After nearly a year, New York City movie theaters are set to reopen in a limited capacity on March 5.
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New York Governor Cuomo has announced that New York City movie theaters will be able to reopen beginning March 5. At that time seating capacity will be limited to 25% and no more than 50 people per screen. Masks will be required as will social distancing.
All theaters intending to open will also need to follow the air filtration and purification standards set forth by the Department of Health.
“Governor Cuomo’s announcement that movie theatres can reopen in New York City in the first week of March is another important step towards restoring the health of the movie theatre industry and of our company,” said AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron in a statement.
NATO New York President – and CEO of Bowtie Cinemas – Joe Masher said of the news, “With New York City reopening, the studios will hopefully have more confidence to keep their release dates as planned, which is a huge step in the process of recovery for the entire exhibition industry.”
“New York City is a major market for moviegoing in the U.S.; re-opening there gives confidence to film distributors in setting and holding their theatrical release dates, and is an important step in the recovery of the entire industry. We look forward to expanding the capacity from 25% to 50% in the very near future so that theatres can operate profitably,” the national arm of NATO said in a statement.
Films scheduled for release on March 5 include Raya and the Last Dragon, Boogie, and Chaos Walking.
