The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Galleria Cinemas president yesterday said he was eyeing a possible December return to coincide with new movie releases, while agreeing that combating COVID-19 must remain The Bahamas' priority.

Christopher Mortimer described the cinema and entertainment industry's continued pandemic-enforced closure as “it is what it is”, and said: “Whatever happens, we will be ready. Many places in the United States aren’t open either, New York and California, and it’s always best to err on the side of caution.”

Responding to concerns that Galleria will remain closed for the rest of 2020, Mr Mortimer replied: “The priority is in making sure people remain safe. That is the priority. At the end of the day we can’t afford to have a nation of sick people, and so our government is no different than what’s happening.

"Responsible governments in many states in the United States have erred on the side of making sure we don’t have an outbreak. We are a tourist nation. We cannot afford to continue to have another year of COVID-19 cases continuing to go up. We can’t continue to have 50 or 60 new cases every day because as a country that makes us a place where no tourist wants to come to and, ultimately, that affects every single person in the country.

"So, at some point we have to realise that we have to do what is in the best interest of the country, because if the country doesn’t work and we are labelled as a COVID-19 territory, nobody will want to come. The hotels will stay closed, Bay Street will remain closed, and it will create a real negative shock in our economy.”

Noting that Galleria is in good company, Mr Mortimer said: "New York has not opened its theatres, Los Angeles has not opened their theatres, and those are the top two territories in the United States for movie goers. Those haven’t opened. So they are making sure that those areas that can be significant areas for COVID-19 spread, they take their time in reopening those sectors.”

Mr Mortimer said the major Hollywood movie studios and distributors have pushed “most movies out of this timeframe, so there are no real movies until December and that is only unless there isn’t any more uptick in COVID-19 in the US".

"If there is an uptick in cases in the United States, as we have seen in the United Kingdom that opened too quickly, I would suspect that the studios will go again with PVOD (premium video on demand) on these pictures or they will move them out of the frame into next year," he added.