Share this Story: 'No way theatres are going to want to open' without popcorn sales, Guzzo says
'No way theatres are going to want to open' without popcorn sales, Guzzo says
Meanwhile, an emergency room pediatrician hails the reopening of swimming pools and indoor skating rinks as "a great step forward" for the well-being of kids.
T'Cha Dunlevy • Montreal Gazette
"It's a bit of a problem, this reopening, reclosing, reopening, reclosing," says Guzzo Cinemas president Vincent Guzzo. "If for whatever reason the pandemic kicks into overdrive, OK; but otherwise, we're opening to stay open." Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette
With four children who are all physically active, Suzanne Vaillancourt couldn't be happier about swimming pools and indoor skating rinks being allowed to reopen for March break.
"I think it's a great step forward," said Vaillancourt, an emergency room pediatrician at the Montreal Children's Hospital. "It's fantastic. It's tough for families to find things to do for kids now, with everything being shut down.
'No way theatres are going to want to open' without popcorn sales, Guzzo says Back to video
"As a front-line health worker, I'm seeing more mental health issues than kids sick with COVID, and they're mostly related to kids not being allowed to be active. There are so many benefits to sports for kids."
Premier François Legault announced Tuesday that swimming pools, indoor skating rinks and cinemas will be allowed to open in red zones as of Feb. 26.
Vaillancourt believes the risks posed by pools and indoor rinks are relatively low, compared to the payoff.
"When my kids were playing and doing some training before (the current lockdown), they were putting on their masks to go to the arena and while they were putting on their skates, they were skating and then leaving with a mask on. The sanitary measures were fantastic.
"As for swimming pools, chlorine is an antiseptic. I think the transmission risk is extremely low, and the benefits to families and kids are extremely high."
Contact tracing is also much easier at pools and rinks in the case of an outbreak, she argued.
"I worry more about the kids who are out and about, hanging out."
Vaillancourt hopes pools and indoor rinks will be allowed to stay open after March break.
"For a lot of kids, sports is an outlet," she said. "The skills they learn in sports are lifelong. If we have the sanitary measures, we can do it, especially with hospitalizations dropping and the vaccine coming. I hope more sports open up."
Vincent Guzzo is happy to finally be allowed to reopen his cinemas, but he's worried about popcorn — not being able to sell it, that is.
President of the Guzzo Cinemas chain, he was disappointed that the government will forbid popcorn and soft drink sales in theatres once they open up again.
"That's crazy," Guzzo said. "Now we have a discussion to have. There's no way theatres are going to want to open with those conditions."
Guzzo's other point of contention is the 8 o'clock curfew in red zones, which limits evening screenings — particularly on weekends, when he would normally have 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight screenings. But that's not as bad as not being able to sell popcorn.
"I can find a way around the curfew, I guess," he said. "I can survive with modified business hours. I already had to close my arcade, which was 15 per cent of my business. Now we're talking about another 45 per cent of my revenue with popcorn sales? It's not going to happen."
Guzzo questions whether his chain will open under such conditions. And "if I don't open my theatres, nobody's getting movies."
If everything goes ahead, his other request is that there be no more flip-flopping. Cinemas were already closed for three months in the spring, then open during the summer and closed in the fall.
"It's a bit of a problem, this reopening, reclosing, reopening, reclosing," Guzzo said. "If for whatever reason the pandemic kicks into overdrive, OK; but otherwise, we're opening to stay open."
Mario Fortin feels the same. The CEO of independent theatres Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma Beaubien and Cinéma du Musée says his theatres may not survive another lockdown.
"We've eaten all our savings," Fortin said. "Now it's time for us to build back our financial health. Mr. Legault was very clear. He reopened cinemas because he thinks it's going to be for good and we're not going to close again. If we close a third time, it's going to be a disaster."
Reopening with a limited capacity won't be enough to turn a profit, Fortin explained, but it will give cinemas some much-needed breathing room.
As for what will be on the screen, during Tuesday's press conference Legault encouraged audiences to go see Quebec films such as Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette's raw coming-of-age drama La déesse des mouches à feu — which had an impressive six-day run before theatres were closed in the fall — or Nicola Lemay's animated film Félix et le trésor de Morgäa.
Cinema owners, distributors, producers and funding agencies will be meeting Wednesday, Fortin said, to co-ordinate the relaunch and agree on a release calendar for the weeks to come.
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