Lost the “May Day Prime Time”，The cinema doesn’t want to miss the summer schedule again。Noon on July 16th，After the National Film Administration announced that cinemas in low-risk areas can resume operations in an orderly manner from July 20，Another good news comes，The 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival will officially open on July 25th。

For theaters that can barely survive，This is like opening a door ahead，While searching, I saw the way forward。Currently，Detailed rules for the resumption of cinemas are released，How is the theater preparation going?？How is the industrial chain recovering?？For this，China-Singapore Jingwei Client interviewed Lin Shuiyang, President of Baobaotang Media, and Zhu Teng, General Manager of Beijing Universal Entertainment Cinema Management Co., Ltd.。

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“Cinema theaters in low-risk areas will resume operations on July 20，Everyone in the circle of friends was shocked by this incident。”In an office on the 11th floor of a building near Hujialou on the East Third Ring Road in Beijing，China-Singapore Jingwei reporter met Lin Shuiyang，He just sat down and started talking。

“The news of the resumption of cinemas is within our expectations，Early July，There is news in the industry that work will be resumed around the middle of the year，However, major movie theaters have been preparing to resume operations for several months，Just waiting for the final specific resumption policy to be released。" Lin Shuiyang said，While pouring hot water on the tea set。

Lin Shuiyang, who has been engaged in the Internet industry for more than 10 years，In 2015, he established Baobaotang Media Company with his partners，The company’s main business includes selling popcorn、Install TMS cinema management system and cinema advertising placement, etc.。Currently，Baobaotang Media in Beijing，188bet app Shanghai，Seven major branches have been established in Hangzhou and other cities，Business covers more than 400 cities across the country，Serving more than half of the theaters in China。

"Currently，In the sales business，There are about 6,000 theaters that cooperate with us，More than 3,000 theaters have installed our TMS theater management system。In digital pre-screening business，It can be said，We are the absolute leader in the industry。" Lin Shuiyang said。

Talk about the impact of the epidemic on the company，Lin Shuiyang said frankly，First half of this year，The company’s total revenue lost more than 100 million yuan，where，The loss on sales accounted for about half。He introduced，Popcorn sales changed from offline sales to online sales，Sales and profits plummeted，However, the other two asset-light businesses have not been greatly affected，Still maintaining business contact with the theater every day，Including daily operation of TMS system and advertising business connection。“Fortunately, the company’s cash flow is relatively abundant，During the epidemic，We are not laying off employees，The wages of more than 200 employees can still be paid normally。”

After the news of theater resumption came out，A shot in the arm for everyone in the film and television industry，Lin Shuiyang posted in Moments，"When the lights dim，The movie is in front of you，When the lights come on again，The movie is in your heart。"And a separate advertisement for the movie "The First Farewell"，"July 20，Looking forward to meeting again after a long absence，See you on the first day of resumption of business。”

Lin Shuiyang expressed，First day of theater resumption，This new film will test the waters for the first time。“This film is a low-budget film，If it is shown for two weeks, it will earn tens of millions of dollars at the box office，You can protect your capital，If sold for more than 10 million yuan，Other excellent films in the industry will start the rush mode。”

China-Singapore Jingwei reporter noted，Currently，Lin Shuiyang’s team is also busy。On the one hand，According to customer needs，Reschedule media plan for advertising。On the other hand，Also confirming their current operating status and schedule with the theater。

According to theater resumption details，The attendance rate in a single game shall not exceed 30%；Snacks and drinks are not allowed in theaters，Audiences are not allowed to eat or drink in the hall。In view of the above restrictions，Lin Shuiyang expressed，Not allowing the sale of snacks means that the company’s popcorn business will still be suspended，But the attendance limit has little impact on theater operations。“The average attendance rate of theaters in my country is probably within 15%，So don’t worry too much about the attendance limit。”

For Lin Shuiyang，This epidemic is both a crisis，Also an opportunity。“During the epidemic，After the collapse of a smaller company，Industry consolidation，This also means less competition。Also，We have developed a new business, namely large-screen advertising，The theater went online on the first day after resumption of work，Individuals can post some blessings or confessions on the screen of the theater through the mini program，It is expected to be tested in dozens of theaters for 1 month，After the test is completed, it can be promoted nationwide。”

Lin Shuiyang pointed out，The epidemic has accelerated the modernization and commercialization of theaters。He introduced，During the epidemic，In order to reduce labor costs，The introduction of cinema management system can greatly reduce labor costs。“For example, a theater screening room requires about three to four people to operate，After the introduction of the system, only one person can be responsible for maintenance。Also，We also cooperated with e-commerce live streaming platforms during the epidemic，Carry out activities such as pre-screening advertising business to replace live broadcast sales，These are all new business cooperation models。”

It is worth mentioning，It is also expected whether there will be retaliatory consumption when theaters resume operations。In Lin Shuiyang’s view，Cinema is not just a distribution window for content，It is still the main social place。"Now，Students across the country are on summer vacation，The movies released at this time are just in time for the summer season，The social demand that has been suppressed for half a year due to the epidemic needs to 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino be released urgently，The theater attracts the audience，It can also drive the overall sales of the mall。”

“Selling masks, selling clothes, selling wine, I’m finally going to be successful”

“After hearing the news that theaters are allowed to resume operations，The filmmaker can be said to have cried with joy。I immediately held a video conference with some people in charge of the cinema。" Zhu Teng told reporters from China-Singapore Jingwei，At the meeting，He gave instructions for cleaning the theater respectively、Prepare epidemic prevention supplies、Negotiate rent with landlord，The resigned position needs to be rearranged for recruitment and other matters。

Currently，Zhu Teng manages two Youdu Cinemas under the company，A company located in Dongguan, Guangdong，Another one is located in Dujiangyan, Chengdu。“After hearing about the theater’s resumption time，The hospital coils are boiling，After seeing the requirements to resume work，Everyone calmed down again。For us，It’s a mixed blessing。”

He introduced helplessly，From the end of March to June this year，There are constant reports in the industry that theaters are about to resume operations，The theater manager also prepared disinfection supplies early、Forehead thermometer guns and other epidemic prevention materials，However, no specific details have been released。“The requirements for theaters to resume work this time are very strict，Except for limiting attendance and not selling snacks and drinks，A single movie must not exceed 120 minutes，The number of filming scenes has been reduced by 50%。Also，Not all low-risk areas across the country can resume business on July 20，All this needs to wait for specific notification from the local government。”

What makes Zhu Teng troublesome，How to bring back theater operators who were previously lost due to the epidemic，It is also an urgent matter。“Each cinema originally had more than 20 employees，Including full-time and part-time staff，About 10 full-time staff of the cinema in Dujiangyan are still there，But that theater in Dongguan only has one store manager and one operations manager left，All other staff have resigned。”

In Zhu Teng’s opinion，Currently，The two theaters he manages 188bet online sports betting are temporarily unable to open on July 20。“It is difficult for some employees to come back after changing careers，Just three or four days，How to recruit suitable cinema operators？The theater just restarted，How long can it be opened？How is the attendance rate... these are difficult to guarantee。”

It’s worth noting，The rent issue that had been put on hold for half a year due to the epidemic has been put back on the table。Zhu Teng said，Previously，The annual rent of the two movie theaters is around 6 million。During the epidemic，The mall waived a small portion of the rent for the cinema，For theaters without any income，How to pay this year’s rent？Free rent for a few months？This requires constant negotiation between both parties。

What worries Zhu Teng even more，In the early stage after resumption of work，When there are not many high-quality films showing in theaters，Whether everyone will go to the cinema to watch the re-release is worth waiting and seeing。“There are not many new films to be released at the moment，Initial stage of resumption of work，You can only see movies released in previous years，In terms of freshness，Many people have already paid to watch it online，There is no need to come to the theater to watch it again。”

“Re-released movies don’t make money，Few moviegoers，But the labor costs and electricity costs are the same，This means that there is not only no income from opening the business，Maybe I’ll post it again。”Zhu Teng said。

As the manager of 2 theaters，Zhu Teng said with a smile，My salary was reduced from full salary to half salary，Then reduced to zero salary。“The manager of the cinema is like this，You can imagine the salary payment situation of other departments in the hospital，It’s not easy for everyone。”

The epidemic closed cinemas for 174 days，Most cinema employees have had no income in the past six months，Zhu Teng said，Within this half year，He tried selling masks、Selling clothes、Selling facial masks、Selling thermos cups, etc.，Finally decided to sell wine。After returning to his hometown of Bozhou, Anhui from Beijing，He inspected the Gujing tribute wine manufacturer and local Chinese herbal medicine resources，Joined the sales team of ginseng and wolfberry 188bet app download mountain medicinal wine。“I personally confirmed that the raw material comes from ginseng in Changbai Mountain，Ningxia wolfberry，The good quality of the wine even attracted my boss, Director Lu Chuan, to order it。”

By selling wine in the circle of friends，Zhu Teng can earn about a thousand yuan per day on average，The most net profit in one day is 5,000 yuan。“It’s all friends in the film industry who help sell goods，Only then can I pay off my mortgage on time。However，Selling goods in Moments is not a long-term solution after all，After theaters resume work，Will focus on theater management。”

*Source of this article：China-Singapore latitude and longitude,Author:Zhang Yanzheng, original title: "Movie theater insiders: Loss exceeded 100 million in the first half，Finally saw the dawn of resumption of work》.