Senators have proposed to give movie theaters a deferment on the payment of rent and utility bills

The drop in box office sales in Russian cinemas has reached 56-70%, according to the relevant committee of the Federation Council on economic policy. He suggested giving movie theaters a deferment on loan payments, rents and utility bills. This measure is supposed to be used until the Ministry of Culture “coordinates the mechanisms for the normal functioning of the industry with all its participants.”

The committee explained that with such a level of falling income, cinemas cannot pay loans, make repairs and reconstruction. Senators also emphasize that the industry has already suffered a loss of 4.5 billion rubles. Representatives of the Ministry of Culture at a meeting with senators said that they were waiting for the consent of all cinemas on proposals to overcome the crisis. However, the senators believe that this is “impossible in principle”, and also note that in other industries “they do not ask for the unanimous opinion of all participants.”

“We propose to provide support measures for cinemas in the form of subsidies, deferrals on loans, rent, utility bills until the moment when the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation agrees on the mechanisms that ensure the normal functioning of the industry with all its participants unanimously,” the letter signed by the head of the committee of the Federation Council reads. Andrey Kutepov. The committee will send the relevant proposal to Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, TASS reports.

By mid-September, against the backdrop of the loss of major Hollywood premieres in Russia closed 125 cinemas – 6% of their total number in February. Due to the lack of foreign premieres in cinemas began to launch serial marathons and television shows, however, according to experts, this will not help compensate for the loss of Western blockbusters. At the end of October, the combined cinema chain Formula Kino and Cinema Park filed a lawsuit demanding that IMAX be obliged to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Details – in the material “Kommersant” “IMAX asking to be seen”.

Laura Keffer