Cinemas lose their lustre

Arts Writers
A few years ago, youths enjoyed going to movie houses and cinemas made brisk business from screening new movies. So popular were the cinemas that the youngsters would compete to go and watch the new movies in town and the ‘‘culture’’ was taken as part of youthful adventures.

The young people would boast of having seen this or that new movie at the best cinema in town and comparisons of the best movie houses and latest movies made interesting topics at various debates.

Even the mature crowd would also go to movie houses for various reasons.

There were cheap movie houses and there were cinemas of ‘‘class’’ that many of the high-end market wanted to identify with.

Long queues at cinemas were a common thing at noon, afternoon and in the evening according to slots that movie houses set for their screenings.

Then, the language was ‘‘when you have not seen the movie on the big screen then you have not seen the movie at all’’.

It was that time when buying popcorns and drinks and a cinema’s foyer and exploring the movie house menu meant a lot to young couples.

Taking a loved one for a movie was a sign of love and, on the part of the mature crowd, it meant reclining and relaxing after busy days and adventures.

Even midnight movies were on offer. People would spend the whole night watching movies at cinemas and it was exciting. The reasons for midnight movie viewing differed but the culture was just ‘‘fine’’.

There were so many movie houses in the city centres and in Harare many would recall the downtown Liberty Cinema, Rainbow and SterKinekor.

It was a plus to travel to Avondale or Westgate to watch movies and the location of a cinema and entrance prices were often a sign of class.

So, students would go to movies on the afternoon after lessons while the mature would go to the cinemas after work. It was a way of socialising and having fun.

It was big business for the cinemas

Those were the heydays. Now, a lot has changed in the film industry and many movie houses have closed down due to lack of business.

The movie house culture has shifted from cinemas to home viewing. The cinemas now have to compete with technology and many times the big screens suffer.

There have been new improvisations and new developments in form of 3D cinemas but the new movements have not been able to lure fans back to movie houses.

There was a time when Rainbow City cinemas tried to screen soccer matches and even sold beer at the foyer in a bid to attract clients but the idea did not work. Rainbow City cinemas closed down and the remaining cinemas are feeling the pinch since the culture of watching movies is slowly going down the drain.

Although these movie house closed down, other cinemas emerged with more and better services like the recently opened Joina City and Angwa City movie house which offer 3D movies.

Because of the fewer movie houses in the capital city, the available cinemas have up their game so that they get more viewers. They keep trying new tricks to lure movie watchers.

For instance, SterKinekor recently had an outing for girls which they call the ‘‘Girlfriends Getaway’’ where women were treated to some music by Jah Prayzah and some makeovers by Black Opal before they watched the movie being offered , ‘‘The Perfect Guy’’, which targets the female audience.

In a telephone interview, an official at SterKinekor Eastgate complex said they try their best to bring various offers that attract film enthusiasts.

“We try as much to provide our viewers with interesting movies we usually show pre-scanning of films to encourage people to watch the latest movies,” she said.

The age groups who frequent these movie houses are teenagers and young adults who range from 20 to 33 years.

“We try as much to get people from all age groups because we also show cartoons for the young viewers. However, most of our customers are teenagers from 13 years and young adults up to the age of 33.”

They have also advanced in terms of technology and quality as they have introduced movies which can also be watched on 3D.

Although the numbers that attend movies continue to fall and the houses keep closing, some youngsters have shown their love for the cinemas and the houses with 3D facilities attract better crowds.

One youngster named Tinashe said the movie house at Joina City is more interesting than most cinemas because after the movie he can go for some other activities within the mall in shops, gym, internet café and restaurants.

“This movie house is classy and so uptown plus it is at the right place and time because after the movie I can do other stuff within the complex like go by the internet cafe, shop, eat and go to the gym,” said Tinashe.

Rainbow City cinemas closed doors permanently when most local movie producers were beginning to utilise these movie houses to promote their local films. The local films could not attract big crowds and business was low.

The reason of the closure of Rainbow is believed to be the failure to pay rentals and salaries for employees as well as lack of technological advancement to match new trends.

Other movie houses have failed to play their roles to screen movies on the big screen and are now being used for church conferences and other gatherings to maximise returns.

In an interview, filmmaker Nigel Munyati, who is also the director of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival, highlighted the major reasons for decline of interest in movies and movie houses.

“The general decline in the movie house is due to a number of reasons and the most being the economic hardships that the country is facing. There has been the high rise of distribution and availability DVDs and people are no longer preferring to go to watch the movies in the theatres,” said Munyathi.

He went on to say that unlike in the previous years, there are now other alternatives as people can watch these movies online and even download the latest productions.

Some of the movie houses seem to be outdated to the extent that most people prefer to watch movies in the comfort of their homes.

“What we need now is a different type of theatres that revolve around the people’s style. We need to have our movie house in the malls, and we should try to regenerate these movie houses to suit the generation that we are living in. Our youths are now starting to appreciate these new movie houses with unique set-ups and I hope everything will go according to our plans as we build interest in movies.

“Youths used to enjoy these movie theatres so there is a need to regenerate the theatres so that they can be able attract back our customers and fans.

“The other thing that led to the decline of these theatres is the location, and that needs to be worked on for the benefit of fans. We need to take the movie houses to the people and create new platforms for many to enjoy movie house environment.”

There is need to create an environment that is modern and improve on the type of movies that are screened, and the need to move along with technology.

In separate interviews young people were in agreement with each other that there is need to revamp these movie theatres.

“I used to go and watch the movies with my friends at the theatres but now I no longer do that and the main reason is that most of the movies that they screen are outdated. You can’t spend the whole month watching the same movies, it’s so boring we need latest movies time and again,” said David Mwenda.

Most said, given new improvements, they still prefer to go and watch movies in the theatres because of the good feeling of being with many people in the same theatre for wholesome feedback and excitement as well as outstanding sound effects that make the screenings exciting.

“The sound effects of the movies in the theatres are what I enjoyed the most and that feeling, that we are many and watching the same film. I miss those days and I hope to go back if they improve on the type of movies that they screen,” said another fan.

“These days we can access these latest movies on the internet so there is no need for me to go and watch the same movie at the movie house,” said one Simbarashe Mutero.

While others prefer to be at home others prefer the theatre as they say that the ticket prices are affordable and gives them the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones.

“The number of these theatre should be increased and I hope Rainbow City will open again, I used to go there and the place was so nice and quiet, now I’m going at SterKinekor as they screen latest movies,” said Tinashe Mukaro.

With improved technology and access to latest movies, the movie houses still have potential to attract viewers but for now they have to hire our venues for other functions to make their business viable because the numbers to their films have massively dwindled.