Tamworth, Gunnedah, Armidale cinemas changing their operations due to COVID but 'Dine and Discover' vouchers to offer respite

Forum 6 Cinemas has announced it will reduce its screening days for a little while, dropping Mondays as it's the "quietest day".

Cinema manager Grant Lee said only a very small amount of people visited the flicks then, so he couldn't justify staying open.

"Even pre-COVID Monday was our quietest day, so it wasn't a surprise," Mr Lee said.

"With wear and tear on the machines, there's always a cost involved behind the scenes."

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Gunnedah's Civic Cinema has also been closed for sometime because of renovations, and after this, dropped screening movies on Wednesday because of a 47 per cent drop in attendance.

But after a full refurbishment, Gunnedah Shire Council director of corporate and community services Colin Formann is encouraging residents to support their local cinema.

"COVID-19 has presented the global cinema industry with its biggest challenge, and the Civic is beginning to feel these pressures. Occupancy limits, blockbuster delays and a rise in online streaming have left people feeling a little reluctant to return to the big screen," Mr Formann said.

"A steady increase in attendance over the life of the cinema has allowed us to increase the number of screenings and draw more new releases, but in light of these new pressures we really need people to start coming back."

But good things are coming. The state government's 'Dine and Discover' vouchers are being released to the region in March.

With two of the $25 vouchers dedicated to entertainment like the cinema, Mr Lee said he was eager for the rollout.

"It's free money and they've got to spend it, and people will do it. We've got deals going and I can't wait," Mr Lee said.

"It's a great thing to be able to do and it gets you out and about supporting locals, and that's why we're so happy the NSW Government did it."

Armidale's Belgrave Cinema is yet to sign up for the vouchers, according to duty manager Brock Townsend, but said it was "definitely something that we'll be looking into".

"It would be unfair if we were the only business not to accept it," Mr Townsend said.

"It hasn't been something that we've finalised yet, it's a bit up in the air. We're just trying to get everything back up and running and keeping it COVID-safe so everyone feels safe and welcome to come in."

Mr Formann declined to comment on whether The Civic would be supporting the 'Dine and Discover' cards.

Some big-name movies are on their way, too.

The Tamworth cinema manager said they would reinstate Mondays when Godzilla VS Kong is released on March 25.

Then Black Widow is slated for April 29, followed by Tom and Jerry and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway in time for the April school holidays, then the ninth Fast and Furious film in May.

Mr Lee said a lot of people were excited for Top Gun: Maverick on July 1, as well.

"At this moment in time, the last email I've got, 80 per cent of cinemas in America are back open now. I'm not sure about Europe," he said.

"Because Hollywood won't release these big blockbusters, because of piracy, they've got to wait until more cinemas are open."

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