Inside reopening night at Harkins Camelview
Even through a mask, the scent of movie theater popcorn wafting through the corridors of Scottsdale Fashion Square is unmistakable.
Families, couples and friends flocked to Harkins Theatres’ Camelview movie theater for its reopening on Friday night. It was the first time movie-goers could catch a film on the big screen since March and many were happy to be out resuming normal activities, Harkins loyalty cups in hand.
Indoor movie theaters could have reopened in May when Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order expired, but the big chains stayed closed.
Friday marked the first time theaters such as Harkins and Regal Cinemas reopened since March. Others will soon follow suit: AMC announced 12 of its theaters will reopen on Sept. 3, and metro Phoenix locations of Alamo Drafthouse will reopen on Aug. 31 and Sept. 3.
“We went to the movies every Friday night probably 40 weeks out of the year,” said Jeremie McCubbin, describing his weekly theater-going ritual prepandemic. McCubbin, his husband and their friend Beth Anne Johnson were happy to be back at the theater but had mixed feelings about safety concerns.
McCubbin said they had been going to the grocery store and pharmacy during the pandemic, but had only gone out to eat two times since March. He has faith in Harkins’ safety protocols, though, adding that “they’re probably doing more than other theaters.”
Another reason McCubbin felt good about the return to the movies was that he bought four seats for three people in the back row of the theater to ensure minimal contact with others.
Johnson, however, was still apprehensive. “I’m a little concerned because it is a confined space,” she said, noting a grocery store trip is a much faster trip indoors than an hours-long movie.
What Harkins’ safety protocols looked like
It almost seemed like a regular Friday night, save for the universally worn face coverings and extra cleaning procedures. Employees were not available to comment on the reopening, but they were seen constantly wiping down tall Plexiglas barriers set up between them and the customers. It was also slightly less crowded than the average Friday, but that is partly by design: Harkins is staggering showtimes so fewer people have a chance to gather in the lobby.
Indoor movie theaters have been closed since March, but now that the COVID-19 spread is “moderate” in counties such as Maricopa and Pinal according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, they can start to reopen at reduced capacity if proper mitigation measures are put in place.
Earlier this week, Harkins announced plans to open all of their Ari
zona theaters on Aug. 28, including those in Yuma County despite the “substantial” COVID-19 spread there. CEO Mike Bowers said in a press release there would be extra safety protocols in place in Yuma.
New health and safety protocols at all Harkins Theaters include mandatory face coverings for employees and guests when they are not in seats eating or drinking, and reduced seating to provide for more space between guests. Harkins’ website also says theaters now have improved hospital-grade air filters and HEPA filter vacuums.
If you bought a loyalty cup earlier this year, you can still get some use out of it: Bring the cup and you will still get your $2 refill, but in a paper cup.
Some theater-goers were just glad to get out of the house
There were some brand new releases on offer on Friday night, such as “Unhinged,” “The New Mutants” and “The Personal History of David Copperfield” that seemed to draw people back to the theater.
Abby Mendez and her three cousins saw an afternoon showing of “Unhinged” and they were glad to be watching movies on the big screen again. “We weren’t planning on seeing it,” she said, but when they found out theaters were open again they chose something to see and got out of the house.
Mendez was happy with the safety protocols in the theater and said when she looked on the app to select seats and saw they were “super spread out” she felt better about going.
Rob Lenz and his two friends also didn’t plan to see a movie tonight. “We were just walking around the mall and saw it was open so we stopped in,” he said. They made the snap decision to buy tickets to the showing of “The New Mutants,” mainly so they’d have something to do.
When asked if they were bored the past few months and happy to be out again, the answer from the group was an emphatic and unanimous “yes.”