Mandela movie appeals to masses

SCHUKS: Your Country Needs You may be number one at the national box office but locally Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is the most watched movie.

The Mandela movie, released on November 29 – a week before he died – was number one at the box office before Leon Schuster’s Schuks: Your Country Needs You took the number one spot on Wednesday.

Vincent Park Ster Kinekor’s Pumeza Sowazi said they had seen people from all walks of life coming to watch the Mandela biopic.

“We have seen a lot of people coming here, including pensioners. Some of them you could tell it was their first time coming to watch a movie in a cinema,” she said, adding some people had come from as far as Mthatha and King William’s Town.

Sowazi said after their special screening they had to open up an extra screen for the movie.

“We’ve seen all ages and races coming. The movie has an age restriction though, so we’ve had to turn away children under the age of 10,” she said. Sowazi said since Mandela’s death there has been an increase in the number of people coming to watch the movie.

“We’ve been having between 60 to over 100 people for our shows,” she said, adding Sunday was the only day there had been as few as 44 people.

“It was the funeral on Sunday and we suspect a lot of people were at home watching it,” she said.

Sowazi said at Vincent Park Schuks was definitely not as popular as Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom .

“The movie is still in Cinema One – it has not moved.

“If it moves it will show that the attendance is decreasing and we will only take it out then.”

A similar pattern was reported by Hemingways.

The movie houses believe it’s going to be a while before Long Walk comes off the circuit.

Showing times at Vincent are 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm.

At Hemingways they are 10am, 1pm, 5pm and 8.15pm. —

Park