Price Hikes Reach Cuban Movie Theaters, Which Double Their Rates

In some provinces the ticket prices are variable but at Cine 23 they are fixed. (14ymedio/Archive)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 20 January 2021 — The “Ordering Task*” has arrived in movie theaters, the latest victims of the price increases, according to data published by Cubacine.

Irinka Cordoví, director of Project 23, manages the five cinemas on 23rd Street in Havana’s Vedado district, said that the ticket price to normal functions will go from 2 to 5 pesos, while the functions in 3D, which varied between 5 and 10, they will cost 15 pesos for children under 12 and 25 for adults. In the case of children’s and circus shows offered by some cinemas such as Yara, the price will be 20 pesos for children and 30 for adults.

When it comes to musical or humorous shows, Cordoví added, the price could reach 150 pesos, “depending on the level and quality of the artists.”

The official insisted that the increase, which responds to the new economic measures dictated by the Government, will be accompanied by “better operations within theaters and cinemas” and that there is “a commitment to elements such as hygiene and atmosphere, quality of the programming, as well as in excellent treatment from to the assistants.”

At the same time, she recognized that for some years the attendance of the public to cinemas has decreased and that, for this reason, they intend to “reinforce the advertising and promotion of [the] programming.”

In a call to the Riviera cinema in the capital, an employee insisted that at this moment it is “closed due to the pandemic, like all other cinemas,” but that “as soon as this is over, we will open with the new prices.”

The Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso also announced last December an increase in the ticket prices, which was widely criticized on social networks for considering the excessive price of 125 pesos for a function, even if it is the first balcony. Critics also pointed to the cost of tickets to recreational parks and the Miramar Trompoloco Tent where a seat costs as much as 100 pesos.

*Translator’s note: The “Ordering Task” is the Cuban government’s efforts which include ending the dual currency system and other major adjustments in the economy.

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