Cinemas to raise cap on moviegoers

Movie theaters in China will raise their seating-capacity cap from the current 50 percent to 75 percent of maximum capacity as a mark of further recovery of the world's second-largest box-office market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new cap will take effect on Sept 25, according to the latest version of a guideline for movie theaters to resume business while putting in place epidemic-control measures issued by the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association on Sept 15.

The move comes as China's box-office revenue hit 5 billion yuan (over $730 million) by Sept 14, since theaters reopened on July 20 after being closed for months due to COVID-19. It has been hailed as a boost for the upcoming National Day holiday box-office market.

The seven-day National Day holiday starting from Oct 1 proved a lucrative season last year, contributing 5 billion yuan to China's annual box office, which exceeded 64 billion yuan.

On the long list of movies set to hit theaters during the holiday this year are the Chinese comedy, My People, My Homeland, and the long-awaited animated film, Legend of Deification.

Much like the blockbuster My People, My Country that debuted on Oct 1, 2019, the upcoming My People, My Homeland has adopted collective creation－one film contains multiple stories by different directors.

My People, My Homeland comprises five stories. Zhang Yimou, one of China's best-known filmmakers, serves as the producer, and veteran Ning Hao is the general director.

Legend of Deification, a feature from the companies behind last year's China box-office champion, Ne Zha, which grossed over 5 billion yuan in China, tells the story of mythological figure Jiang Ziya.

Jiang Ziya is a genius strategist from the novel Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods), a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) book that inspired Ne Zha, the Chinese film about its eponymous hero.

The guideline released on Tuesday also says that the attendance cap for a region is subject to adjustment by provincial-level film authorities under the guidance of local epidemic prevention and control departments.

Moviegoers will have their temperatures taken before entering theaters and those without masks or with body temperatures higher than 37.3 C won't be allowed in, the document says. All tickets must be booked online with real names and sold without contact.

Xinhua