Theaters reopen in 2 counties

The projectors are ready to roll and the big screens in the Bay Area about to light up once again, according to Cinemark, which announced this week that several of its Century movie venues would be among the first indoor theaters in the area to welcome back filmgoers this month.

The decision comes after Marin and San Mateo counties advanced this week to the secondmostrestrictive category of California’s reopening blueprint, from purple to red. Cinemark didn’t waste any

time — Century’s Redwood Downtown 20, Century at Tanforan in San Bruno and Century Northgate in San Rafael reopened at 25% capacity on Friday, according to the Texasbased movie theater chain.

Cinemark also said four more theaters would begin indoor film screenings on March 5: Century 20 Daly City, Century 12 San Mateo, Century Regency in San Rafael and Century Rowland Plaza in Novato.

Reopening dates of the chain’s 19 other Bay Area theaters have not yet been announced, as they are in counties still in the purple tier.

The theaters “will reopen with greatly enhanced cleanliness, sanitizing and safety measures at every step of the moviegoing experience,” Cinemark said, noting that full details are available at www.cinemark. com. Measures include staggered showtimes, disinfecting between screenings and mandatory maskwearing.

Movies showing at the newly reopened theaters include “Tom & Jerry: The Movie,” “The Mauritanian,” “News of the World,” “Minari,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Land,” “The Little Things,” “The Marksman,” “The Croods: A New Age” and “Promising Young Woman.”

Cinemark’s announcement comes two weeks after the permanent closure of its CineArts Empire theater in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood. Last year, the movie chain shut down its Century Cinema in Corte Madera.