News of cinema closures is becoming increasingly common in our country; we are watching, resignedly, the gradual disappearance of commercial cinemas from city centres.
Not long ago, the historic Palafox cinema in Madrid closed, and these days in Reus, Tarragona—a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants—the Palace has closed, the only cinema that was still operating. As can be read in an article published on diaridetarragona.com, it is the first time Reus has been without cinemas since the Civil War.
This article discusses a global shift in trend, such as individual film consumption at home, and a return to functional venues where cultural, theatrical and cinematic activities are combined.
In recent years, cities such as Pontevedra, Tarragona, Jaén, Orihuela, Avilés and Soria have seen commercial cinemas disappear from their urban areas. In this other article published on abc.es in May 2016, it reviews the disappearance of commercial cinemas in Madrid, from the 161 cinemas there were in 1969 to the 31 last year—and still falling.
For a long time we have been hearing that the closure of cinemas is inevitable, that the way younger people consume audiovisual content is changing, and that commercial cinemas are unable to withstand this trend.
Let’s go to France.
On 23 December 2016, Le Monde published an article written by Michel Guerrin about the state of cinema attendance, entitled Inoxydables salles de cinéma (Stainless cinemas), which I discovered thanks to Maryse Capdepuy, who kindly sent it to me translated.
This article refers to the measures that the industry and the French government have taken jointly for decades, from which we can draw several conclusions.
On the one hand, it debunks the belief that the cinema is doomed to disappear. In the 1970s and 1990s, cinemas were refurbished and adapted to the times, as in all economic and cultural sectors; it is essential to keep improving and innovating in order to survive. In addition, all sectors of the film industry joined forces to take measures and encourage cinema-going among younger audiences, including reducing ticket prices. The result has been seen this year: cinema attendance among under-14s has multiplied.
One of the strongest commitments has been education, with programmes run by the CNC (the French ICAA) to show children aged 3 to 11 great classics, such as Tati or Chaplin. It is not only about using cinema as an educational tool, but about teaching and instilling from an early age a love of cinema. So far, this programme has reached 20% of primary school pupils across France.
These measures make it clear that cinema closures and the lack of young audiences are not an unstoppable trend.
Here are several excerpts from the article, translated by Maryse Capdepuy:
Cinema attendance in 2016 is certainly not going to be wonderful. And we already know the reasons: the terrorist threat, the collapse of tourism, the economic downturn, a regional cultural offering hampered by subsidies cut in half. In this chaos, one place appears in insolent good health: the cinema.
(…)
It has been announced many times that the cinema was doomed. Because of TV, the VCR, the DVD, home cinema, Internet piracy (and the record industry has paid dearly), video-on-demand platforms… But no, cinema is doing well. First of all, because it “has been completely transformed” in the 1970s and in the early 1990s, says Jean-Marie Dura, author of a recent report on “The cinema of the future” for the CNC. Cinemas were large, rather old and empty; their size was reduced, the number of screens increased, the seats were renewed, and refurbished tiered seating was created for better visibility. The construction of multiplexes, first on the outskirts of cities and more recently in city centres, has boosted attendance, which has risen by almost 30% over the last twenty years.
« The network is exceptional », confirms Jean-Marie Dura, to the point that the cinema is sometimes the only cultural centre in some suburban or rural areas. « The last place where there is light every day », adds Carole Desbarat, sociologist and film historian. Some mayors know this, and dig deep to keep their cinema. In fact, attendance has increased in small towns in 2016, while it has fallen slightly in Paris multiplexes. Two possible reasons: the “attack” effect and the creation of cinemas in nearby suburbs.
The fact that cinemas have offered deals such as a €4 ticket for those under 14 has quadrupled attendance among young people of that age. We also see that piracy does not have a devastating effect during the 4 months of exclusive release of a film—before it goes on television or is released on video. And the diversity of the offer is unmatched. More than 600 new films, not counting re-releases, and a handful of action/superhero blockbusters that account for most tickets. Rogue One or the new Star Wars currently occupy almost a thousand screens, but the offer is broad—not like in China, where 18-screen multiplexes show the same film 10 minutes apart. And to prevent a film from being taken off screens in France after 7 days of release, which often happens, cinema owners, from 1 January 2017, will have to keep it on screen for at least 15 days.
« Empathy and critical thinking »
All of this does not explain why the cinema has kept its charm intact. Why, in November 2015, in the days following the bloody attacks in Paris, did attendance fall, but only very slightly?
We have part of the answer in the latest study on French cultural practices (Ministry of Culture), carried out in 2009: cinema is the French people’s favourite cultural product—less intimidating, cheaper—and the intrusion of huge connected screens at home did nothing against this tradition. The cinema is also the last cultural venue that attracts all social categories, and that is not abandoned by ordinary people. Frédérique Bredin adds: “Going to the cinema is seen as a way to escape; it is the place ‘of collective emotion in a violent world’.” In fact, in the thousands of daily screenings, there is almost never any incident. This is another miracle of the cinema that attracts a teenage audience, explains Carole Desbarats: “While young people are used to watching several screens simultaneously and without being able to stop, they accept withdrawing from the world into darkness and silence, surrounded by strangers, and focusing for 2 hours on an activity during which body and mind are not divided.”
Only the fascination of cinema can do that. A feat that had to be built. France is the only country that has gone so far in film education, from preschool to university. Each year, for example, 850,000 pupils aged 3 to 11 discover, in a dark theatre, films by Tati, Chaplin or John Ford and talk about them in class. « Empathy and critical thinking are developed », explains Carole Desbarats, who is responsible for this initiative supported by the CNC, which reaches 20% of primary school children. It is little. But it is not bad, compared with the fiasco of arts in schools.
We might think that France is an exception; it is true that few countries take such care of cinema and education. But, more than a French exception, the lack of measures to promote cinema seems to be a Spanish exception.
Cinema attendance grew worldwide in 2016, and not only in France; according to a report by the MPAA (in English), both the number of moviegoers and the number of screens increased.
This other article published in November 2016 in El País refers to the richness of Danish creators and production in recent years, following the success of films such as Land of Mine, with one of the reasons for this boom being a widespread love of cinema in Denmark based on exceptional audiovisual education, meaning that from childhood Danes watch—and know how to watch—cinema.