two squares – Moravské náměstí and Jakubské náměstí (Jacobian Square). Accordingly, it asked for a new licence on 24 September 1928. After some disputes with the local authorities, the foundation was granted a preliminary licence on 27 December 1929 and a full licence on 6 March 1930. While it was trying to obtain a licence, the premises of the cinema were acquired by the company Kraus a spol. On 20 December 1929, the foundation entered into an agreement with the company valid until the end of 1935. According to the agreement, the company set up and run the cinema using the licence acquired by the foundation; in return, it paid 8% of its gross revenue to the foundation. In its turn, the foundation was paying 40% of its net gains to three different associations. The cinema opened on 28 December 1929 with a screening of the American sound film romance White Shadows in the South Seas which received an Oscar for best cinematography. At the time, the cinema was managed by Rudolf Valenta, and since 1930 by Rudolf Urban. The entrance fee ranged between 3 and 7 Czechoslovak crowns. While the overall earnings are unknown, the foundation received a yearly share of 189,077, 160,642, and 121,782 crowns in 1930, 1931, and 1932 respectively. Kino Scala (1935–1948) For commercial reasons, the name of the cinema was changed to Scala on 3 December 1935. At that time, the licence was nearing its expiration date. The foundation asked for the licence to be extended in February 1936; the application was refused on 31 March 1936 and the local authorities requested that the cinema should be closed by the end of 1936. In October 1937, the Scala licence was granted to a police headquarters association "Jubilejní ozdravovna policejního ředitelství v Brně". This association received 5.5% of net revenue from the Kraus company, which amounted to 85,075 and 82,832 crowns in 1937 and 1938 respectively, and it was required to transfer 2% to other associations. In the following years, the operation of the cinema was impacted by the German occupation. Among other things, the contribution to the Masaryk foundation was cancelled and substituted by a contribution to Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (NSV). On 4 December 1941, the DOPZ buildings were purchased by the insurance company and on 14 July 1942, the cinema premises were rented by Fritz Lord and Josef Veselý, who began to operate the cinema.