Films reel from virus

The guideline requires ticket-buyers in the capital to register their information, including name, address and ID number, during the early phase of reopening.

Additionally, tickets are only allowed to be sold in nonadjacent seats in every other row, and every audience member should wear a mask and sit at least a meter away from their fellow filmgoers.

However, the hope of die-hard fans of returning to theaters has seemingly become ambiguous again. During a media conference held on Feb 27, Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of Beijing municipal government, said the cinema industry has yet to be allowed to resume work according to the current quarantine situation.

Renowned director Jia Zhangke predicted that the domestic film industry would not recover until June at the earliest during a media event at the 70th Berlin Film Festival in late February, according to the Guangdong-based newspaper Nanfang Metropolis Daily.

Jia estimates that many film companies "may fail to survive with such little income in the first half of this year", but he says that he believes the epidemic will not shrink filmmakers' passion and yearning for artistic creation.

"Instead, the days of quarantine have forced us to slow down and concentrate and think about things more deeply, which we haven't had time to do for a long time. In terms of cinematic creation, we may discover more inspiration to create more stories," Jia is quoted as telling the paper.

Yu Chao, deputy general manager of Capital Cinema in Beijing, estimates the turning point may emerge in late April or early May.

A veteran who has been in the film industry for around two decades, Yu recalls that the cinemas in the Chinese capital were also negatively affected during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Beijing's cinemas were suspended for around 50 days from late April to early June, but the city's film industry didn't completely recover until November, he says.

"Even when the cinemas were allowed to reopen, audiences may be still unwilling to go into theaters over concerns about risk of infection," says Yu.

Echoing his words, Song from Nanning Minzu Cinema says she believes that the film production companies will not arrange their best movies to be released during the early phase of cinemas reopening.

"Blockbusters tailored for Spring Festival may change the premiere dates to the summer vacation, also one of the most lucrative box-office seasons in our country," she says.

"But the biggest problem is that the summer vacation may be shortened or even canceled, as schools have yet to confirm the date to start a new semester," adds Song.

"In the past, students made up a big proportion of theatergoers during summer. Also, when it comes to children and young teenagers, in most cases they are accompanied by their parents," she explains.

As an effort to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak, Chinese schools and colleges have postponed the start of Spring semester, instead launching online educational programs to teach millions of students at home.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn