A medical employee using a mask strolls near the AMC theater in Times Square amidst the coronavirus pandemic on May 7, 2020 in New York City.
Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images
AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Marcus Corp and other significant theater chains are resuming their doors to the general public Friday after 5 long months of being shuttered due to the coronavirus.
But even with rigid security procedures and brand-new movie releases, spectators might be reluctant to go back to movie theaters.
“The reopening of movie theaters this weekend is definitely a bittersweet moment for the film industry,” stated Jeff Bock, senior expert at Exhibitor Relations. “On one hand, it’s a relief to see cinemas open their doors again, but at the same time many of these theaters are opening in states and cities that still don’t have a handle on the spread of this virus. So, as nice as it is to see new content in theaters, many people simply won’t take the risk, and the ones that do could easily be exposed to the virus.”
Epidemiologists and health professionals are stressed that cooling systems like the ones in theater can press contaminated beads around confined areas and have actually alerted that some customers might eliminate their masks as soon as your home lights decrease.
While AMC CEO Adam Aron has actually set up brand-new air filtering systems in an effort to slow the spread of the illness, it’s uncertain if other theaters have the brand-new innovation.
According to a study in mid-August performed by Morning Consult, a worldwide information intelligence business, just around 17% of customers feel comfy going to the motion pictures. That’s below around 20% in mid-July.
“Personally I know of few in my peer group who are anxious to return to theaters, but we are not frequent attendees in any case,” stated Doug Stone, president of Box Office Analyst. “There may be stronger interest in younger groups, but I believe the over 40 crowd will be cautious.”
Of course, study outcomes have actually differed significantly. A survey of 16,000 spectators from Atom Tickets, an online film ticket seller, discovered that 74% of participants are all set to go back to theaters within one month and 40% would go back to theaters right away.
“I suspect we’ll see a surge of activity opening weekend and if all goes without incident, a very slow return to normal. Like months, not weeks,” Bock stated. “Of course, if multiple, traceable outbreaks occur, we’ll definitely be looking at (premium video on demand) for the foreseeable future until we wrangle this virus.”
