Russia (bbabo.net), - The average ticket price in Russian cinemas in January 2022 was a record 323.7 rubles. This is 45.6 rubles (13.2 percent) more than in January last year. Will the price of tickets increase in the future, how do the owners of Rostov cinemas characterize the past year and why are large halls closed?
With a fairly sharp jump in ticket prices, the total box office receipts of film distribution in the Russian Federation reached 40.7 billion rubles last year, and in the Rostov region exceeded a billion rubles, which is 65 percent more than in 2020.
On the Don, one of three documents is still required at the entrance to the cinema: a QR code, a medical exemption from vaccination complete with a negative PCR test, or a certificate of coronavirus. At the same time, the hall can only be filled halfway.
According to experts, the growth of the box office indicates a recovery in business, but some cinemas will still go under the hammer because they could not survive the pandemic. So, in Novocherkassk, as part of the bankruptcy procedure, the Kosmos cinema was put up for auction. However, not all cinemas in the region suffered the coronavirus so dramatically. Many businessmen are cautious about the revival of the interest of the audience. In the region, 3.6 million people purchased tickets last year, up almost 50 percent from the year before.
“We recorded an increase in attendance: in 2021, the cinema center received more than 575 thousand viewers, which is 61 percent more than in 2020,” said Alexei Chernookov, general director of a large Rostov cinema center. - But the results of 2021 were inferior to those of 2019. For comparison: in pre-pandemic times, almost twice as many viewers came to us, that is, more than a million people a year. However, we can say that the industry began to recover after the crisis of 2020, when there were restrictions and cinemas across the country suspended work.
According to the Association of Cinema Owners (AVK), last year they received about 15 billion rubles less in revenue compared to pre-pandemic. But in 2021, compared to 2020, growth was 78 percent in box office receipts and 64 percent in tickets sold.
- We also began to buy tickets more often, the hall is not empty, but it is still far from prosperous times, - added the manager of one of the Rostov cinemas, Irina Demidovich. - I confess, there were doubts that the audience would return, because during the pandemic many people bought good equipment, subscribed to channels where you can watch new items for little money. And someone is used to watching movies on a laptop and even on a phone screen. But when the restrictions began to gradually lift, moviegoers still went to the halls.
According to Demidovich, a lot depends on how competently the business is organized. The closed cinema "Cosmos" in Novocherkassk showed how difficult it is to reach a payback and make a profit if the hall is too spacious. Cosmos, for example, has more than 400 seats. If it is sold, then its new owners will face the question of whether it is possible to use this room as a cinema in the future. Wouldn't it be more correct to split it into several halls, as most owners do, or convert it for renting into offices. Now in Novocherkassk there is only one cinema hall and in the absence of competition it is in demand.
- In order to improve the economic situation in many cinemas, ticket prices have increased, but only by five to seven percent, since high prices can scare away the viewer, - says Demidovich. - However, there is demand even in those cinemas where tickets have become more expensive by 10 percent. I personally asked visitors what they think about the prices, if it's too expensive for them, and, surprisingly, the majority answered that they did not notice the increase at all.
By the way, according to an analysis of the Bulletin of the Film Distributor, based on information provided by distributors, on average in Russia in 2021 a trip to the cinema cost 278.1 rubles. For example, in one of the largest cinemas in Rostov this year you can buy a ticket for a session from 150 to 700 rubles, depending on the time of the show and the hall.
The increase in ticket prices was also noted by Alexey Chernookov.
- We try to keep prices at the usual level, but it is quite difficult under the current restrictions. Our tickets have risen in price slightly, - he said.
Experts testify that the rise in ticket prices has accelerated significantly in recent years. From January 2017 to January 2020, they increased on average from 260.8 to 264 rubles, that is, the price rose by only 3-4 rubles. The reason for the current sharp increase was, first of all, anti-COVID restrictions. In addition, inflation, salary increases for cinema employees and other factors affected.
But the coronavirus did not affect the audience preferences in any way.“We don’t see drastic changes since the start of the pandemic,” Chernookov continued. - As before, the highest-grossing films are blockbusters and major releases for family audiences. In our cinema center, the top five most popular films of last year look like this: "Venom 2", "Dune", "Spider-Man: No Way Home", "Soul" and "The Last Hero: The Root of Evil". Of course, the audience goes to the cinema most often for a particular film. By the release of the expected releases and on various holidays, we try to hold interesting promotions, but the level of attendance, first of all, depends on the repertoire.
It is still premature to say that the market has recovered, experts say. Making predictions under conditions of uncertainty is difficult. However, the owners of cinemas hope that the authorities will allow to increase the occupancy of the halls, then the price of tickets is unlikely to increase.
“The answer to the question of how soon economic indicators will reach the pre-pandemic level will depend on a number of factors, the main of which is the stabilization of the situation and the lifting of restrictions,” Chernookov added.
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