Disney decision causing concern in Cinema Industry

Premieres are few and far between at the moment and cinemas are reliant on premieres to generate interest in new films, so Disney's recent decision to stream the premiere of 'Mulan' has generated concern in the Sector and sparked fears that the studio may be setting a precedent.

The Federation of Cinemas of Spain, or FECE claims that Disney has "misled the public" with its decision.

“In the summertime family cinema works and we don’t understand Disney's position." said Juan Salas from Aficine. “In the first week we reopened we had an audience of 2,300 and recently that increased to 7,500-8,000”.

The numbers were boosted by the premier of ‘Father There Is Only One 2’ by Santiago Segura and Salas says he's “encouraged but saddened by Disney’s decision over 'Mulan',” which could stem the upward trend in Cinemas.

Strong Demand

The FECE statement also mentions Santiago Segura's film, saying its success “demonstrates a strong demand from the public to see content on the big screen,” and points out that “it is necessary to wait until the Sector emerges from the crisis in the USA, which may be “too late” for the European Sector.

Salas does not believe that other studios will start streaming premieres just because Disney is streaming 'Mulan'.

”We live in an atypical situation and sometimes decisions are correct and sometimes they are not,” he said.

Javier Pachón, says CineCiutat is the only "non-mall" cinema that has dared to open, and claims the results are positive, partly thanks to ‘Atlantis’ and the success of the Cinema Rodat outdoor film series.

"Although there is a public desire for cinema that’s not enough, there must be work in the Industry and Institutional support."

Augusta and Rívoli tend to have a more specific audience and Aficine says that there’s not enough premieres or customers to warrant opening them right now, but that could all change when a new batch of films is released in September.