Palace now banking on summer to get rolling again
Published:Sunday | May 23, 2021 | 12:09 AM
The planned return to business in mid-April did not materialise for cinema company Palace Amusement.
The company, which just reported losses of $78 million in the third quarter ending March, is looking ahead to another disappointing period under curfew restrictions that have locked it out of time slots when it would normally make money – evenings – and curtail activity on weekends and public holidays, when it usually sees its largest crowds.
“We hoped to open up in April, but then the curfews were extended, so the indoor cinemas are closed, and although we can operate the drive-in cinema, there is still not enough time for us to properly do business. So, we closed everywhere. There is absolutely nothing happening,” said Marketing Manager of Palace Amusement Company Melanie Graham.
“We are still hanging with whatever we can hang on with … but we are one of the most seriously affected. Although a lot of people are suffering, at least most of them are able to operate sometimes,” she said. “We can’t operate at all.”
Palace recorded $28 million of revenue in the period, compared to $229 million in the March 2020 quarter. Over nine months, revenue fell just shy of $95 million, compared to $899 million in the comparative period a year ago. Nine-month losses amounted to $255 million, up from $49 million.
The cinema operator expects to be back in business by the time summer rolls around and is looking ahead to the release of Fast and Furious 9 in June, the latest in the popular franchise, to bring back movie watchers to its theatres.