On Tuesday, Cinemark Theaters announced that it is making changes to its reopening plans. The theater chain has chosen to delay its reopening until Friday, July 24th. The decision comes after the delays of studio films like Tenet and Mulan, which were pushed back in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Upon reopening, the theaters will see returning classic movies and have “elevated cleaning and safety standards.” The reopening will take place ahead of the new planned released dates for a series of anticipated films: Unhinged on July 31st, The Broken Hearts Gallery on August 7th, Tenet on August 12th, Mulan on August 21st, Bill & Ted Face the Music on August 28th, and A Quiet Place Part II on September 4th.
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“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,” said Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi in a press 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.”
Movie theaters closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and most remain closed still. In April, Cinemark sold $250 million worth of debt securities to increase liquidity with its income stream at a halt. Chains and studios continue to come up with ways to draw audiences back into movie theaters once they do reopen, including bringing popular movies back into theaters. Despite all of this, at least half of theatergoers say they’ll avoid going to see a film even once theaters are open again.
Rival chain AMC Theatres made a similar decision on Monday, pushing back it’s reopening until July 30th. “We continue to devote extraordinary resources into our plan to operate our theatres with a hyper commitment to the safety and health of our guests and associates, notably in the United States through our new AMC Safe & Clean initiative,” said AMC Theatres CEO and president Adam Aron. “Our theatre general managers across the U.S. started working full time again today and are back in their theatres gearing up to get their buildings fully ready just a few weeks from now for moviegoers. That happy day, when we can welcome guests back into most of our U.S. theatres, will be Thursday, July 30.”
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