Movie theaters have slowed down

The Quebec film community was shocked to learn that movie theaters in the province were closing theaters at a time when the epidemic was once again on the rise. We are taking the rug from under our feet, ‘lamented the cinema theater owners.

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Ironically, after enjoying their most lucrative weekend at the box office for almost two years, theater operators realized they had to close their doors indefinitely on Monday. Released last Friday, Saga is the new film Spider-Man Quebec has grossed more than $ 2.5 million at the box office: the highest level since the outbreak began. “We worked hard to bring people back to the theaters and there, we were removed from our momentum,” lamented Eric Bouchard, co-president of the Association des Cinemas du Quebec.

“Since the theaters reopened last February, we have been growing slowly but steadily. It took us a big movie to stay like “Wow, here it is”. The same thing happened on the weekend Spider-Man. The weekend results made us dream of a great holiday season. But there, poof! We must stop everything. This is a disaster. “

In line with his prestige, Guzzo Cinemas president Vincent Guzzo thundered after Monday’s announcement, criticizing the (still) lack of clarity on the Legalt government.

“It’s total amateurism,” he thundered. We don’t even know how long we’ve been closed. I, I have to answer to the bankers now. Should I tell them I’ve been closed for two weeks? A month? Eight months? And what can I say to my employees? In addition, I started a new movie. It’s a complete mess. This does not make sense. This is complete instability. “

Robin Plamandon, general manager of Le Clap Cinema in Quebec City, took the liberty of throwing an arrow at Franకోois Legalt: “I wonder where our Prime Minister is today. This is information that he himself has to declare. It’s still major, it’s the thousands of employees in the cultural sector who were unemployed two days before Christmas. It deserves the most official person presence in Quebec. ”

This new theatrical closure will also affect distributors who choose to launch new films for the holiday season. This is especially the case with Christian Laurache, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars campaigning to promote comedy. Good morning Theatrical release on Friday.

“It’s the club’s blow, drops by Mr. Lauro. Just three and a half days later, I had to remove my film from the screens. I can never see the amount I spent on promotion again. I dare tell myself that the same thing happened. The goddess of fire flies The film was a resounding success last year and a few months later when theaters reopened. “

This new closure will not last much longer than the previous ones so fingers crossed in the middle as well. During the Second Wave, at the end of 2020, theaters in Montreal and Quebec City were closed for five months.

“We do not know how long this will last, but we’ve been told it’s at least until January 10. Eric Bouchard slips. Fortunately, the government is going to help us.