A lot of people were surprised when Christopher Nolan’s Tenet trailer confirmed that the film is still planning to hit theaters on July 17th. There is still a question as to whether there will be screens to hit when the date rolls around. Now, Cineworld, the company that owns Regal Cinemas has announced that they are planning to open back up in July.
THR is reporting that the company has received a waiver from its lenders to help cover the losses they have incurred from the Coronavirus shutdown. The money will keep the company solvent as they continue to plan on their re-opening.
Interestingly, the plan is to re-open in July, but a big part of the money they have borrowed is there in case they have to shut back down or are not actually able to open until the end of the year.
As to what kind of experience we can expect to find in Regal Cinemas when it does re-open, we have no idea, but the company has said it “has put in place procedures to ensure a safe and enjoyable cinema experience for its employees and customers.”
That probably means concession stands will be replaced with a more automated system, temperatures will be checked at the door, masks will be required, and theater capacities will probably be capped at between 1/3-1/2 of total seating per room.
When it does open, Cineworld has already stated that they are excited to start screening Christopher Nolan’s Tenet as well as the Disney Live-Action adaptation of Mulan.
Now the only question that remains is are the crowds are ready to come back to the movies?