Sino Silver Screen: When Will Beijing Cinemas Reopen?

This post comes courtesy of our content partners China Film Insider.

When will China's cinemas reopen?

This week, a wide range of industries in China from hotels, restaurants, and stores have resumed operations. This has raised the question: when exactly will Chinese cinemas be allowed to reopen? Despite rumblings from Xinhua that they were to reopen as early as Feb 27 under the condition that cinemagoers only occupy every other row, a source close familiar with the matter told WeChat media account Youhaoxifilm (ID: 毒眸) that they're unlikely to resume business until at least May 1. The planned timeline for reopening, however, will depend on whether the coronavirus outbreak is fully contained by the end of April. Youhaoxifilm also learned from several industry veterans that major challenge facing the film sector is not just about avoiding the spread of the virus but also how to reassure moviegoers as well as how to plan the release schedule for the remainder of the year. Film industry professionals in China generally believe that under the current circumstances, it would be very difficult for the film industry to recover organically from the disruption without supportive policies from the government, according to Youhaoxifilm.

Read more on Youhaoxifilm.

Macao reopens movie theaters

Meanwhile, all administrative departments of the Macao S.A.R. Government resumed normal operations and services on Mar 2, a policy that stretched to entertainment venues (cinemas, theaters, KTV parlors, and bars), which are allowed to resume business as long as correct epidemic prevention measures are put in place. The decision was made by the government as the region has had no new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection for over three weeks. Meanwhile, the epidemic situation in Guangdong province is looking good on account of there not being any new cases in neighboring cities Zhuhai and Zhongshan for over 10 days. Nevertheless, the government still requires entertainment venues to follow “four principles” for business resumption: all business staff and customers should wear masks at all times and can only take off masks while eating; venues should limit guest capacity to half of the originally approved capacity; prevent anyone from entering a business venue with a fever or cough,,and restrict any events that could be considered high-risk for infection.

Read more on Sina.

Alibaba’s Youku to produce China’s ‘Life in a Day’ 

Alibaba-owned streaming site Youku is collaborating with MeDoc, a Shanghai-based documentary production company, to produce China’s first crowdsourced documentary film about life in a day of coronavirus outbreak. The film will be comprised of clips showing people’s lives from all over the country on Feb 9, 2020, the 18th day of Wuhan lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Titled One More Day (余生一日), the documentary will span the records of people from all walks of life at a time when the whole country is battling the virus. The new Youku-sourced documentary uses a similar style to the 2011 documentary Life in a Day, which compiled select clips from over 45,000 hours of footage submitted by people around the world to YouTube. One More Day is currently in post-production and is eyeing an online release in this month.

Read more on Beijing News.

Huayi Brothers lost nearly RMB 4 billion in 2019

On Feb 28, Huayi Brothers released the company’s performance report for the fiscal year 2019. The report outlined that the company only earned total revenue of RMB 2.31 billion (USD 330.38 million) during the reporting period, a 40.59 percent decrease on the same period in 2018. The net loss of the company was RMB 3.963 billion (USD 566.80 million), a sharp fall of 262.56 percent compared to the same period in 2018. Huayi Brothers also announced on the same day that the company will take a loan of RMB 100 million from Wang Zhongjun, the company’s controlling shareholder and chairman. The loan is interest-free and good for 24 months. Huayi Brothers’ movie releases for 2020 and later include Guan Hu’s The Eight Hundred, Jia Zhangke’s documentary Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue, Stephen Chow’s Mermaid 2, the video game-inspired Onmyoji, and four other projects that have all wrapped shooting. In an interview in January, Wang Zhongjun said that 2020 would be the “life-or-death moment” for the company.

Read more on Jiemian.

French romance ‘Love at Second Sight’ confirms China release

The 2019 French romantic drama Love at Second Sight (Mon Inconnue), directed by Hugo Gélin, has secured a China release, although the release date remains TBD. Starring François Civil and Joséphine Japy, the film follows a man who desperately tries to rekindle the love he shared with his wife after he wakes up in a parallel universe where she never knew him. In China, Love at Second Sight is now promoted as the French version of Someday or One Day, a hit Taiwanese romantic drama that also utilizes plot elements such as parallel worlds and time travel.

Read more on 1905.com.

READ: Guilt-Free Bingeing: Food Documentaries to Inspire Your Quarantine Diet

Images: Denise Jane (via Unsplash), courtesy of China Film Insider, housesamyan.com