MOVIE THEATERS ARE AMONG THE FIRST BUSINESSES TO REOPEN IN THE USA

With some states taking steps back to normality, such as Georgia authorizing cinemas to resume screenings on Monday, and Texas planning to follow suit, movie theaters could be one of the first businesses to reopen, with plans to make its opening over the summer. Cinemas would be allowed to reopen in the first of three phases under the guidelines released Thursday by the White House. Some industry watchers worry that the plan may raise false hope when the coronavirus may be in decline in some cities, but is still raging. "I shook my head when I saw this," said Jeff Bock, Box Office Analyst for Exhibitor Relations, a data and research firm for the entertainment industry. "I don’t know how that happens right now when lives are still at stake.”

Social distancing will still play a role in theater operations, which will function "under strict physical distancing protocols." Many seats and rows may result in being blocked off." New operating rules in Georgia require movie theaters to spread groups of spectators at least six feet apart and the cleaning of seats between each screening. Texas has plans to reopen theaters in four days and Governor Greg Abbott has set a capacity limit of 25 percent for each theater. The biggest challenge that comes for theaters amid the coronavirus pandemic is the selling of its tickets. Theaters have already been competing for attention from consumers who have increasingly turned to video streaming at home. Theater executives hope, however, that moviegoers are anxious to get out of the house once the pandemic is over.

Cinemark Holdings, which closed its 345 theaters last month as part of the stop-the-spread movement, said that it has about USD 500 million to see through the crisis. The company said its capacity limit was between 20 and 30 percent. The cinema chain has thus set its sights to release "Tenet," the new film by director Christopher Nolan, known for "Dunkirk" (2017) and "Inception" (2010). "Tenet" is due for a U.S. release on 17 July. Cinemark is also planning to release "Mulan," the live-action version of Disney's animated film, the following weekend. AMC Entertainment Holdings, with 542 theaters, said Thursday that it is going to offer a financing round that could raise USD 500 million. The leading U.S. cinema chain, AMC, said Friday that it plans to reopen its theaters "in the weeks ahead of these new blockbusters," but added it "would be wise to do so only directly in advance" of the films' release . “We are ever so disappointed for our moviegoing guests and our employee teams," CEO Adam Aron said in a statement. "Still, the health and well-being of AMC guests and employees, and all Americans, takes precedence above all else."

The shutdown has been particularly rough on smaller chains like Alamo Drafthouse, Landmark Theatres, Showcase Cinemas, and Bow Tie Cinemas. All have closed. “When we re-open after this unprecedented and indefinite hiatus, it will be in a dramatically altered world, and in an industry that’s been shaken to its core," Alamo, based in Austin, Texas, said on its website as its screens went dark last month. Studios state that they will push back the release date of its biggest fares. "No studio is going to drop huge summer blockbusters, with a hundred theaters open or even a thousand," Bock said. "We’re going to get small, genre films that sort of test the marketplace, but we’re certainly not going to get blockbusters."

Disney's Marvel film "Black Widow" will now come to theaters in the fall. The live-action version of the animated "Mulan," originally been slated for 27 March, will now hit 24 July. "Top Gun: Maverick," a Tom Cruise-lead sequel 30-odd years in the making, goes from being a summer movie to a holiday release, Paramount Pictures said. Another animated feature, "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run," makes a shift from 22 May to 31 July. The Chris Pratt film "The Tomorrow War" is being delayed indefinitely. It had been planned for Christmas. For Universal Pictures, moviegoers will have to wait a full year before they can see "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Instead of a 3 July release, it moves to 2 July 2021.