Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi Sees CA Movie Theaters Reopening In 2 To 4 Weeks, Big Summer Releases Could Help “Light Up These Theaters Again”

coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. While some movie theaters have opened over the past few months with limited capacity and enhanced safety protocols, the announcement by AMC to open nearly all of its U.S.

Los Angeles and Orange counties could be reopening even further in two weeks, with Disneyland and other theme parks in the region allowed to open at 25% capacity instead of 15%, movie theaters going from the current 25% to 50% capacity and restaurants doing likewise for indoor dining.

The Los Angeles County Public Health department confirmed on Thursday the news announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday that movie theaters can open indoors at 25% capacity “with reserved seating only where each group is seated with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions between any other groups.”

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county plans to release its own operating guidelines for restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, outdoor live events and theme park reopenings as the county anticipates moving into the less-restrictive “red” tier of California’s reopening blueprint.

Joe Masher, the COO of midsize exhibitor Bow Tie Cinemas, says he noticed that families from New York City — where movie theaters were closed for nearly a year, until March 5 — had been flocking to the circuit’s locations in Connecticut and New Jersey that were able to reopen in recent months amid the pandemic. “It’s amazing how many people were coming from the city,” says Masher, who is in charge of the New York chapter of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

Los Angeles movie theaters may be only days away from reopening, albeit with a host of safety protocols, including 25 percent capacity or no more than 100 people in any auditorium. Cinemas across L.A.

By early afternoon on Friday, numerous showings of Disney's new animated pic Raya and the Last Dragon were sold out at AMC 19th Street in Manhattan. Ditto for Searchlight's specialty pic Nomadland.

Netflix is going to give you plenty of reasons to stay on your sofa in March. It’s an extremely busy month for the streaming service thanks to the arrival of new original titles and a huge amount of licenced content.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAs an actor, Liam Neeson is in rare company these days. He’s one of the few stars with movies that have actually opened in theaters in the past 12 months.“We have streaming services, and they’re wonderful.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar expects the upcoming launch of the cheaper, ad-supported version of streaming service HBO Max to unlock new value and boost subscriptions.

Netflix is going to give you plenty of reasons to stay on your sofa in March. It’s an extremely busy month for the streaming service thanks to the arrival of new original titles and a huge amount of licenced content.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond believes a growing consensus around the long-fraught topic of theatrical movie release windows will boost the recovery of exhibition in 2021 and beyond.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says the will-they-won’t-they Tokyo Summer Olympic Games “are getting past the point of ‘if’.”

New York City movie theaters will have a big blockbuster available to them immediately when they’re able to open this Friday, as Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” will finally open on the big screen on March 5.“Tenet” will play at the AMC Lincoln Square, AMC Empire, AMC Kips Bay, Village East by Angelika in 70mm and Showcase Cinemas Jamaica.

As Disney prepares to release “Raya and the Last Dragon” in theaters and as a premium on-demand title this Friday, CEO Bob Chapek says that he thinks the experimentation his studio and others in Hollywood are doing with releasing movies during the pandemic will permanently change the movie business.“The consumer is probably more impatient than they’ve ever been before,” Chapek said during a Q&A at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, “particularly since now

Netflix is going to give you plenty of reasons to stay on your sofa in March. It’s an extremely busy month for the streaming service thanks to the arrival of new original titles and a huge amount of licenced content.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWarner Bros. animated family film “Tom and Jerry” debuted to $13.7 million at the domestic box office, one of the biggest opening weekend hauls of the coronavirus era and a signal that moviegoing may be on the mend.To be sure, it’ll take some time for ticket sales to reach pre-pandemic levels.

ordering all non-essential businesses to shutter following the discovery of the first COVID-19 cases in the city.But independently-owned theater operators say the reopening plan favors big theater chains that can afford the cost, such as AMC and Showcase, but hurts their small businesses. “That’s just a total loss of revenue by even opening. The overhead to run a theater is just tremendous,” said Harvey Elgart, owner of Kew Gardens Cinemas, Cobble Hill Cinemas and Williamsburg Cinemas.

Last year, not much was known about the future of the pandemic when the theaters shut down in March. At that time, everyone was naive to wonder if we’d see a summer movie season in 2020.

Cinema giant Cinemark Holdings swung to a loss for the fourth quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic but expressed confidence in a rebound in moviegoing once the virus is more contained. "The company’s financial results continue to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the company’s theaters were closed for an extended period of time beginning in March 2020," Cinemark said.