China’s Cinema ‘Rescue Plan’ Is Actually a Eulogy for the Movie Theater as We Know It
China’s new cinema policy encourages theaters to become multipurpose spaces. But this isn’t a rescue — it’s a desperate admission that the traditional movie-going experience is failing. The government has thrown up its hands, leaving each theater to fend for itself. The result? A race to reinvent, with winners and losers, and no guarantee that the big screen remains the main attraction.