By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, Aug 19 (Reuters) – AMC Theaters and other movie theaters will set fire to projectors this week, offering admission, cheap popcorn and new security measures to seduce audiences despite the pandemic.
However, theaters will remain closed, in some of the major movie markets, including Los Angeles and New York, where local officials say the coronavirus risk remains too high to allow cinemas to reopen.
AMC, the world’s largest cinema chain, and others will open their doors Thursday in cities including Atlanta and Chicago.
Theaters worldwide shook five months ago, destroying the film industry and firing tens of thousands of people. Many theaters in China and Europe opened earlier in the summer.
Big American chains promise protections to spread coronavirus in cinemas. They include forcing moviegoers and staff to wear masks when not eating or drinking, extra sanitation of auditoriums, attending half a third of capacity and leaving empty seats between groups.
“We put a lot of effort, not only into us (but), but also our competition, into really creating a safe environment,” Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in an interview.
“At the end of the day, it’s a much safer environment than all the other places that are already open,” he added. “You sit in the same chair for two hours. Everyone looks at the screen so no one is looking at each other.”
Cineworld serves Regal Cinemas, which will launch again Friday.
In addition to health measures, theaters have cut prices.
AMC is offering admission fees of 15 cents on reopening day at more than 100 locations and will discount popcorn, other snacks and beverages.
Regal and AMC offer $ 5 screens from past hits such as “Back to the Future” and “Black Panther.”
There won’t be many new movies at first. Russell Crowe’s thriller “Unhinged” is among the cool new releases this weekend.
Operators plan to open more theaters in time for the September 3 release of director Christopher Nolan’s American debut thriller “Tenet”, which they hope to launch a rebound for big budget films.
It is unclear how many people will visit the cinemas during the pandemic. Turnout is likely to be affected by word-of-mouth a
how safe people feel at their local movie house, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
“It will be important right out of the gate that this is a positive experience,” he said.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said this week that opening theaters was not worth the risk.
“I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of people who say, ‘I can’t live without going to the movies,'” Cuomo said in a newsletter. But he said he felt that “cinemas are not that high on the list of essences.” (Report by Lisa Richwine; Additional Report by Alicia Powell in New York; Edited by Cynthia Osterman)
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