Even as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on, movie theater companies are all scheduling reopenings in the coming months. The latest movie theater chain to do so is Cineworld, which has set a phased reopening of its movie theaters around the world.
Variety reports that Cineworld is set to reopen cinemas in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe to coincide with the confirmed releases of potential blockbusters like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Disney’s Mulan.
According to the publication, the theater chain will first open its cinemas in Slovakia and the Czech Republic on June 26. On July 3, the chain will then reopen its cinemas in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Poland. Israel will follow on July 9, with the United States and the United Kingdom theaters finally reopening on July 10.
Variety quotes Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger as saying that the company has been encouraged by surveys that show the public missing the experience of going to a movie theater. Greidinger also expressed hope that the strong line-up of films to be released in the coming months, ranging from Top Gun: Maverick, Soul, No Time to Die, Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, A Quiet Place II, Mulan, and Tenet, will draw people back to the theaters.
Deadline also reports that the theater chain will have safety measures in place that will ensure that the locations will not be a hotspot of coronavirus infections. The measures to be implemented by Cineworld include a booking system that will enforce social distancing, tighter cleanliness and sanitation procedures, as well as adjusted movie schedules to avoid long lines.
Movie theaters reopening as soon as possible is essential for the survival of the business, as the global coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating economic effect on it. Earlier this month, AMC Theaters revealed that closures brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic resulted in a $2.2 billion loss, enough to raise bankruptcy concerns.
Beyond the closures, the global coronavirus pandemic has also strengthened the position of streaming services, which could potentially take away from the movie theaters’ audience. During the pandemic, streaming giant Netflix managed to grow its paid subscriber base to 187 million.
Movie theaters also have to contend with audiences refusing to go to movie theaters at all, especially since the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world. According to the World Health Organization’s June 16 situation report, there are 7,941,791 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, with deaths at 434,796 people.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegs the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at 2,104,346 people, with 116,140 people dead from the disease.
Meanwhile, according to figures collected by The Guardian, the United Kingdom now has 298,132 confirmed COVID-19 cases. There are now 41,969 people that have died from the disease.