Cinema’s big rebound in South Africa

South Africa’s movie industry took a massive hit during the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns but has seen a remarkable rebound since, with movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer giving it an enormous boost.

Moreover, the country’s two biggest cinema chains — Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro — say they are in a good space despite the rising popularity of streaming services.

The pandemic’s impact was particularly hard on Ster-Kinekor, which entered voluntary business rescue proceedings in January 2021.

Before the pandemic, the cinema chain was profitable. However, the strict lockdowns enforced during the pandemic resulted in the closure of cinemas and significant financial losses for the company.

The company exited business rescue in November 2022 with the help of R250 million in funding raised from Blantyre Capital and Greenpoint Capital.

One of the significant challenges South Africa’s cinemas now face is streaming services.

In April 2022, Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro told MyBroadband that despite the uphill battle against streaming services, they still have plenty to offer South Africans and will not give up without a fight.

Ster-Kinekor said it believes cinema is “central to popular culture” and that although its “obituary has been written many times”, it is here to stay.

Nu Metro Cinemas operational executive Andries Basson believes that streaming services offered an alternative to cinemas but would not replace them.

“Cinemas deliver a multi-dimensional entertainment experience which can’t be duplicated via other platforms,” he said.

In September 2023, following the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer, MyBroadband asked Ste-Kinekor and Nu Metro how well the movies performed for them.

Nu Metro head of marketing Melanie Williams said Barbie substantially boosted cinema attendance.

Oppenheimer didn’t provide as much of a boost but exceeded the company’s expectations.

“The box office results of both Barbie and Oppenheimer confirmed that audiences are attracted to the timeless cinema experience, which remains a viable out-of-home entertainment option that can’t be replicated elsewhere,” Williams said.

Ster-Kinekor said it observed a similar trend.

The company’s chief marketing officer, Lynn Wiley, told MyBroadband that Barbie quickly shot to its best-performing title for the year.

“Both Barbie and Oppenheimer have performed extremely well on the Ster-Kinekor circuit,” said Wylie.

“Barbie’s cinema attendance is number one for the 2023 calendar year to date and has ranked in position 20 in the Southern Africa All Time Top 100 list for Box Office as of August 2023.”

She added that Oppenheimer ranked eighth in attendance for the year.

Big shift for South African movie theatres

Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro have had to adjust their strategies to remain competitive with streaming services.

In January 2024, Nu Metro’s Williams said the company had adjusted its content offerings to include live concerts, comedy shows, and theatre performances.

“The future of the movie theatre industry surprisingly also lies in alternative content,” she said.

“Live streaming events such as international concerts, live theatre performances, concert films, comedy shows and live music performances.”

“There has been a high demand recently for alternative content, and we strive to continue to incorporate that more to give our customers an unbelievable cinematic experience for years to come,” added Williams.

Ster-Kinekor adopted a similar approach, with Wylie saying it also focuses on non-traditional cinema content.

“There is also a focus on non-traditional cinema content, also known as ‘alternative’ content, such as music events to generate additional revenue,” said Wylie.

“Ster-Kinekor had an exclusive screening of the 4D reimagined Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, in IMAX for one screening.”

Wylie added that the strategy is proving successful, with the concert selling out and Ster-Kinekor offering repeat screenings of the event at IMAX cinemas across South Africa.