by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's cinemas and theatres are remaining open during the Adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations although drive-ins and outdoor film viewing events during the evening have been cancelled and postponed because of the now earlier curfew time.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) on Tuesday during a media briefing clarified the Adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations around Covid-19, saying that consumers are still allowed to visit establishments like cinemas and theatres.
The adjusted restrictions to try and curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in South Africa will be in effect until at least 15 January 2021 with a new curfew time that now starts at 21:00 nightly until 06:00 in the morning.
"People can still go to restaurants, casinos, libraries, archives, and galleries. They have to be 50 maximum inside and 1.5 meters apart. Outdoors, it can be 100 people if a restaurant has outdoor seating. Cinemas are the same, you can still go to the cinema or theatre but keeping to those protocols," Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.
"Just to clarify, the curfew now starts at 21:00 to 6:00. This means that during that time, all of us must be at home except those who are working or if you have an emergency – security or medical. But otherwise, we should be home."
Theatres and cinemas took a massive financial knock this year after they've been forced to shut down for several months.
Theatres and cinemas only recently reopened but have been struggling to lure patrons. South African theatres are mostly shut now during the end-of-year period and are only reopening from mid-January 2021 and later.
This year theatres have had their planned schedules completely disrupted and live performances cancelled.
Cinemas - while now open again since late-August - are struggling with a lack of adequate new big-draw releases to pull in potential movie-goers. Studios and distributors don't want to release and burn off new films or blockbusters in cinemas since they can't recoup the investment.
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) has also been taking a bite out of cinema-window revenue in South Africa.
Rene van Rooyen's Toorbos - this year’s official South African submission for the 93rd Oscars in the Best International Feature Film Award category at America's annual Academy Awards - has just become the first new South Africa film ever to be released in cinemas and on television at the same time through MultiChoice's DStv BoxOffice, as a premium video-on-demand (PVoD) title.
This direct-to-streaming release strategy - similar to what NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia and others have been doing in the United States with film titles - will likely further cut into South African cinema attendance figures as some people who would have gone to the cinema opt to rather watch a new movie at home and pay a premium for it.
Drive-in shuttered
Lynne Wylie, head of marketing at Ster-Kinekor, told TVwithThinus on Wednesday that Ster-Kinekor cinemas "will continue to operate at a 50 people cap with shows ending at 20:00 so that our guest are able to get home before the curfew".
Ster-Kinekor's new drive-in theatre at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town that opened on 27 November has however shut down because of the earlier curfew that came into effect on Tuesday. "The drive-in will not be running over the next 14 days," says Lynne Wylie.
The various pop-up drive-in experiences held countrywide and funded and supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) have also been cancelled and postponed.
"Our NFVF supported drive-in cinema experiences scheduled will confirm new dates," the NFVF says.
