The pandemic brought many changes, such as increased streaming consumption; however, the general manager of Cinépolis Peru, Américo Gonzales, assures that visits to the movies. The company expects to continue its expansion in 2025.
They currently have six cinema complexes. Do you plan to open more?
Indeed, with the new Larcomar we have four offices in Lima and two in the interior of the country (Arequipa and Pucallpa). There are projects that we had in the portfolio but everything stopped due to the pandemic, so we are going to resume negotiations.
Will that be by 2023?
Negotiations will be with a view to 2025. At the moment we are focused on the cinemas we have and on the new complex in Larcomar.
Looking to expand within the country?
Peru has a market with a lot of potential because it has fewer screens per viewer compared to Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Lima has great potential because it has all the accesses, but the interior of the country is also attractive because it is growing.
Has the consumer changed their habits and now prefers the streaming service over the cinemas?
Although it is true that the pandemic brought the growth of the streaming service, the technology and quality of televisions have increased, the experience of watching a movie inside a (movie) room is unique, it is completely different. We believe that, despite the fact that the visits stopped, because we were one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, that is going to change, the public is already returning.
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Are they still unable to recover the pre-pandemic figures??
We are bordering on 60% of the attendees we had in 2019. There is still a high margin to recover, although by 2023 we believe we will reach 100%.
What expectations do you have with Cinépolis Larcomar?
As it is a high traffic area, this new complex, made up of 11 rooms, will be well received. Despite the current situation, we believe that it will meet our expectations.
This implied an investment of more than US$8 million.
Yes. We had closed the agreements with the shopping center before 2020 and we planned to open in the last quarter of that year. Unfortunately the pandemic postponed the plans. What’s more, the sanitary obligations imposed by the government at that time stopped the construction sector and, therefore, work in the cinema was stopped, but it is now a reality.
What offer does this cinema present?
We always seek to bring something innovative. In Santa Anita we have the 4D room, and here we are bringing the junior room for children, in which they are given 15 minutes before the movie starts to interact with games, slides, ball pools. Halfway through the film we stop it again so that you can enjoy this space that has been very successful in other countries. For the first quarter of 2023 we will open the IMAX room.
