‘We just have to do it’: Closure only second in 56 years

Cinema will close for two weeks as movie releases are postponed.

NEWS - Bowen Summergarden Cinemas Ben De Luca has played a pretty big role in the lead up and now during the filming of the Baz Luhrmann movie "Australia". His cinema is used to view "rushes" every couple of days, where Luhrmann and staff come in to view the days shooting of some scenes before the tape is whisked off to Sydney and back to Bowen again. Ben out front of the cinema.

FOR only the second time in 56 years, Bowen Summergarden Cinemas will be temporarily closing its doors, as movie studios postpone the release of movies due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The cinema will close for a two-week period from Sunday March 15, and will then reassess the situation.

As movie theatres throughout China and Italy are closed or impacted by the virus, major movie studios Universal and Sony have made the move to postpone the release of two major movies until later in the year.

The announcement was made by the studios yesterday, with Peter Rabbit 2 and No Time to Die previously due to be released in time for the school holidays.

But the two films will now be released in September and November respectively.

The Bowen Summergarden Cinemas has supplied Bowen, Airlie Beach and Proserpine residents with the latest release films for years, with owner Ben De Luca saying they have only closed the doors once for Cyclone Debbie.

Mr De Luca wanted to make clear that the closure was an indirect result of the virus, and not something they ever would have expected.

"We're not scared of it," he said.

"We are doing it because we have to do it."

Mr De Luca said the move made sense for the studios, though the decision had meant their hands were tied at the Bowen theatre.

"They've lost China and most of their Asian markets plus Italy and important European markets. That's worldwide revenue they will not get," he said.

"I can't blame them at all."

Bowen Summergarden Cinema will be taking a two week break as major studios postpone movie releases. Photo: Anna Wall.

With other cinemas in the region faced with the same situation, Mr De Luca said others were "following suit", and though they tried to remain open it became clear it wasn't possible.

"We had two big holes to fill, so I had to scurry around to fill them and realised it was impossible," he said.

"They are the movies that are going to make us or break us in the school holidays, and they have pulled them."

During the next two weeks Mr De Luca said they would be watching to see if other studios were postponing film releases and gauge the situation before reopening to "test the waters".

After the two-week period the cinema will still have several new release films from Disney including Mulan and Onward, with the possibility of some smaller name films also being released.

The two films had already been released in the US meaning it would make no sense for the studios to postpone the release in Australia, Mr De Luca said.

"Onward was one of the biggest money-makers in the States at the moment, it would be silly for them to pull that when it's already been released, because the pirates would have it," he said.

"They will keep it going and give us some extra screenings.

"We will show the best we can, what we can."

Mr De Luca said the two weeks would give them an opportunity to do some "pretty important" equipment maintenance, including a server update done remotely from Melbourne which can take up to a day to complete.

"It's out of our control but it will give us the opportunity to do some maintenance," he said.

"I don't want any thought among the Bowen community that we're shutting because of the coronavirus, or that we're scared of it, we are not scared."

"We really just have to do it."

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