In a governmental decree issued Sunday Italy shut down all cinemas, along with museums, shows and cultural sites, in a bid to halt the advance of COVID-19, the disease caused by the cronavirus. The move follows a quarantine measure which shut down all public life in northern Italy, the region hardest hit by COVID-19, impacting some 16 million people, or around a quarter of Italy's population.
The new measures also close down pubs, discos, bingo halls and every kind of sporting event. Professional sporting competitions, such as Italy's Serie A professional soccer league, will still be allowed inside sports facilities behind closed doors, or outdoors without the presence of the public. Activity in bars and restaurants has also been severely restricted, with patrons required to keep at least 3 feet distance between one another.
With more than 7,300 confirmed infections, Italy has now registered more cases of the coronavirus than any country but China. The death toll in the country rose to 366.
The Italian box office for the weekend of March 5-March 8 came to $503,000 (€439,515), a 79 percent week-on-week drop and fully 95 percent off the same weekend a year earlier. It follows a similarly steep 65 percent drop last weekend. The Italian biopic Hidden Away, which won the best actor honor for star Elio Germano at the Berlin International Film Festival last month, was the number one film with a measly $104,000 gross. Horror title The Grudge ($59,000) and Will Smith/Martin Lawrence starrer Bad Boys for Life ($45,000) were second and third, respectively.
France, the second-hardest hit nation in Europe, and fifth in the world, also tightened restrictions on Sunday. French Health Minister Olivier Véran announced a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people. According to official reports, some 1,126 people have been infected in France and 19 people have died so far. Although the minister didn’t provide a timeline for the new 1,000-person ban, it is also believed to be valid until April 15, which raises concerns about television festival Series Mania, set to run March 20-March 29 in Lille. The new restrictions would appear to make the international series festival, which hosts around 3000 participants, untenable.
The new regulations raise further questions about the fate of this year's Cannes Film Festival, set to kick off May 12. On Friday, Cannes sought to assuage concerns, insisting they are proceeding as planned and will unveil their line-up on April 16 as scheduled.
French cinemas however, remain open. The new restrictions apply per projection room and there is only a single French cinema that has a 1000 plus capacity—the Grand Rex cinema in Paris, with a capacity of 2,800. The Grand Rex will have to restrict its crowds to 1000 or less for the duration of the new ban. The French association of cinemas, FCNF, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that, in terms of theater attendance, the cornavirus has not yet had a significant impact in France.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter by Scott Roxborough