Top school holiday cinema attraction My Spy (PG) came out as the most popular film at Cineplex, Victoria Point this school holidays, but still only attracted 10 to 20 per cent usual audience capacity.
Cineplex manager Steve Maggs said a lack of new release movies was probably the major reason for low attendance, seconded by social distancing restrictions.
He said the cinema opened in time for the school holiday period, running popular favourites including Harry Potter, Frozen 2, Toy Story and Shrek. The new release for the period was The Personal History of David Copperfield (PG), screening for limited daily sessions.
He said cinemas could seat from 38 to 163 (cinemas 1 to 3), depending on capacity.
"People are supporting us, but we are mainly showing catch up films," he said.
Mr Maggs said some new films had also chosen to stream rather than premiere in cinemas (The Very Excellent Mr Dundee, for example). He said that certain films however (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level) were best shown on the cinema screen.
"The cinemas will bounce back. So much has happened in the last 50 years and we've always bounced back. We will again. We are here," he said.
