As the number of film goers dwindle
and theatres turn into worship centres, it is feared that
Kenya is witnessing the death of cinema.
Nairobi cinema which boasts of
the largest screen in East Africa, attracts only 30 percent
to its 825-seater theatre while the 480-seat Casino
gets less than 60 viewers per day.
Sun City and Eastlands theatres-which
screen mainly videos-advertise themselves as offering six
films for one ticket in an attempt to pull crowds. But are
they bursting at the seams? Hardly.
The ultra modern 20th Century
and Fox Cineplex are getting only a third of their expected
520 and 560 viewers, respectively, per show.
To survive, one theatre even
advertises it is screening films which it isn't.
The 850-seater Embassy Cinema joined
the long list of theatres which have closed down last year.
Globe on Kijabe street, Ngara's Shan and Nairobi West's
Rainbow have been transformed into permanent churches for
lack of business while many other theatres serve as lunch
time and Sunday worship centres. Udaysingh Chavda of Casino
says letting theatres to churches brings in more money than
film shows.
Pundits say worse times are expected unless
the government cracks down on film pirates.
Fareen Abdalla, a director of
Nairobi Cinema, says unless this is done, many more theatres
will close down. Due to unprecedented and unacceptably
high piracy rates, she says suppliers of films are demanding
that Kenyans buy them outright and this is too expensive.
Besides piracy and difficult
economic times, insecurity, late film deliveries and a prolification
of films on television and videos can explain the nose-dive
in movie going.
Due to insecurity, late night
screenings have been discontinued in most theatres.
Cinematographer Martin Munyua
says it is insecurity that has made him to avoid going
to theatres preferring to invest in home video instead.
Other theatres that have closed
due to declining business include Empire, Capital and Playhouse
which were housed in Nairobi's IPS, Hotel Ambassadeur and
Portal House buildings, respectively.
Liberty and Metropole (Nairobi), Naaz and Princess (Mombasa), Eros and
Express (Nakuru), Thika Town Cinema (Thika), Emco (Embu),
Kihuga (Eldoret), Furaha (Kiambu), Cooperative (Machakos)
and Kitale's Kitale cinema are other victims.
The number of victims are just
too many that investors have put their plans to launch
film theatres in Yaya Centre, The Mall,
South C and Village Market on hold.
However this did not deter
a family from founding a state-of-the-art cinema complex,
Nyali Cinemax, in Mombasa mid last year (2000).
Anil Kapila, general manager
of Fox Theatres, says their secret of remaining in business
has been their targeting of upper class movie-goers as theatres
that cater to the middle and lower classes are virtually
out of business. He says Kenyans lack a movie-outing culture
which, compounded with car jacking, raping, mugging and
piracy common in Nairobi are killing cinemas.
He explains that since 1976 when
video operators began pirating films, people began watching
films on VCRs and DVDs and only coming to theatres
to watch a film which is not yet pirated.
Pundits accuse theatres of exhorbitant
charges which discourage movie attendance.
While Kenya, 20th Century and
Nairobi cinema tickets sell for Kshs 200.00 per
person on average, those at Fox Cineplex go for Kshs.
280.00 (Stalls), Kshs. 330.00 (Balcony) and Kshs. 600.00
(Love seats). However theatre operators say ticket prices
are reasonable.
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