Palace Cinemas: Session times under threat at popular venues following COVID

Going to the cinema could soon get a lot harder with looming job losses forcing operators to rethink how they run post-COVID — unless they’re thrown a funding lifeline.

Macnamara federal Labor MP Josh Burns, The Astor Theatre manager Zak Hepburn with honorary mascot Kubrick and Palace Cinemas chief executive Benjamin Zeccola. Picture: Eugene Hyland

Cinema screens could be left blank and session times permanently cancelled when JobKeeper comes to and end next month.

Palace Cinemas chief executive Benjamin Zeccola said the cinemas and the entertainment sector had been one of the worst hit by the global health crisis after it “fell through the cracks’ of most government subsidies.

Mr Zeccola said revenue had dropped by about 70 per cent in 2020 compared to the year before, due to mandated closures, capacity restrains and loss of film supply.

And he said if targeted relief wasn’t made available, it could sound the death knell of some venues across the country.

“Every body has suffered (as a result of the pandemic), but entertainment, cinemas and performance art has suffered more,” he said.

“More than hospitality, more than other industries — yet we haven’t received the support they have.”

Mr Zeccola said, aside from JobKeeper, independent cinemas had not been eligible for any government assistance programs brought in to help weather the coronavirus crisis, with packages tailored to other industries such as hospitality and retail.

“JobKeeper has been a lifesaver but that’s due to end soon and unless there’s some sort of package for cinemas, we will have to contract our business operations further,” he said.

“That might mean session times are reduced, we might open for the 11am or 1pm sessions, for instance, because the income won’t be there to pay staff.”

When the first wave of coronavirus hit and cinemas were forced to close, Mr Zeccola said Palace Cinemas, which operates theatres in Coburg, Brighton, Northcote, Balwyn, South Yarra, St Kilda and Melbourne CBD, immediately refunded between $300,000 and $400,000 in pre-booked tickets and lost thousands of dollars in perishable goods, including choc tops, which had to be thrown out.

Mr Zeccola said Palace Cinema executives had slashed their official working hours and taken pay cuts to help ensure no staff members were let go as a result of the pandemic, despite “working harder than ever” to keep the business alive.

But he said without an extension of the JobKeeper program or other relief, job losses would be likely.

And the flow-on effects to other sectors could be huge.

“Cinemas make an extraordinary contribution to the economy and have doing so for over 100 years,” he said.

“They have an exponential impact on the area around them, not just the people employed by that cinema, but nearby hospitality and retail venues, car park operators etc.”

Independent Cinemas Australia has launched a nationwide campaign to call for targeted relief for the industry.

“It could be a payment per employee in the sector to support job retention, it could be a payment per cinema screen, but some sort of ‘ScreenSaver program’ of about $40-$50 million for the cinema sector across Australia is needed,” Mr Zeccola said.

“We wouldn’t have to cut shifts, we’d be able to open as normal and retain session times and the nearby economic impact would be softened.”

He said more than 100 Palace Cinema customers had written to Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, fighting to help save the overlooked local cinema sector.

Independent Cinemas Australia chief executive Adrianne Pecotic said independent cinemas contributed up to 90 per cent of the box office revenue for Australian feature films and injected about $250 million into the national economy each year.

Macnamara federal Labor MP Josh Burns put his support behind the campaign to help “local and national treasures” like St Kilda’s Astor Theatre, which is operated by Palace, afloat.

“These cinemas are still in desperate need of Federal Government support,” he said.

“This pandemic is not over and so long as it is still around, the Morrison Government should support our local cinemas.”

Mr Zeccola pleaded for “immediate short term assistance” to keep the screens lit up at local cinemas.

Mr Frydenberg did not respond to the Leader’s questions about whether he would considering extending the JobKeeper or provide targeted relief for cinema operators.

He would not comment on whether he had met with independent cinemas operators or received requests for more funding.

Mr Frydenberg instead said: “The Morrison Government is continuing to work closely with the arts and entertainment sector to respond to the significant disruption COVID-19 is causing across the cultural and creative industries”.

He said the government had provided “substantial support” to businesses via JobKeeper, including $141 million given to more than 200 cinemas in the first phase of payments (April to September last year).

“And to date, a further $26 million has been provided to over 180 cinemas during the during the first two months of the extension phase,” he said.