When lockdown struck, we said goodbye to a lot of our favourite activities and escape mechanisms. Movie dates turned to Netflix Party dates, and our memories of going to the cinema faded into black and white nostalgia.
However, the recent post-pandemic era is seeing things look up for the cinema industry in South Africa – news that comes nothing short of joyful for those who believe you simply can’t replicate a movie-going experience at home, no matter how many projectors you buy and popcorn you might burn.
Ster-Kinekor for one has recently shared news of a positive attendance trend for both March and April. The news comes a year after the cinema franchise introduced its business rescue plan amendments – A positive look for its climb out of its financial pit.
Its business rescue is defined by the Companies Act 2008 as one which “aims to facilitate the rehabilitation of a company that is financially distressed.”
The positive trend in attendance is linked to more screening locations re-opening, trading time increases and big title releases, as business rescue practitioner Stefan Smyth expresses as per MoneyWeb.
This coincides with predictions MyBroadBand premised for 2022 based on the annual THEME report tracking for cinema last year.
However, just because things are looking a little brighter for the big screen giant, there’s still quite a way to go.
According to MoneyWeb, the company didn’t reach the expectations it bet on certain titles like Morbius, but was pleasantly surprised by other titles like Encanto which exceeded expectations.
All in all, should the film-going trend continue based on the implemented rescue measures, a “recovery trajectory” is expected by Ster-Kinekor.
As for our smaller screens, Netflix continues to sit in hot water following a massive decline in the price of the stock as well as new subscriber scepticism.
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