The Tribune

• Galleria to wait on late-night showings

• ‘Not going back to pre-COVID place’

• Pandemic accelerates streaming rise

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Galleria Cinemas must “cut the suit to fit the cloth”, its principal asserted yesterday, with consumer demand for cinema showings down “as much as 85 percent” compared to pre-COVID.

Chris Mortimer told Tribune Business that the Mall at Marathon-based movie theatre will not resume its late-night showings, despite being able to so with the curfew’s removal, until it is sure there is sufficient appetite among moviegoers to justify the extra cost involved.

And he warned that the cinema business “is not going back to the place where we were before” COVID-19 struck, as the pandemic had merely accelerated the development of Netflix and other streaming services by four-five years to the point where increasing numbers are accessing the movies they want digitally in the safety of their homes.

“We’re still reviewing that aspect of it,” Mr Mortimer replied, when asked by this newspaper whether the end to the curfew and COVID emergency orders will enable Galleria to resume its late-night movie slot some 20 months after it was prohibited.

“I doubt at this particular point in time we’ll immediately be going back to normal scheduled showings in the evening. We’ll review that and see, and as the need arises we’ll address that particular situation,” he added.

“We have to kind of still be understanding that even though the curfew may have gone away, there’s still a big drag on the economy as a result of furloughs and I don’t think anyone understands how long that is going to linger. We’ll take a pragmatic view and see how consumer demand comes back.

“In the US, consumer demand has not picked up post-pandemic. We’ll be mindful of that, and as it picks up we’ll make adjustments to the schedule accordingly. That’s the extent of it.”

While Galleria and its rival, Fusion SuperPlex, have both been constrained by the maximum 33 percent movie theatre capacity limit imposed after they were allowed to re-open, Mr Mortimer said demand has plummeted in line with global trends.

“I would says demand through COVID dropped as much as 85 percent,” he told this newspaper. “It was around the world. We’re trying to be mindful not to automatically cause our expenses to go up and not have it justified by being in line with consumer demand.

“We have a ways to go. We still have the pandemic. All my management people and consultants are saying: ‘Take it as it comes and see how it goes over the next several weeks and adjust accordingly.”

Reiterating that US movie demand “has not even rebounded close to pre-COVID levels”, the Galleria chief said the whole industry - including in The Bahamas - has to be aware that “consumer behaviour” has changed in way that has been accelerated by the pandemic’s impact.

“A lot of people get their product delivered to them digitally,” he added. “We have to be mindful that we are not going to the place where we were before.” Mr Mortimer said the cinema business had known of the growing competitive threat posed by streaming services five years ago, and COVID-19 has narrowed that timeframe significantly.

Suggesting this was one reason why movie demand is struggling to recover to pre-pandemic levels, he added: “We have to be mindful of that moving forward. These are global trends. We’ve known that for years in the industry and COVID has accelerated it by almost four years. What was supposed to impact in four to five years’ time has happened in 2020.

“It’s condensed the timeframe and we have to be mindful moving forward, and adjust ourselves. To use the phrase, we have to cut the suit to fit the cloth.” As a result, Galleria’s last night-time movie showings will continue to be in the 8pm time slot until consumers dictate otherwise.

“A lot of things will be driven by demand moving forward,” Mr Mortimer said. “We do what we have to do in making sure people remain safe. The emergency orders may be over but the pandemic is still here, and we have to be cognisant of what’s happening around the world where COVID numbers are going up.

“We don’t want Galleria to be one of those businesses that cause that sort of issue in our community. We are going to be mindful that we continue to abide by the new COVID rules that the Government has passed and will take that into consideration.

“The post-COVID demand has not risen to pre-COVID levels. We have to make adjustments going forward until we see the turn. We monitor it on a daily, weekly basis. There are a lot of factors that have to come into play in terms of the amount of outstanding debt in the economy because of two years of people not working, not paying banks back loans, disposable income having been impacted,” he continued.

“There are a number of factors involved. It’s not three months from now or six months from now. It’s a situation has to be managed, and we’ll manage our way out of it. We were one of the last industries to open.

“It’s going to take prudent decision making moving forward in light of a multiplicity of factors in play that we do what is right for the business moving forward in our new environment.”