Cinemas worldwide are suffering from the corona crisis – according to the German head of film funding Peter Dinges, however, a new high could come after the pandemic. The crisis is currently affecting both small and large film theaters. “The cinemas are currently drawing on their substance. And this substance is finite,” said the board of directors of the Berlin Film Fund.

Time for renovations Like other companies in Germany, the cinemas would receive immediate aid. “But the question is how things will continue. There will not be government aid forever,” said Dinges to the German press agency. He admired the courage of many operators who took advantage of the situation to renovate and prepare.

Dinges assumes that people after the Pandemic will not be sitting at home in front of streaming services. “People are fed up with the sofa,” said Dinges. You saw that very nicely last weekend before the cinemas closed again. People would have queued for tickets.

“We also see that when we look across the borders. China is a bit of a country that has left the pandemic behind. There is currently outstanding cinema numbers, “said Dinges. In the summer, drive-in cinemas experienced a boom in Germany.

“In addition, we 2019 – shortly before the coronavirus pandemic – had the world’s best cinema results , a box office record. And this 42, 2 billion dollars speak their own language, “said Dinges in a dpa interview. “Why should that have changed due to the pandemic? I think the opposite is the case. We will experience a cinema boom after the end of the pandemic.”

(kbe)