This Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the royal decree that will regulate the second edition of the Senior Cinema program, which will offer the 9.5 million citizens over 65 years of age the possibility of attending the cinema on Tuesdays at a reduced price of two euros. . To this end, 12 million euros will be allocated in direct subsidies to theaters, two million more than last year, when it was in force between July and December.
At a press conference after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the head of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, described this first edition as “a real success” by achieving an increase in cinema attendance on Tuesdays of 49% compared to the previous year, 2.7 million to 4 million spectators, according to figures from Fece, the federation of film exhibitors. Cinema attendance on Tuesdays grew twice as much as the rest of the days of the week, according to Urtasun. And he improved 23% compared to 2019, the last reference before the coronavirus pandemic changed the relationship with movie theaters, like many other aspects of society.
According to Fece figures, almost one million “senior” viewers (924,724) benefited from the program in 2023, of the 9.5 million to which it was aimed, which represented an average of 25.5% of the total of 3,663 ,676 tickets sold on Tuesdays of the period in which the initiative was in force.
The minister recalled that, of all cultural sectors, cinema was one of the most affected by the pandemic and the one that had the hardest time recovering, among other things due to the drop in audiences aged 65 and over. “Therefore, when we adopt this measure we are also adopting a measure to support a key sector and the economy of our country,” he stressed.
As a novelty, this year tickets can be purchased both at the ticket offices of the exhibition halls and by electronic means. Of the total, 11,750,000 euros will be specifically allocated to aid and 250,000 euros to financial compensation for the collaborating entity. The expenses will be charged to the expenses budget of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA).
In turn, of the amount allocated to aid, a maximum of 10 million euros will be allocated for the granting of aid, while a maximum of 1,750,000 euros will be reserved to meet the possible needs to increase the aid granted. as a consequence of greater execution than expected. Once the call comes into force, cinemas will have seven days to request the subsidy, the Government hopes that the program will be available from “the end of April or the beginning of May”.