According to a report in Times of Malta, 250,000 EUR will be available in 2013 and another 250,000 EUR will be available in 2014. The larger cinemas will be eligible for 30% of their costs, while smaller cinemas can claim 50% of the cost of the upgrade.

At least one cinema, the Citadel on the island of Gozo, had discontinued showing movies due to the prohibitive costs of upgrading its two screens. Other cinemas were set to do the same.

The switch to digitalisation has been a problem for Malta’s larger cinemas, as Hollywood studios were unwilling to subsidize cinemas because Malta was considered too small. Therefore, the state support in Malta will be available for all cinema operators.