Do we have to say goodbye to going to cinemas due to high utility bills?

The National Association of Cinemas (Mozik Országos Szövetsége, MOSZ) turned to the National Film Institute (Nemzeti Filmintézet, NFI) for some help as they are not producing profit. Due to the high utility bills, cinemas could increase prices or even close.

Cinemas cannot keep up with the high utility bills

In 2021, the Budapest Film Zrt. spent nearly HUF 47 million (EUR 110,091) on electricity and gas, reports g7.hu. In the current market conditions, fixed-price contracts are no longer possible, traders give fixed offers for the stock market listing. And the average exchange price in September was nearly HUF 160 (EUR 0,37) per kilowatt/hour. In the case of gas, the price increase was even greater in the last two years. Therefore, the company would have to pay roughly ten times the price for energy than in 2021. Energy costs already took 9 percent of the company’s total sales last year and now it is multiplied by ten. Barely a tenth of the money left in the ticket offices and the buffet remains after paying the gas and electricity bills.

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Smaller cinemas have to close

Cinema technologist Dániel Tóth, managing director of Data Center Soultion Kft. operates a cinema in Ózd. According to him, with the price of electricity increasing tenfold, half of their income covers utiliy bills. He added that some facilities will have to cease operation. For example, the local cinema in Szombathely cannot keep up with the utility bills, therefore it has to close for good. Privately owned small cinemas have the hardest time. Iván László, the owner of Szabolcs Cinema Kft., which operates a miniplex cinema in Kisvárda, told G7 that for now, he does not see how much their energy costs will rise, but they expect to have to change their operation.

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Ticket increases are inevitable

Ticket prices are currently between HUF 1,500 (EUR 3,51) and HUF 2,500 (EUR 5,86) in the countryside, and HUF 1,800 (EUR 4,22) to HUF 2,500 (EUR 5,86) in the capital. However, according to the president of MOSZ, a price increase should definitely be expected in the near future, writes Index.

“Inflation, the rise in utility and food prices will definitely have an impact on the circulation of the cinemas, families think more thoroughly what they spend on,” said Erika Borsos, president of MOSZ. In addition, she believes that even the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt. Although viewers have gradually returned to the cinemas since the reopening last May, the pre-pandemic level has not been reached yet.