Most movie theatres won’t be opening Friday

Movie theatres are included in Stage 2 of Alberta’s relaunch on Friday, but most won’t be reopening their doors for a few weeks.

Canyon Meadows Cinemas indicated in a Facebook post that it will reopen on Friday, while Landmark Cinemas won’t reopen its three Calgary locations until June 26 at the earliest, CEO Bill Walker said in an interview.

He said that while they’re happy with the announcement that movie theatres can reopen Friday and they can work within the government’s guidelines, the relaunch date “was a significant advancement from what we thought was going to happen from a timeline perspective.”

Staff need to be recalled and trained for new COVID-19 prevention precautions, and the theatres need to stock up on personal protective equipment, Walker said.

“It was difficult,” he said. “For example, you didn’t commit to ordering PPE because you didn’t know what exactly was required.”

When movie theatres do open, expect a lot of real estate to yourself. Walker said only 45 per cent of each theatre’s capacity will be for sale. When a customer buys two seats together, the two seats to the left and two seats to the right won’t be sold to allow space for proper physical distancing, he said.

There will also be floor markings for physically distant lines at food concession cashiers and Plexiglas to protect workers, who will be wearing PPE, Walker said. Washrooms will have enforced distancing, for example, through the closure of every other urinal, he said, and they will be cleaned every half-hour. All tickets will be reserved in advance, and Walker said the theatres are encouraging non-cash transactions and customers to buy concessions in advance, as well.

Though theatres are set to reopen, many major movie studios have delayed the releases of summer blockbusters.

“There’s kind of a chicken and egg match going on there, where the studios aren’t inclined to release movies that they’ve invested huge amounts of capital in until they believe there’s an opportunity to monetize,” he said. “We’re in that waiting game now, where the studios are waiting for that critical mass of theatres to open and the ability to generate appropriate box office for them to get a return over time.”

For the first few weeks, expect a selection of classic hits, including movies such as Goonies, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Forrest Gump, Walker said.

“The studios have been great at opening up their catalogue to stuff that you can’t see on the big screen,” he added.

Cineplex, which operates eight theatres in Calgary, has yet to indicate when its theatres will reopen in Alberta.