Employees at Wanda Cinema in Beijing's Shijingshan district disinfect and block-off seats in screening halls on July 23 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 for its "restart" screening at midnight on July 24 after film showings have been suspended for months. Photo: Li Hao/GT

The Beijing Film Bureau will issue a 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) special epidemic subsidy to support 232 theaters in Beijing for going through the COVID-19 pandemic according to an announcement released on its official website on Wednesday.

To fully support theaters operate and alleviate difficulties, Beijing will allocate 20 million yuan from the special fund for film development this year after an evaluation by related authorities.

The special epidemic subsidy will be subsidized according to the box office output of cinemas in 2019, and appropriately favor small and medium-sized cinemas which are more affected by COVID-19, according to the announcement.

The Beijing Film Bureau, together with the Beijing Municipal Finance Bureau, will help 232 cinemas with a maximum subsidy of nearly 500,000 yuan after the preliminary evaluation.

He Jinhao, a 30-year-old movie lover living in Beijing, said he was happy when he learned theaters will be supported and subsidized.

He was a member of Jinquangang Theater near his apartment and deposited 2,000 yuan in his membership card. He was prepared to lose money if the theater went out of business during the epidemic.

"However, the government is making efforts to support film industry and subsidy small and medium theaters, which makes me very happy," he told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Watching movies in cinemas is an important way to relax and date for young people in Beijing, and it is a modern cultural ritual, he noted.

Since the opening of theaters in Beijing on July 24, the film market has gradually returned to normal operation. The special subsidy will effectively boost the confidence of the film market, help theaters to overcome temporary operating difficulties under the prevention and control of epidemic, and promote the recovery of the film market in Beijing as soon as possible, Beijing Daily reported.c