Cineplex legal team helps to rebuild struggling business after extended closures and restrictions

The entertainment industry has arguably been one of the hardest hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to extended closures and tight restrictions. As lockdowns are finally lifting, Canadian movie theatre giant Cineplex is pulling out all the stops to rebuild the beleaguered business after significant financial losses.

With 161 theatres across Canada, Cineplex faced complex and varied restrictions surrounding capacity limits and food sales across the different jurisdictions throughout the pandemic, so the legal team kept a watchful eye on ever-changing rules. As every province is now at a different stage of reopening, staying vigilant to ensure compliance is a key priority.

“Just tracking what was happening across the country throughout the pandemic was a real challenge,” says Michael Paris, executive director, legal counsel and chief privacy officer at Cineplex. “We had to find a balance between operating safely where we could and then also tracking all the different public health requirements and laws.”

In Quebec, for example, movie theatres operated at a capacity of 250 people per auditorium throughout the third wave of the pandemic, while Ontario theatres remained closed until phase three of the provincial reopening plan was declared in mid-July, at which point they were permitted to open at 50 per cent capacity. Manitoba theatres were closed for almost eight months and are now only permitting fully vaccinated guests – the only province to implement this rule.

“As a lawyer you have to track these things, understand what the rules are, and then explain them to the organization and explain what you are doing to enforce them,” says Paris.

The legal team at Cineplex is deeply embedded in the business so Paris and his team had a seat at the table throughout the pandemic to offer guidance on changing laws and to be a part of the comprehensive planning process.

 “COVID drove home the fact that legal is a trusted business advisor that should be consulted on the front end, rather than rolling the dice and having us make corrections afterwards, because the stakes were so high throughout the pandemic,” says Paris.

Negotiating with governments was a key piece of the puzzle for Paris during the pandemic, as he felt that the rules imposed upon movie theatres were excessive in some cases, and not always proportionate to the potential risk.

“It was a little frustrating for us and it really marked a mindset shift where we were having to respond to regulations that were related to perception more than reality,” says Paris. When cinemas in Canada were running during the pandemic, there were zero reported instances of transmission or outbreaks associated with the screenings, according to the Movie Theatre Association of Canada. 

In preparing a re-opening plan, Paris and his team monitored best practices from movie theatre chains in the US, Europe and Israel to help develop a plan of action for Canada which would allow Cineplex to meet and exceed safety standards set by governments. Making consumers feel safe in theatres is a priority for Cineplex so messaging about safety measures currently appears on screens in a pre-show segment.

Established systems such as online contactless ticketing made for a smooth reopening, while Cineplex also took advantage of other benefits such as the ability to stagger showtimes to allow theatres to limit the number of people coming in at one time.

One silver lining of being deemed a non-essential industry was the capacity to prepare by watching and learning from other sectors that were permitted to open earlier, such as restaurants and retailers. 

“We were definitely in the backseat in the eyes of virtually every government, so we had a lot of lead time to know what the regulatory environment was going to look like, and we were able to prepare our plans in-house pretty quickly which was a huge advantage,” says Paris.