Cinema City
