Marcus Theatres, the fourth largest exhibitor in the United States and the fifth largest in North America, has provided details on reopening of the bulk of their theaters throughout the month of August.
The Midwest-based chain—which operates theaters across Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia—has announced that it will open 35 of its theaters this Friday, August 21, in time for the release of Unhinged and Warner Bros.’ 10th anniversary re-release of Inception. A remaining 30-plus theaters will reopen a week later, on August 28. Six Marcus locations already opened in late June. With these two August phases complete, approximately two-thirds of Marcus and Movie Tavern’s 91 locations will be open in time for the September 3 release of Tenet in the United States.
Marcus locations will reopen with a mix of classic and new titles, the latter list including Unhinged, Words on Bathroom Walls, Inception, New Mutants, and The Personal History of David Copperfield in August.
Information on which theaters are reopening can be found here.
With this news, the top five chains in North America have dated a reopening for a substantial chunk of their theaters. AMC is opening 100 of their approximately 600 U.S. locations this Thursday, while Regal will begin opening theaters this Friday, the 21st. Cinemark, which already has a handful theaters open, plans to complete their phased reopening by August 28. Approximately 80 percent of Cineplex theaters in Canada are already open.
All Marcus theaters will reopen under the chain’s new health and safety guidelines, which require social distancing, food pickup (rather than delivery) in dine-in theaters, and required mask usage except when eating or drinking, among other measures. “The safety and well-being of our guests and associates will always be our top priorities,” said Rolando Rodriguez, Marcus Theatres’ chairman, president, and CEO. “We implemented our updated safety protocols at a few locations in late June and have been extremely pleased with the response from theatre-goers. In fact, we surveyed the very first guests back and more than 96 percent indicated it was a comfortable and safe experience. That customer confidence, combined with upcoming new movie releases, creates a great entertainment option at a time when we could all use an escape.”
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