IT has been a staple of leisure time for around 100 years and until the pandemic struck, was a money-making machine. But what now for the industry as cinemas around the world prepare to reopen in this new coronavirus era?
Cinemas plan to open soon?
Big chains, including Odeon, Vue, Showcase and Cineworld, have said they are looking to open in July in England, with dates for the rest of the UK to follow.
The experience will not be as it was?
At cinemas around the world, a range of safety measures will be introduced, including online booking and contactless payments only, as well as additional cleaning, particularly of 'high touch points' within the cinema, where contact is most likely to be made, including doors and counters. Hand sanitiser stations will now be provided.
It’s more than that, though?
The change will be felt in the social distancing aspect, where booking systems have been updated to allow friends and family to sit together in their own ‘bubbles’, allowing for a safe distance between customers from other households. This means the number of seats for sale for each film will be limited to guarantee unoccupied seats between groups.
Also?
As well as staggering the show start and end times to reduce the chances of crowds, floor markings will aim to keep people apart.
Snacks?
It’s become a cinema tradition to pay eyewatering amounts for popcorn, snacks and drinks at the cinema, but now all food you splurge on looks set to be pre-packaged.
Screenings have already begun in some countries?
South Australia’s cinemas opened on June 1, but the Victorian government has decided to keep a cap of 20 people per theatre, rather than a plan to change it to 50, which industry experts there say has thrown the plan to re-open countrywide into disarray.
PPE?
Cinema staff will be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves and face coverings, where needed, cinema bosses have said.
Do cinema-goers wear masks?
At the moment, that would be personal choice in the UK, but the concept has caused a row in the US where the boss of American chain, AMC Theatres. - which owns the UK’s Odeon - said mask-wearing would only be encouraged and not mandated in states where it was not a legal requirement. His comments sparked fury and the chain has since backtracked and said all cinema-goers will be required to wear masks when screenings begin in July.
What films are up ahead?
A host of movies delayed during the pandemic are now heading to the silver screen, including A Quiet Place Part II, Mulan, Top Gun 2: Maverick and later in the year, the new James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
Also?
The Film Distributors' Association (FDA) has amassed a library of 450 movies, from Hollywood classics to indie hits for cinemas to air, including 19 films whose releases were delayed or cut short amid the pandemic. These include Trolls: World Tour, Military Wives and Sonic The Hedgehog, as well as classics such as The Sound of Music, Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz. Other films in the library include the Back To The Future, Dark Knight and Matrix trilogies.
The Box Office is big business?
The Motion Picture Association released a new report earlier this year showing that the box office made $42.2 billion globally last year.
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