As of Tuesday 11 July, the “Cine Sénior” program begins, which offers those over 65 years of age cut price cinema tickets, at just 2 euro per person, one day a week, in any of the 420 exhibition spaces throughout Spain, with more than 3,000 screenings on offer distributed throughout the country.
To accompany the initiative, a logo was developed, featuring a traditional cinema ticket that appeals to the collective imagination, especially that of the elderly. It is a proposal that advocates recovering the illusion of enjoying cinema as an emotional and face-to-face experience, which transcends the mere fact of watching a film and which, instead, turns the act of going to the cinema into a social and vibrant practice, according to the brief from the Ministry of Culture.
According to the Royal Decree approved by the Council of Ministers on June 13, at the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, the measure will allow one day a week, preferably Tuesday or another day in the case of theatres that only open during the weekend or that they close on Tuesdays, people aged 65 or over can access the cinema for 2 euro. Tickets can only be issued at the ticket offices of the rooms, after identifying the person and proving their age.
The program has a budget of 10 million euro in charge of the General State Budget 2023.
People 65 years of age or older are the age group that is taking the longest to resume their pre-pandemic movie-going habits. Thus, in cinema attendance there are still notable differences between age groups: if 49.3% of young people aged 20 to 24 went to the cinema at least once a year between 2021 and 2022, that percentage drops to 6% in the older population.
Of all the cultural sectors, cinema is one of the most affected, still today, by the pandemic. The sanitary measures taken as a result of COVID-19 caused a significant drop in the average attendance at cinemas among the Spanish public, an attendance that has not fully recovered. Despite the upturns experienced in 2022, the sector still finds itself with approximately 40% fewer viewers compared to the average for the years 2017 to 2019.
Of course, the pandemic cannot be solely blamed, as there is a growing audience for streaming services, where films can be watched from the comfort of your own home, and without the added expense of inflated prices on snacks and drinks.
This measure is aligned with the objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Its component 24 seeks to facilitate access to culture and promote the transition to the new digital environment that allows the incorporation of new possibilities and realities. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals also recognize the safeguarding and promotion of culture as two ends in themselves.
The new direct grant program is in addition to the direct aid to theatres that the Ministry of Culture and Sports launched to counteract the effects of COVID-19. In 2022, it allocated more than 10 million euros to 232 companies and entities, and a total of 476 exhibition halls spread throughout the territory.
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