As cinemas in the US begin to reopen, distributors and exhibitors hope to lure the public to the screens with promises of increased safety, indispensable films – and a personal welcome from the stars.
Liam Neeson will personally greet moviegoers who will be watching his latest action thriller, The Marksman, at AMC Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side of New York before being shown on Friday.
“This is one for the diary,” Neeson told the Hollywood Reporter earlier this week. “It would be nice to welcome people. I think cinema is a bit of a sacred experience. I have felt this way since I was a child. ”
Neeson, 68, also confirmed that he had received his first dose of coronavirus vaccine.
New York is the second largest market for movies in the United States, after Los Angeles, where cinemas are still closed. San Francisco’s screens have recently seen the light of day reopening with other cities on the west coast, presumably not far behind.
New York’s cinemas will be limited to 25% capacity, with a maximum of 50 people in each showroom.
“The reopening of New York is a strong symbolic gesture to theater-goers that it’s good to put your tone in the water,” said Tom Ortenberg, head of Open Road / Briarcliff, which distributes The Marksman in the US.
The film opened in January in a number of areas around the world, where it has so far cost $ 16.4 million.
In a poll released Thursday, the U.S. National Research Group suggested that the confidence of moviegoers is now at its highest level since last summer. Studios are taking advantage of this sentiment, with a number of moving release dates following a year of postponement.
The successor to Peter Rabbit, originally released in February 2020, has moved from June 11, 2021 to May 14, 2021, while the sequel to A Quiet Place, set for March 2020, continues from September to May 31.
AMC is the largest cinema chain in the US. All of its 13 New York locations will reopen on March 5, and the Cineworld – owned Regal chain will reopen in April.
Plans for the reopening of cinemas in the UK remain dependent on the road map due to the closure unchanged. The current guidance means that indoor theaters in England will be allowed from 17 May, while outdoor cinemas will be allowed from 12 April.
There is currently no date for reopening cinemas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.