He cinema Comedy He raised the blinds for the last time this Sunday January 14 around four in the afternoon. The popcorn machines have exploded the last kernels of corn, the screens have played the latest movies and the nostalgic have occupied the seats in which they lived happy moments of their youth as a farewell. The historic cinema, with five screens, said goodbye to Barcelona this weekend, being the last place to resist in the area.
For many years, many people were expressly left in the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Gran Via to spend afternoons at the movies. “We are sad and afraid to see what it will become“, express some Barcelonans who wanted to say goodbye to the place where they spent so many moments. “We are very sorry because It’s the story of our life“says one of the people who came to the cinema this Sunday to say goodbye.
Although the cinema has not managed to sell out all the tickets for its sessions during this last afternoon, the influx in all the films of the day has been continuous. “At the cultural level things are being done very badly. In another country, a cinema like this would never close,” criticizes Albert Artés, one of the attendees who regrets the closure of a theater he attended for many years.
Uncertain future
The history of Comedia is explained through its workers. Paqui Moreno, the Comedy cleaner, has been working in theaters for 30 years. “Everything changed after covid. I feel sorry because It used to be my home, but it’s not anymore.“she says. Since she belongs to an external cleaning company, her future has been left up in the air. While her colleagues will be fired and receive compensation, she still does not know where she will have to go to work this Monday.
For its part, Victor Baldovi, projectionist at Comedia since 1997, has been visualizing the closure of cinemas for some time. In fact, he himself wrote a script in which he imagined that some rooms would lower their shutters and all the workers would go on strike to prevent it. In this case, the members of the Paseo de Gràcia establishment do not plan to lock themselves inside to prevent closure. Despite his farewell, Baldoví assures that the cinemas They have continued to operate and gather audiences during these years.
The projectionist’s history with the theater goes beyond his professional involvement. He started going to Comedia because of a girl. She always went to the same movie theater and the butterflies in her stomach pushed him to accompany her. They always sat in the same seat: the third row of room 1. “I said: ‘It’s very close, I don’t see anything’. But out of love you endure.” Those dates ended up becoming a beautiful relationship.
Historic building
The building was built between 1887 and 1890 to become the private residence of the politician and businessman Frederic Marcet, the Palau Marcet. After the Civil War, in 1941, it was adapted to Comedy Theater, with stalls and two floors of boxes, with capacity for 1,246 spectators. In 1960 reborn as cinemaretaining much of its appearance until demand forced it to optimize its space and open new rooms.
The Yelmo cinema chain acquired the theater in 2017, after a first threat of closure due to the audience attendance crisis that had led its previous operating company, Espectáculos SL, to file bankruptcy proceedings. However, the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions put her in trouble again. In recent years, Platforms have killed cinema and the public goes to theaters for big events like ‘Barbie’. Even in those cases, it is more common to see occupied cinemas in large-scale establishments such as shopping malls.
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The fate of the property is still unknown. The property has always been willing to preserve its future as a cultural and non-commercial facility, so it is not planned that the built area will be converted into a store. The workers hope that, in a short time, another chain will be able to rent the building and resume operation as a cinema.
‘Those who remain’, ‘A slow fire’, ‘Aquaman and the lost kingdom’, ‘Eight Moroccan surnames’ and ‘Napoleón’ have starred in the final Comedy billboard. But the film that has closed the doors of cinema forever has been ‘Wonka‘, at 9:40 p.m. Just as Willy Wonka one day dreamed of opening his chocolate shop in the Gourmet Galleries, Comedia was someone’s dream many years ago. The projector turns off, but The moments shared in its rooms will live forever in the memory of all Barcelona residents..