This is How Cinemas Look Like in a Post-COVID Era

How long have you been away from a movie theater? For me, that number is 213 days. In an effort to reduce crowds and curb the spread of COVID-19, the Chinese government has ordered over 70,000 cinemas to shut down since January. During this time, China's cinema industry has been going through quite a difficult time: no box office revenue, all new movies have delayed their premieres, or even put their production onto online video platforms to reduce the loss. And news like cinemas switching to popcorn and drink delivery to maintain their cash income has been all over the news in the last six months.

As a regular movie fan, I used to go to the cinema with my family 2-3 times a month to watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters or popular Chinese domestic movies. For me, sitting in my living room watching TV doesn't provide a complete movie-going experience, not to mention the fact that I personally do not like the service provided by most video websites in China: the dissatisfactory picture quality, the frequent insertion of advertisement, the un-cheap membership fees, and the lack of user-friendly apps, just to name a few. For me, a complete experience consists of a darkened theater, 3D glasses (or without it), the immersion into a great or a dull plot, and the audience’s laughter or shedding tears of emotion. 

(??I know you miss it, do you? ??:: Getty Images Creative)

On July 16, China's National Film Administration issued a notice saying that cinemas will be reopening from July 20, under normalized measures for pandemic prevention. Of course, the conditions are harsh: all movie tickets are only sold online, real names must be registered, attendance cannot exceed 30%, watchers should be spaced more than 1 meter apart, and masks are mandatory. Most importantly: NO SNACKS. This means that the happy days of popcorn in one hand and coke in the other will not be returning to us for a short time.

(??Biohazard? No, it's Blue Sky Rescue team disinfecting a cinema in Beijing ahead of its reopening. ??: AFP via Getty Images)

My online ticketing process was a little tumultuous, but I was able to lock in my seat for the July 27th night of Dolittle. Here is my experience:

Tickets weren't easy to come by, as all theaters were limited to 30% attendance capacity, which means that only 30% of tickets were available to satisfy people's appetite that had been locked away for up to seven months. Adding to this, tickets are quite cheap, as Robert Downey's mediocre and somewhat cliche film cost me less than 30 RMB ($4.30), even cheaper than my taxi fare. You will face a lot of competition if you really miss Hi-Fi sound, a big widescreen, and the laughter and applause of your fellow moviegoers.

Wearing a mask is a bit tiring: since cinemas are closed areas, and theoretically, the possibility of spreading COVID-19 is higher than outdoors, so you must wear a mask, and you will be repeatedly reminded by the staff at the entrance. From what I've observed, wearing a mask has become a habit for the general public, including the audience of this movie, and no one wants to risk being infected (though the odds are already low now) or being looked at sideways (which is still very likely). But sitting through the full 90 minutes with a mask on is pretty exhausting.

(?? "Distance your seats, not love." Three chairs between me and the nearest person are covered by this banner.)

No popcorn and soda: Yes, one of the major prerequisites set by the authorities for reopening is that snacking is "in principle" not allowed. Although the possibility of coronavirus transmission by uncontaminated food has been proved low, you still need to repeatedly removed and put on the mask while eating popcorns, which will still damage the effectiveness of the mask. It's a tradeoff.

 (?? Noooo...)

The audience is more disciplined: this may be a uniquely Chinese phenomenon. Due to the lack of a rating system, parents sometimes take their children to watch films that are not completely suitable for children under 16. I've seen children cry at the screening of Ridley Scott's classic Alien: Prometheus, scared by the brutal alien scenes that had already been censored and cut. So order in the theater is sometimes a matter of luck, especially when you're hoping for a quiet viewing experience from a well-made, well-acted production. And with "Dolittle" being a PG-13 family film, I noticed almost none sudden scream or untimely burst of laughter from youngsters, while I, instead, was the quiet-breaking nuisance when I laughed at the translation of a funny line into a local Chinese buzzword. Thank you, face masks!

Weird intermission: it's not my personal experience, but quite a few people on other social media platforms like Weibo have complained while watching Christopher Nolan's (YAY!) re-release of the classic Interstellar, a reminder popped up on the screen prompting moviegoers to take an intermission, so that the theater could be ventilated. Some people said that the cinema simply opened all the doors, without the use of equipment such as fans.

(?? Don't waste your food, Cooper! ??: courtesy by @TTfilm.)

The breaks are irregular: some people are interrupted after nearly two hours, while in other cases playback was suspended in the middle of the film (for example, at the 90th minute, when Murphy and his brother were having dinner) to ventilate. This is probably one of the reasons why there haven't been many new releases longer than two hours, as these "intermissions" can seriously compromise the viewing experience, not to mention the lack of beer and hot dogs.

It was nearly 11:30 p.m. after the movie, and I left the empty lobby, passing by the somewhat dusty toy counter (which still had Avengers: Endgame toys on it), the clean and grease-free popcorn machine, and the many posters for the movies that should have been out around Chinese New Year in January of this year. It gave me a strong feeling of temporal disorientation. Well, when faced with an unprecedented global epidemic, all countries are shutting their doors and busy fighting the epidemic, many ordinary people's jobs are being threatened, businesses are being disrupted, and I'm just missing a few movies. Be content!

ALSO IN THE NEWS: things I’m watching

This week, with the Trump administration threatening to ban TikTok, Internet users across China took a ride on a roller coaster of emotions with people from Bytedance. People first speculated whether Trump would actually ban TikTok, and then began to wonder who would take over TikTok's U.S. business (now it's pretty clear that it will be Microsoft, the parent company of LinkedIn). As a company originating in China but wants to emphasize its status as a global company, Bytedance has been a role model for Chinese tech companies going abroad for quite some time now, and can even be called "the only successful case". Trump's order, however, has sparked an interesting debate in China. Some commentators think Bytedance has given up its identity as a "Chinese company" and is trying to curry favor in the global market, but can't fight the so-called "pedigree theory"; others argue Bytedance's pose to agree to sell TikTok to an American technology company as a "betrayal" and pose of surrender. Of course, many more people are just as unhappy with this decision as to the people on TikTok who rely on the short-form video platform for happiness, shared identity, or even living making.

One thing is for sure: just like what happened to Huawei, the Chinese government has limited capability to either offer helping hand, or to be in a good position to take retaliatory measures. More developments and comments are expected in the next day or two as this story unfolds. Stay tuned.

Ant Finance, now known as Ant Group, is also in the news as it prepares to go public in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. The announcement of the IPO is said to have sent the Ant Group's office building into a frenzy, with people wondering how many people would realize the so-called "freedom of wealth" - which in the Chinese context means no longer having to work for a salary - as a result of the listing. "There is some speculation that at least 10,000 millionaires will be born as a result of the Ant Group IPO". While Alibaba and its companies have come under criticism for some time because of the so-called 996 work culture, many Chinese believe that the 996 doesn't seem so odious if they can be paid handsomely for overtime work and even achieve their wealth goals through equity. Perhaps this is the root of China's dynamism: a belief in hard work and being rewarded accordingly. By the way, it's worth reading the South China Morning Post's in-depth analysis of how Ant Group has grown from a tiny payment app to the Internet financial giant it is today, and how it continues to interact beneficially with China's regulators.

ONE MORE THING

In this time of uncertainty and unpleasant news, it's important to have some good, encouraging news to bring peace of mind. Here is my favorite "good news" of the week:

For the past few days, Chinese netizens have been rejoicing over one student: Fangrong Zhong, daughter of migrant workers, and a student from Hunan province who scored 676 points in this year's Chinese university entrance exam, ranking fourth among Hunan's arts and literature candidates. Influenced by a prominent scholar in the field, she chose to major in archaeology at Peking University and told the media she would pursue further studies and devote herself to archaeological research. Her choice was initially questioned by those who thought archaeology was a "cold discipline" and that she might not be able to find a job. But Miss Zhong soon proved that she would never be left out: she received gifts of books and professional archaeological toolkits from over seven museums and archaeological institutes across China. This instantly put the otherwise unknown Miss Zhong in the spotlight. Peking University posted a congratulatory message on Weibo, wishing her to "find the love of your life".

Usually, pragmatism is the order of the day at Chinese universities, with Chinese high school students choosing their university majors carefully and avoiding traditionally unpopular and difficult-to-find-job majors as much as possible. But the story of Miss Zhong may show us that there is also a corner of idealism in the hearts of Chinese people, who are commonly eager for success and regard wealth as the top priority in life.

Well, that's all for this week's. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. See you in the comment!