As the number of moviegoers hit a record low number not seen in decades last month, cinemas are hosting events in which they rent out the theaters for a fraction of regular rental fees.

On Monday, Megabox announced an event in which individuals can rent movie theaters for private screenings. Each of the 47 Megabox branches will have a screen set aside for the event, with each theater accommodating a maximum of 15 people at a price of 100,000 won ($81) or 10 people for the boutique suite that boasts luxurious sofas instead of regular seats for 300,00 won.

“We tried to take into account the government’s social distancing policy and how to let moviegoers watch in a comfortable setting and came up with this event,” said Shim Kyung-mi of Wellcom, the public relations agency for Megabox.

Movie choices can vary per branch, and the theater has to be reserved at least three days in advance at the Megabox website.

Previously CGV hosted an event starting from April 16 where individuals could rent out theaters for just 30,000 won for two people in three of its branches. The overwhelming number of reservations led CGV to close the event page within a day.

“We contacted each person who registered while the event was up. We had to inform people who signed up late even if the registration had gone through that the service was unfortunately unavailable,” a CGV employee told The Korea Herald.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)