XXI Cinema Is Not Limited To 25 Percent Viewers, CGV Wants To Open Because It Has Its Own Film

Illustration. (Photo: XXI)

JAKARTA - Giving permission to reopen cinemas in DKI Jakarta is not easy to do in the field. The Indonesian cinema and film industry entrepreneurs objected to the condition that the audience capacity was limited to only 25 percent.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Cinema Managers (GPBSI) Djonny Syafruddin said that if you have to keep operating with a 25 percent restriction, then film owners are still thinking about releasing films.

"It won't work if 25 percent. Just 50 percent thought but it's still okay because the situation is like this. Initially 50 percent, this is why it has decreased to 25 percent. We consulted with film owners, Indonesian producers' associations. They all refused, "he said, when contacted by VOI , Thursday, October 15.

Jakarta is a barometer of the cinema business in the country. So that the decision to open or not cinemas in Jakarta will have an impact on the operation of cinemas in the regions. However, he said, opening a cinema with an audience restriction of 25 percent is very difficult.

"If 25 percent of film producer associations don't want their films to be screened. Where do the cinemas want to get films from? Ideally, 50 percent," he said.

Even so, said Djonny, there is one cinema company that has decided to open it even though it is limited to 25 percent of audience capacity, namely CGV.

As for the others, namely Cinema XXI and Flix Cinema, chose to remain closed because the limitation on audience capacity was deemed not on a business scale. Meanwhile, Cinepolis is still considering between closing and opening.

"CGV wants to open because they have their own film. For Cinema XXI they choose to close," he explained.

Djohny said, the growth of cinemas in Indonesia was very rapid, from 2016, which only 259 cinemas and more than 1,100 screens, in 2020 there were 470 buildings with 2,054 screens. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic everything changed.

"Now the growth is not fast. Some even want to sell because of the COVID-19 pandemic," he explained.