Mumbai cinemas to stop film screenings after 31st December?

Mumbai cinemas have reportedly been told to stop film screenings after 31st December at 20:00.

Bollywood Hungama reports that Mumbai Police has imposed Section 144 in the city due to exponential rise in coronavirus cases. This will result in cinemas shutting for business. Earlier, restaurants and parties were also informed to avoid gatherings.

A source told the publication, “We have been told that no show should be played beyond 8:00 pm tomorrow. Meaning, the last show of the day should begin before 8:00 pm, say at 7:30 pm or 7:45 or 7:55 pm.”

The source added, “We had got a lot of bookings for night shows of 83, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01 for tomorrow. As these shows stand cancelled, we’ll refund the money to the viewers. Since the time we have been informed about this directive, we have stopped selling tickets of tomorrow’s night shows at the box office counter.”

The source further stated, “As of now, we are told to follow this rule only for a day, on December 31. We hope that in the coming days, the authorities don’t impose restrictions or don’t ask us to shut down. We had just restarted two months back, after all.”

On Tuesday, Delhi cinemas faced shutdown due to the high cases of the deadly disease. The movie ‘Jersey’, which was due for a theatrical release this week, has been halted.