France is experiencing a huge wave of Omicron infections. To combat the spread of the disease, the country is going to prohibit Popcorn, candy and soda sales in movie theaters.
These restrictions will go into effect January 3, 2022. The ban of at least three weeks on eating and drinking also applies to theaters, sports venues and public transport. France’s cinemas are expecting a deluge of sales in the final days before the ban takes effect.
French President Emmanuel Macron, is facing reelection in April 2022 so he is hoping these types of restrictions will keep venues open while curbing the spread of the virus. There will also be limits on crowd numbers at public venues, with no more than 2,000 allowed indoors and 5,000 outdoors. The limits don’t apply to election campaign rallies which are always perfect superspreader events.
New infections are higher than they have ever been and hospitals are again overburdened with the sick. Some Cinema goers struggled to see any logic in not being able to indulge their sweet cravings in cinemas or theaters when restaurants are still allowed to serve food and drinks.
In America, a December 20, 2021 YouGov poll of 1,000 Americans found that 39 percent of respondents age 45 to 64 were less likely to attend theaters during the variant surge. 53 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 were not more or less likely to visit. The major studios have seen resurgent box office for blockbusters like No Time to Die, Dune and especially Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which reached theaters in mid-December 2021. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” could become the first and only film released in 2021 to surpass $1 billion at the global box office. Cha-ching!