Cinemas Live the Horror as Film Boycott Slashes Profits1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhile film lovers have been missing catching Hollywood blockbusters on the big screen, cinemas have been missing something more substantial: profit.
Djonny Sjafruddin, the head of the Indonesian Cinema Companies Union (GPBSI), said the foreign film distribution boycott in the country had caused a 60 percent drop in the local industry’s income nationwide.
“Since the Motion Picture Association stopped exporting their films to Indonesia, we, the cinema industry, have begun feeling the effect, especially in small towns such as in Central Java,” Djonny said.
The boycott that began on Feb. 17 was sparked by disagreement over a new royalty tax computation the government wanted to impose but that the MPA said would have a “significant detrimental impact on the cost of bringing a film into Indonesia.”
