The Grand Rex film theatre in Paris is to shut its doors for August due to consequences of coronacrisis. As the Grand Rex’s manager Alexandre Hellmann says, people prefer to avoid such public places like cinema because of the potential risk of getting COVID-19.
Paris inhabitants don’t want to risk seeing movies on the big screen due to COVID-19. Thus, one of France’s most iconic entertainment places, the Grand Rex film theatre, closes its doors for August.
It is hard to believe but Grand Rex remained open even throughout World War II, said managers of an iconic cinema theatre situated at the heart of Paris. In addition, on Monday Hollywood studios were also to blame for holding back the release of so many of its summer blockbusters. In other words, this summer the cinema has no visitors, neither movies to show.
The coronacrisis consequences are hitting harder the EU economy, said the Federation of French Cinemas on Monday. In general, the double whammy was crippling the industry as they demanded state aid to help them through the crisis.
“Between the drop in admissions and the lack of fresh American films that traditionally are a big summer draw, we have decided to close our doors from August 3,” the Grand Rex’s manager Alexandre Hellmann said.
While people are scared of the novel virus and its second, third and other waves, the entertainment industry is dying slowly. “We will lose less money by closing than by staying open with this depressing box office,” Hellmann added.
The Grand Rex, an Art Deco cinema which opened in 1932 and stayed open during the Second World War, has a record 2,800 places. The iconic theatre has 2,700 seats, the seven-screen Rex’s largest theater is one of the biggest in Europe with a 300 square-meter screen.
The Grand Rex published a message on Facebook on Monday thanking its customers for their support despite the health restrictions in place and explained the reasons for temporary closure.
“The month of August is usually the quietest month for us, seeing as most Parisians are on holiday, and so we’re likely to see even less people than usual,” a spokesperson for the Grand Rex told the press, without giving an exact date for reopening.
Many French cinemas have been all but empty since they were allowed to reopen after an eight-week lockdown last month. Meantime, the cinema federation has appealed to banks and landlords to give its members leeway.
