I was discussing one-way systems in the supermarket the other day and thinking back to those strange times when most major supermarkets resembled Ikea. This seems like a distant memory now, along with bog-roll panic buying. As well as the swanky coffee machine, Molton Brown toiletries and posh onesie, the revelation that Peter Murrell (estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon) bought 108 toilet rolls hours before she implored the public not to panic-buy them certainly raised an eyebrow.
Whilst nobody really misses face masks in the supermarket or rows about whether Scotch eggs constitute a main meal or a snack, cinemas certainly have never recovered to their pre-pandemic audience levels. When the shutters came down on the pictures during lockdown, subscriptions to streaming services soared as we were all shackled to our sofas and looking for content to consume. The figures I've seen suggest audience numbers have recovered significantly, with some big releases recently doing big numbers, but it's clear many cinema operators are still struggling to balance the books.
Charles Morris operates a number of small cinemas in towns such as Skipton, Keighley and Elland, and recently told the Halifax Courier: "Everybody needs people back at the cinema rather sooner than later if we're all to survive." He went on to tell the title: "People can see films at home, they can drink at home, but if we go, and if the pubs go, people will miss them."
The actors' strike resulted in fewer films being released for a while, and the window between films being shown in the cinema and turning up on streaming services has narrowed to as little as 45 days.
Another lovely independent cinema, the Penistone Paramount, served up Barbie and Ken-themed cocktails during the interval at its Barbie screenings a few years ago. Venues including the Parkway in Barnsley made a big deal of the 'Barbenheimer' double bill, which involved audiences watching the incongruous combination of Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy in films about a doll and an atomic bomb respectively.
Making cinema into an event has long been thought to be a solution, yet The Guardian reported last week that the Everyman chain of cinemas has run up more than £56 million in pre-tax losses over the past six years and has not made a pre-tax profit since 2019. Analysts believe that Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) are increasingly looking for real-life experiences, and a comfy sofa, a bottle of £47 Whispering Angel wine and a pizza might just provide that. There's a lot of work to do for the chain's new boss, though.
Meanwhile, the UK box office overall hit £989.5 million last year, which is the highest figure since 2019, but still well short of that year's £1.25 billion. Whilst box-office figures are increasing, audience numbers are on the wane, with levels remaining about 30% down on pre-pandemic levels. Whilst Everyman is looking at halting its expansion programme, other chains and operators are hoping that people are tempted to spend some of their hard-earned cash on a big-screen night out.
I have always found the experience of going to the cinema magical. When I was at university in Liverpool, we used to regularly go to the old ABC Cinema, but since it closed with a screening of Casablanca during my final year in 1998, it has stood derelict. It's a gorgeous listed building that's been left to rot, and that's pretty heartbreaking.
Is there a need for cinemas? I'd argue there is, and the arts more widely provide nourishment for the soul. I'm not sold on the idea of a sofa and a three-course meal, personally, but I can see the value in making it more of a luxury experience. I'm happy with a bag of Revels that I've usually eaten before the end of the trailers.
How can things be made better? More rigorous enforcement by staff of the no-mobile-phones rule would be a good start. Offer some healthier snacks. Bring back the ice-cream counter in Ashton. Ban people who put their feet on the seats for a week. Double it to a fortnight if they take their shoes off first. Stop showing entire film plots in trailers. Bring back an intermission for any film that's over 90 minutes long. And schedule more films during the day for those of us who work random hours. Not everybody wants to see a horror film at 10pm. And much like pubs, we all need to use cinemas, or we risk losing them.
Alex Cann's weekly blog - 9th January
