California Movie Theaters Ordered to Close Again

As COVID-19 numbers rapidly expand across the state of California, the Golden State is shutting [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

As COVID-19 numbers rapidly expand across the state of California, the Golden State is shutting down all movie theaters statewide in an attempt to help further the spread of the virus. Monday afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced the state would be closing theaters, restaurants, wineries, family entertainment venues, zoos, museums, cardrooms, and bars across the entire state.

Furthermore, the shutdown includes gyms, churches, salons, shopping malls, and offices for "non-critical sectors" in at least 30 counties throughout Sothern California.

Naturally, the move will likely cause major repercussions for Hollywood as studios look to get production started back up. With theaters closed in Los Angeles and its immediate metro area, it's likely most studios won't be rushing any new releases into theaters.

As it stands now, Christopher Nolan's Tenet is the next major release schedule for theaters, currently set to bow on August 12th. That is supposed to be followed by Disney's Mulan on August 21st, though both release dates are now likely to move. In fact, one Hollywood insider hypothesized Monday that Tenet would be pushed out of August entirely.

The shutdowns come nearly a full month of Newsom's team implemented a mandatory mask rule across the state. Through Monday, California has reported 335,000 cases of COVID-19 that have resulted in nearly 7,100 deaths.

Virtually all theater chains across the country have implemented drastic cleaning and social distancing measures in an attempt to get back into business. Earlier this month, Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi touted the success of the company's enhanced cleaning process.

"Cinemark is pleased with the moviegoer response and key learnings from our initial five-theatre test-and-learn phase in the Dallas area, and we look forward to welcoming movie fans back into our auditoriums across the country to enjoy this year's newest films," Zoradi said in a release. "Our multi-phased reopening plan was thoughtfully designed with multiple contingencies in place that enable us to efficiently adapt to today's ever-changing environment. We continue to pay close attention to status of the virus, local mandates and availability of new content while prioritizing the health and safety of our guests, employees and communities."

Cover photo by Luka Dakskobler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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