Most movies will reopen on February 26th

Despite a ban on popcorn sales, the majority of cinemas in Quebec will reopen their theaters next Friday to begin the spring break.

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Also read: According to Vincent Guzo, not enough help

Also read: Food sale banned: Quebec films are financially compensated

The Association of Quebec Cinemas Owners Association (EPCQ) made the announcement on Friday afternoon. Joined Newspaper, Eric Bouchard, co-president of APCQ, has decided to open more than sixty of the 100 films across the province on February 26th.

Vincent Gujo, who is not part of the EPCQ, reiterated on Friday that he would not open his rooms if he could not operate the food counters in his complexes. As for Cineplex, the largest movie theater chain in the country, no decision was taken yesterday.

“With the ban on food sales in our cinemas, we know the coming weeks will be financially difficult, but we are happy to reopen and we are glad the government listened to us,” Eric Bouchard underlined on Friday.

“When the government was empowered to reopen cinemas without food counters, I think they did not measure the real implications of such a decision. But they later found that without food sales, we would have a substantial shortage. They showed us their good faith, so we said to ourselves: We are going to our movie theaters. We’re going to reopen and talk to each other later. “

Support

There will be no specific financial compensation for the ban on selling food to cinemas starting February 26th. Instead, they are eligible for the Maximum Alert (AERAM) program for businesses in the area, which allows them to pursue debt forgiveness up to $ 15,000 per month. The program is designed for businesses closed due to the pandemic, but the film will be able to maintain access to it until their food subsidies are closed.

The Legalt government caused a stir last Tuesday by announcing that all movie theaters in the province could reopen to moviegoers by February 26, but that they currently have no right to operate their food counters. Some theater operators, including Vincent Guzo, strongly opposed the move, arguing that they would have to work at a loss if they could not sell popcorn and other goodies. According to the APCQ, food sales account for between 50% and 80% of movie theater revenue.