New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that the city’s cinemas will be aligned with the rest of the state of New York from March 5, with permission to reopen at 25% capacity, with a maximum of 50 people by screen, masks, social distance and other protocols.
They include the air purification and filtering standards previously specified by the DOJ. Officials at the governor’s press conference said that no Covid-19 test will be necessary, as is the case in large areas like Madison Square Garden and Barclay’s Center, which could reopen in late February. New York City cinemas will follow the same guidelines set for cinemas in the rest of New York state in October. Keeping the state and one of the two largest film markets in the country in the dark for almost an entire year hampered the release schedule in international cinemas
Related Story
‘Saturday Night Live’ Cold Open features embarrassed public figures Ted Cruz, Andrew Cuomo and Gina Carano being grilled by Britney Spears
As Covid rates drop, recently reaching their lowest levels since November – before the holiday boom – theater owners have been watching with dismay while other venues were allowed to reopen.
The liaison with the governor is live now, I’ll post details as soon as they come …
EXCLUSIVE: We are hearing from well-placed sources that Governor Andrew Cuomo could finally give the green light today that New York cinemas will be able to reopen after being closed for almost a year since mid-March 2020. We don’t have the details in what form or shape yet . It may be that the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens open first before Manhattan. At the same time, our sources say that you never know with Cuomo: he is full of surprises. So, if nothing happens today, well, then it is possible and it is an ongoing struggle between the exhibition and the governor of the state of NY.
Another source tells us that it will take three weeks for New York cinemas to reopen. Again, let’s see what happens to this press phone today.
Exhibitors were shocked that Cuomo has yet to give OK to New York cinemas after allowing sports arenas, amusement parks, indoor family recreation centers, etc. to reopen within capacity limits, in addition to allowing New York restaurants to increase their indoor dining capacity to 35% from this Friday, February 26.
The exhibition fight with Cuomo was epic during Covid: backstage cinemas were helped by Principle filmmaker Christopher Nolan and the head of the Tribeca Film Festival, Jane Rosenthal, speaking with Cuomo. When Covid’s caseload was improving in October, it allowed some counties to reopen, however, only 62 of the state’s 280 theaters have their lights on. The second exhibitor Regal decided to stay closed until the big movie studios launch more products and do not touch the cinema window. Last summer, major exhibitors AMC, Regal and Cinemark joined forces and filed a federal lawsuit against New Jersey to reopen during Covid-19, but lost the bid. In late August, New Jersey finally reopened theaters in time for Warner Bros. ‘ Principle to 25% of capacity.
Once again, they crossed their fingers for the cinemas to finally open in NYC. We will know soon.