Cinemas in Beijing were ordered Thursday to limit seating capacity to 50 percent during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. The decision adds to local industry worries that recent flareups of COVID-19 cases could dampen earnings during what is usually the biggest period for China’s box office by far.
Sources at two exhibition chains with locations in Beijing told The Hollywood Reporter that they were notified of the requirement on Thursday. The limits will apply from Feb. 11-17, the seven public holidays of Spring Festival. Beijing’s Film Bureau hasn’t made an official announcement about the caps, but the news was carried by several media outlets based in the Chinese capital.
Related Stories
The restriction follows a raft of measures China has imposed in recent weeks to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 infections during the holiday. During normal times, several hundred million migrant workers and urban dwellers travel from China’s great cities to their provincial hometowns to celebrate with their families. Fearing the mass migration could add fuel to a spate of recent COVID-19 flareups, Beijing has introduced a number of policies designed to discourage travel over the holiday this year. Those returning home will be required to undertake two-week quarantines and get COVID-19 tests at their own expense. How those restrictions will affect filmgoing is unclear. Typically, old school friends and families flock to the multiplex to catch the buzziest local movies of the year — a rare group activity outside the home over the long holiday break, when many other businesses are closed.
So far, Beijing is the only city to have mandated a cap on holiday movie theater attendance. Many in China’s film industry have interpreted the circumscribed nature of the order as evidence that it’s just as related to two upcoming Chinese Communist Party gatherings as it is local COVID-19 conditions.
The 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is scheduled to be held in Beijing on March 4, followed by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on March 5. In the lead-up to such high-profile political occasions, Beijing authorities typically error on the side of caution and tighten their grip over censorship and civil society. The fact that 2021 marks the beginning of China’s new five-year plan and the 100th anniversary of the CCP has made the period even more sensitive.
Movie theater chains in Beijing, already reeling from the lengthy shutdowns of 2020, have been placed in an unenviable spot by the new restrictions. Seven major Chinese tentpoles are scheduled to release on Feb. 12, the first day of the holiday, followed by two more on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14). Tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced tickets already have been sold for the first days of the holiday. China has over 70,000 movie screens, the most of any country in the world by far (the U.S. is estimated to have jut over 40,000), so it’s fairly rare that cinemas sell more than have of their seats for any given showing. The biggest exception to that rule, of course, is Chinese New Year; so it’s expected that theaters will have to refund some tickets already sold for the first days of the holiday to fall under Beijing’s attendance limit.
By far the most anticipated Chinese New Year release is Chen Sicheng’s comedy threequel Detective Chinatown 3, which has already pulled in more than $35 million in presales. The previous film in the franchise, which is produced by Wanda Pictures, opened to $155 million during the first three days of Chinese New Year in 2018. It eventually earned $544 million.
