This list will be updating on a regular basis: Finally, the movie capital of the world can show movies in theaters again after a year’s shutdown of all exhibition due to the pandemic.
Los Angeles County this afternoon lined up with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order on Wednesday to move movie theaters into the red tier, allowing them to reopen at 25% capacity between Monday and Wednesday next week.
But of course, not every chain will be open for business by Friday, March 19.
Here’s what we know so far:
You can count on AMC. The chain’s CEO Adam Aron said today on Fox Business Network, “It’ll take a few days to assemble staff but all protocols are set and we will open L.A. theaters one week from tomorrow, no matter what.”
AMC has major multiplexes at the Century City Mall, three locations in Burbank, the Sunset Boulevard location that was the old Sundance theater and the 3rd Street Promenade location in Santa Monica.
Cinemark has shown to be ready whenever cities have lifted their Covid restrictions. We’re still waiting to get official details on which of its venues will be turning their lights on, but don’t be surprised if the Promenade 18 and XD venue at the Howard Hughes Center comes back online by March 19.
In a statement, a Cinemark spokesperson said: “Cinemark is excited by the prospect of once again welcoming Los Angeles moviegoers to the immersive, cinematic experience of seeing a movie on the big screen at our theatres. We are optimistically following local mandates and look forward to sharing a reopening update once government restrictions are announced. All Cinemark theatres reopen with The Cinemark Standard, enhanced cleaning and safety protocols at every step of the moviegoing experience. Since beginning our phased reopening in June, we have consistently received 96% guest satisfaction ratings with Cinemark protecting their health and safety.”
TCL has the Chinese 6 and the Imax Chinese Theatre here in town. I hear that the chain’s owners were on a conference call at the time of this report to deliberate whether or not to reopen next weekend. Stay tuned.
Who are the holdouts?
Regal, which has the L.A. Live & 4DX location in downtown Los Angeles, probably won’t be back until May. In the short term, the chain remains closed. It’s two multiplexes in Santa Clarita, north of L.A., remained closed.
Deadline has learned from art house chain Laemmle — which has a brand-spanking-ew 6-plex in Newhall, CA, that’s ready to have its ribbon cut — won’t reopen for another four to five weeks from this weekend. The chain has to retrain its staff, as well as make hires. Laemmle has assessed that it’s better to reopen the chain all at once, rather than sporadically.
Also, Arclight cinemas, which has the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, will take some time to come back online. In addition to its Sunset Boulevard location, it has multiplexes in El Segundo, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Culver City. The chain is waiting for more tentpole feature product to be released by the studios. While logic would dictate that would be when Disney’s Black Widow rolls around on May 7, Arclight would prefer to wait until there are enough movies in theaters so that it can turn a profit. Perhaps that will be when capacity restrictions jump to a greater percentage.
Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas in Pacific Palisades also will wait a bit before turning the projectors back on. Landmark would like to reopen its cinemas here in Westwood and on Pico Boulevard by next weekend, but it’s currently a work in progress.
We’ll update you on more theater reopenings in L.A. as we learn about them.
L.A. County came close to reopening theaters over the summer before Newsom shut down the county prior to the Fourth of July holiday. While other nearby counties including Ventura and Orange reopened soon after Labor Day for Warner Bros.’ Tenet, Los Angeles never did. However, drive-ins were allowed to operate off-and-on since the pandemic took hold in mid-March last year.
Meanwhile, here’s how the wide release calendar is looking for March, April and May:
March 26
Nobody (Uni)
March 31
Godzilla v. Kong (WB/Legendary/HBO Max)
April 2
The Unholy (Sony)
April 9
Voyagers (Lionsgate)
April 16
Mortal Kombat (New Line/HBO Max)
April 23
Separation (Open Road)
The Wrath of Man (UAR)
May 7
Black Widow (Disney)
May 14
Those Who Wish Me Dead (WB/HBO Max)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Sony)
May 21
Spiral (Lionsgate)
Free Guy (20th/Disney)
May 28
Cruella (Disney)
A Quiet Place II (Paramount)