CGV closes down 35 movie theaters

CGV's movie theater is seen empty in this outlet in Seoul, March 2. / Courtesy of CGV

By Kim Jae-heun

The country's biggest multiplex operator CGV temporarily closed 30 percent of its movie theaters here starting last Saturday as a result of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

CGV has been making every effort to continue its business amid the plunging number of moviegoers but it has come to the point where it can no longer hold out.

The multiplex operator owns 116 movie theaters across the country and 35 among them including ones in Chungdam, Myeongdong and Daehangno have now been shut down

The remaining 81 cinemas will not open every day and instead take turns to screen movies. Also, only movie theaters in Yongsan, Wangsimni and Youngdeungpo will be opened full time ― the rest will be limited to three showings per day. Normally, the movie theaters have seven screenings.

All CGV employees will work three days a week as a result. The CEO, executives and manager will have their salaries cut by 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Those who have worked over 10 years are allowed to apply for early resignation and other staff are being encouraged to apply for unpaid leave.

Meanwhile, CGV has decided to request owners of the buildings housing their cinemas to postpone collecting rent.

“We pay about 18 billion won every month in rent. After six months we will pay our back rent in 12 monthly installments,” the company said.

Lotte Cinema has also ordered its executives to voluntarily return 20 percent of their wages. However, it has yet to mention closing down additional movie theaters. It recently shut down six outlets temporarily.

“We will not close additional movie theaters at the moment to protect the film industry and for employment stability. However, if the pandemic situation prolongs, we cannot guarantee that we will not shut down more,” a Lotte Cinema official said.

A total of 1.65 million people watched movies in March according to the Korean Film Council. The number is only 13.2 percent of the 12.55 million that visited movie theaters in the same month last year. The cinemas saw a daily average of only 61,358 people.

To deal with the sharp reduction, the three multiplex operators CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox have cut salaries and shortened business hours, but their situation continues to worsen. They expect to lose nearly 80 billion won this month.

“If COVID-19 continues for the next five months, cinema operators will face a 500 billion won deficit. We are in desperate need of financial support from the government,” a multiplex official said.