Cinemas in England are now open for the public again, as they join pubs, museums and hairdressers in restarting the economy after a prolonged yet much needed lockdown in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While it is highly advisable to check the online sites before heading out to the cinemas, it’d be interesting to note how the future of films unfolds in the post Covid-19 world. With strong precautionary guidelines of social distancing as the virus continues to spike various parts of the world, film viewing will be a whole new experience. Especially when all producers have an open forum to showcase their films on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc, will cinemas see the footfall they use to enjoy? Only time will tell.
Below is a list of cinemas and the dates they are most likely to open. The dates may vary, please check the online schedules before planning a trip to the movies.
July 4: Odeon: Trafford Centre, Norwich, Milton Keynes Stadium, Bournemouth BH2, Port Solent. Odeon Luxe: Lee Valley, Warrington, Durham, Birmingham Broadway Plaza, Epsom. Showcase Cinema de Lux: Coventry, Bluewater, Reading, Newham Nottingham, Peterborough, Leeds, Liverpool, Teesside.
July 10 : Odeons at Liverpool One, Metrocentre, Silverlink, Guildford, Chatham, Mansfield, Tunbridge Wells, Beckenham.Odeon Luxes in Liverpool Switch Island, Telford, Tamworth, Maidenhead, Derby, Hull, Bromborough and Stafford. Around 70 more Odeon cinemas will be open by July 16. A further eight Showcase and five Everyman cinemas, as yet unspecified
July 17: Curzon Canterbury. July 24: Curzon Mayfair. July 31: Most Vue, Cineworld and Picturehouse cinemas to reopen along with more Curzons
In a report published online, Vue’s CEO Tim Richards said: “We have learned how to do this from our operations in Taiwan where we never closed and have successfully operated through pandemics such as SARS in the past; and from our sites in Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland and Lithuania where we have recently and successfully reopened to the public.”
Cineworld plans to implement safety measures at the chain will include online booking, contactless payment, training and PPE, staggered film times, social distancing, and more.
As a part of the government’s “careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors”, drive-in cinemas will follow these guidelines.