Forum 6 cinema manager Grant Lee has endured a tough 18 months, with COVID restrictions hampering crowds and, for quite a while, shutting down the business completely.

But the sudden stream of massive blockbusters has him excited for the end of 2021 and into next year, especially with mask and double vaccination requirements being lifted as of next Wednesday.

He said that has been the last barrier preventing solid crowds from becoming massive ones on a consistent basis, and for the first time since the pandemic began he is truly optimistic about the future.

"We were thinking in 2020 that 2021 would be a good year, but we can actually now see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

"And now we can 'yes, 2022 is actually going to be good', I think it will be a much better year for us."

The backlog of movies set for release means he is expecting film buffs to be out in droves over the coming months, with House of Gucci, Spiderman: No Way Home, Sing and The Batman just a few of the big releases coming up.

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Of course cinema-goers themselves will also welcome the return of blockbusters, with Mr Grant revealing his staff had been getting great feedback from people recently as movies such as No Time to Die and Dune came out.

"So many people are saying that it's so good to actually come back and see movies on the big screen," he said.

"Because watching them on the small screen isn't the same."

Forum 6 isn't the only local business that is looking forward to the lifting of restrictions however, with Chinese restaurant Dragon Palace also set to see an increase in customers.

On top of that, non front-of-house staff will be able to remove their masks and workers will no longer have to confront customers about their vaccination status, which will come as welcome relief according to owner Leon Chin.

"Putting the mask on for a whole day is no joke sometimes when you're working indoors, if you're indoors all day putting your mask on it can be stressful," he said.

"Encouraging people to be double-vaccinated is a good thing, but the thing is for us to monitor and try to police this sort of thing, you are putting people in the industry into conflict with people who come in."

The lifting of those rules coincide with the holiday season beginning too, which Mr Chin said can have a positive impact on customer numbers.

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