The film and cinema sector is truly a global community from the largest Hollywood studio to your local movie hall and while there will certainly be challenges to overcome as cinemas reopen to the public. 

But this is not the first time the cinema industry has faced what others have thought of as an inevitable demise. Until Covid hit, the UK was on track to have its best Box Office year on record - people have fallen back in love with the big screen.

Enhanced and immersive technology, a much improved food and beverage offering and comfortable home from home seating, cinemas are now delivering an almost personalised experience. 

We've seen some theatres use the shut down as an opportunity to re-imagine their lobbies for safe and enhanced traffic flow, as well as modifying their ticket collection process in preparation for social distancing.

Of course there will be some changes and technology will be playing a big part with ticketing and food orders being pre-payment only.

Cleanliness and hygiene will be at the fore - expect hand sanitiser and in some territories, face masks will be standard.

Auditoria will be immaculate and Ferco have put together an upholstery cleaning guide to assist operators in maintaining a safe and hygienic environment. 

Ferco's seats also have a range of options which aid better hygiene and easy cleaning - such as our easy lift for recliner seats - which enable easy manual lifting (of twin recliners) in order to clean underneath effectively. Our non recliner range features removable seat covers as standard to assist easy removal and washing should spillages occur.

For operators looking at new seating, they may consider riser-mounted instead of traditional floor-mounted to assist with quick and easy sweeping; perhaps anti-bacterial faux leather may be considered for safety and ease of cleaning over traditional velour.

Social distancing measures will be in place with a reduced number of seats on sale. And Ferco have developed a safeguard panel which can be retrofitted to any make or model of seat. Being movable, as social distances change in the future, it is easily located to a different seat or part of the auditorium.   

Whilst consumption of content can be delivered through streaming services, there is nothing quite like the immersive and collective human experience of getting to watch a movie on the big screen.

Elliot and E.T taking off, Rhett leaving, Spartacus dying as he sees his freeborn son, Omar riding out of the heat haze, Erin's face when she sees the cheque, Brad Pitt taking delivery of the box, and Ursula Andress walking out of the sea–the list is endless. 

Safeguard Panels