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By Richard Jinman
January 24, 2004
Openair cinema patrons still sing in the rain. Photos: Steven Siewert
"Do we look like a sperm convention?"
asked the man in the white plastic poncho as he sipped champagne
and watched lightning bolts carving up the sky behind the Opera
House.
He had a point. The sight of almost 1800 film
fans wrapped in soggy plastic at the OpenAir Cinema's screening
of Japanese Story in the Royal Botanic Gardens on Thursday night
was rather surreal.
But the hostile weather had not dampened the mood
in the grandstand. As the screen rose from the harbour at 8.30pm,
the capacity audience cheered and stamped their feet.
"We quite like the rain, actually" said
James Hunter from Manly, who was with his wife, Elizabeth, and their
friend Flora Mesiti. "This is part of our summer ritual. We've
recycled our ponchos from last year."
Despite volatile summer weather, Sydney's outdoor
cinema scene is booming. Increased competition from new venues and
tickets costing up to $19 a session have not constrained box office
takings.
"It's a record season for us," said
OpenAir Cinema's general manager, Rob Bryant. "We've sold 47,000
tickets at this stage and 13 of our 28 remaining films are sold
out."
Sydney's most established outdoor cinemas are
the OpenAir Cinema and the Moonlight Cinema in the Centennial Park
Ampitheatre. Both have been running since 1996.
New players include The Starlight Cinema at North
Sydney Oval and Dee Why's Seaside Open Air Cinema.
Movies in the Overflow, a free program of outdoor
cinema hosted by Sydney Olympic Park, has also proved a hit.
Two years ago, about 8000 people attended a screening
of the first Harry Potter movie and a big crowd is expected at Monday's
8.30pm screening of Finding Nemo.
Moonlight's co-founder, James Tutton, said outdoor
cinema had become a Sydney institution. "This is now a part
of how people live summer in Sydney."
Moonlight, which attracts up to 2000 people a
night to old favourites such as Grease and recent releases such
as Lost in Translation, was having a very strong year, he said.
Mr Tutton does not believe outdoor cinemas are
stealing customers from conventional theatres. "I think we're
growing a new market."
Nicolas Whatson, the general manager of Palace
Cinemas, said: "I wouldn't say there has been a noticeably
adverse impact on our box office. People are looking for the full
Sydney summer experience, but as a movie-goer, I don't find it [an
open-air movie] an ideal way to see a film."
Jill Keyte, Starlight Cinema's producer, cancelled
the Thursday night screening of Woody Allen's Manhattan when a squall
did minor damage to the $30,000 screen she had imported from Germany.
She says bad weather can make it a risky business,
but is upbeat about the future. "For a new venture I'm delighted
with the way the public and the council have embraced it."
Mark Norek, who is running an eight-night trial
in Dee Why, also had to cancel a screening due to bad weather. But
The Life of Brian attracted 600 people and he hopes Viva Las Vegas
and Casablanca will pull the crowds.
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