Owner Andrew Moore hopes so Avatar: Path of Water Help stem the impending closure of Goulburn’s Lilac City cinemas. Photo: John Thistleton.
Goulburn’s Lilac City Cinema is in danger of closing. Andrew Moore, who owns the cinema with his brothers Greg and Adam, said sales were down 70% compared to pre-COVID-19 patrons.
“We got to the point where we said, ‘Goulburn, spend it or lose it,'” Moore said. “We need 150-200 patrons a day to survive. We are lucky to have around 30-40 people. In my opinion, COVID has ruined the world.”
A dramatic drop is being felt in cinemas across Australia. Mr. Moore calls out Goulburn people either weekly or monthly to keep the doors open at his four-theater cinema, which he and his wife Mandy have been running since 2006. I appealed to you to come to
The cinema used to draw 500 people a day and 900 on Saturdays. Occasionally, 1,300 people came to see a blockbuster movie. Now the cinema is visited by 30 to 70 people a day.
Fiscal 2019-20 was the best year for Lilac City Cinemas until February 2020. Then COVID-19 hit.
“As soon as we close our doors on March 23, 2020, [the business] 3-4 months off.Then it resumed with a Russell Crowe movie unstable‘ said Moore.
“It didn’t set the world on fire, but at least we had something to put on the screen and some movies got in. I think people got used to sitting at home.” increase.”
With 22 part-time staff, the cost of operating the theater is skyrocketing. Electric bills range from $6,000 to $10,000 a month.
The movie company expects 50-55% of every dollar the Moores make from ticket sales.
“For every dollar we receive, they get 55 cents and the rest of the GST is 45 cents less,” he said. “We are expected to survive on 40 cents a dollar.” They rely on selling candy bars to make a profit.
Moore said people were spending extra money from their JobKeeper allowance on home entertainment, boosting the streaming services industry.
“The film industry uses streaming, but it’s losing it,” he said. “I think people are getting out of the habit of going out.”
Film producers looking for a return on investment made new releases available almost immediately on streaming services. Previously, in cinemas he was shown for a limited period of 60-90 days. A few days at most now.
“Some of the recent movies streamed the day after they premiered here,” Moore said.
“Years ago they said video would see the end of cinema.
Movie theaters rely on school holidays to make a profit.
“For six weeks in the summer, two weeks at Easter, two weeks in the winter, and two weeks in the spring, we put money in the bank. .
good movies like happy feet, Pirates of the Caribbean series, Star Trek, fast and furious When twilight saga The vampire series has contributed to sales so far.
Downton Abbey and similar types of movies brought retirees to weekday 10:30 a.m. sessions. This age group is also declining. Moore said many of his core audience of older patrons have died since COVID-19.
Mrs Moore said the federal government helped cinemas during the pandemic with a Screen Australia grant. Lilac City Cinema used the grant to hire staff and upgrade the theater. Additionally, the NSW government vouchers “kept us alive,” she said.
Andrew’s father, Ron, purchased Lilac City Cinema from previous owner Bill Fawkes in 2000 for approximately $4.5 million. As part of the deal, the Moore family had to redevelop the theater into his four separate cinemas.
The Moores also own and operate a three-screen movie theater in Campbelltown, which is similarly struggling to survive.
