Starting next week, people over 65 will be able to go to the cinema at a reduced price of 2 euros every Wednesday at the Perelló Theatre-Cinema in Melilla, which has welcomed the measure promoted by the Government of the Nation to encourage the return to the cinemas.

In Spain, a total of 420 private establishments have joined, 64.22% of the total which, according to data from the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), was estimated to be eligible for this direct grant program aimed at one of the segments of the cultural sector most affected by the pandemic. Entre todos, suman más de 3.000 pantallas de proyección distribuidas por el territorio.

According to the Royal Decree approved by the Council of Ministers on June 13, at the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, the measure will allow that one day a week, preferably on Tuesdays or another day in the case of the rooms that only open during the weekend, people aged 65 or over can access the viewing of a film for 2 euros. Tickets can only be issued at the ticket offices of the rooms, prior identification of the person and accreditation of his age.

The program has a budget of 10 million euros in charge of the General State Budgets 2023. The rooms will receive the amount of the subsidy depending on the number of tickets sold with reduced price, depending on the difference between their regular price and the reduced price of two euros, with a maximum eligible amount of three euros per ticket.

Once the grant is granted, the payment will be made on a bimonthly basis. Thus, before September 30, 2023, the amount corresponding to the tickets sold between July 1 and August 31 will be paid; and before November 30, the amount of the tickets sold between September 1 and October 31. The beneficiaries must justify the activity carried out before receiving the payment that corresponds to them.

This grant is compatible with other grants from any public or private administration or entity that have the same purpose, to promote access to cinemas.

Big screen movies

People 65 and older make up the age group that is taking the longest time to return to cinema attendance habits in pre-pandemic theaters. Thus, in cinema attendance there are still notable differences between age groups: if 49.3% of young people between the ages of 20 and 24 went to the cinema at least once a year between 2021 and 2022, that percentage drops to 6% in the older population.

Of all the cultural sectors, the cinema is one of the most affected, even today, by the pandemic. The health measures taken as a result of COVID-19 caused a significant decrease in the average attendance at movie theaters in the Spanish public, an attendance that does not stop recovering. Despite the rebounds experienced in 2022, the sector still has approximately 40% fewer viewers than the average of the years 2017 to 2019.

This measure is aligned with the objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Its component 24 aims to facilitate access to culture and promote the transition to the new digital environment that allows the incorporation of new possibilities and realities. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals also recognize the safeguarding and promotion of culture as two goals in themselves.

The new direct grants program is in addition to the direct grants to the rooms that the Ministry of Culture and Sport launched to counteract the effects of COVID-19. In 2022, it allocated more than 10 million euros to 232 companies and entities, and a total of 476 exhibition halls distributed throughout the territory.