The history behind Ararat Astor Cinema tells of a checkered past.
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After closures due to fire, colour television, video recorders, and now coronavirus, owners Barry Byron and John O'Mara are hoping the business can bounce back after the most recent setback, which saw them shut the door for 100 days.
With hand sanitiser stations and a compulsory booking system, the cinema now allows viewers to experience watching a movie similar to having it's own private cinema.
Patrons are assigned a seat, with numbers restricted for each sitting.
While Mr Byron said reopening weekend was "very quiet", he was hoping the school holiday trade would pick up once again.
Ironically, June 2020 marks 20 years since the owners took over the business and reopened the facility to the public.
"I'm concerned everything is at the phase of the unknown," Mr Byron said.
"No one is certain of how long any of the restrictions in place will last for and what will happen in the future.
"We can only base our business on what the current restrictions are and work from there."
Mr Byron said some movie lovers could be concerned about the lack of "blockbusters" showing.
"This is a concern for cinemas everywhere," he said.
"Communities need to support businesses so everyone can survive this COVID-19 pandemic. Realistically, restrictions could be in place for more than a year."
Even though restrictions may ease, many film sets have been put on hold while countries try to wrangle in the outbreak.
"We have made sure there is something for everyone still showing over the school holidays," Mr Byron said.
"This (stoppage of filming) is what could impact the cinema period for a long time to come."
Mr Byron said it wasn't always smooth sailing after taking on the business. After they first opened, they couldn't get through a night without the machine breaking down.
"I'll never forget our first night. We opened with Gladiator and had 109 people here," he said.
"After a month of breakdowns we got a new machine in and only had the occasional break downs since."
Five years later the owners decided to expand and build two small cinema rooms upstairs.
"Over the years we've had fantastic days with the three cinema's going and over 300 people coming through the doors," Mr Byron said.
"One Easter, we had 500 through the door over the one weekend.
"School holidays are always a busy period for us. It's what keeps us going."
Moving forward with restrictions in place
Manager Ross McCready said social distancing rules were the "hardest part" to implement for the reopening.
"People obviously need to be seated further apart and that changes from showing to showing depending on the bookings," he said.
"People can be hesitant in giving out names and numbers but they need to be assured it's all kept confidential."
Mr McCready has been with the business for 15 years, starting in the kiosk as an after school job.
"A few projectionists moved on and I was asked if I would like to be trained in 35mm," he said.
"It started from there. I picked it up really quickly and then it went digital so it fell into my niche.
"The people who trained me, I started training them in the digital components."
Mr McCready said he missed the patrons the most during the shut down.
"I like meeting all the people who come through the doors," he said.
"Some regulars come in twice a week or every weekend. You end up getting to know them and being able to have a chat."
Mr McCready said with everything the business had put in place, the public could come and enjoy a cinema experience with a twist.
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"Some of our customers over the weekend watched movies they might not have necessarily come and seen, but really enjoyed it," he said.
"They gave it a go to help us get on our feet which I'm grateful for."
Ararat Astor Cinema is open every day except Mondays during the school holidays.
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