Regal Cinemas to Reopen in July with New Safety Measures After Coronavirus Shutdown

Russell Crowe's Unhinged is set to be the first movie on the big screen on July 10 since the coronavirus shutdown

Published on June 17, 2020 11:47AM EDT

The movie theaters business is set to be back by next month.

On Tuesday, Regal Cinemas announced it is planning to reopen its theaters by July 10, when Russell Crowe's Unhinged is set to be the first new movie on the big screen since the coronavirus shutdown. Regal, which is owned by Cineworld Group, was forced to shutter its theaters in March to curb the spread of the rapidly spreading virus.

"We are thrilled to be back and encouraged by recent surveys that show that many people have missed going to the movie theater," CEO Mooky Greidinger said in a statement. "Amidst the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, Cineworld's main priority remains the health and well-being of both our customers and colleagues."

The company announced it will be taking preventive measures, like socially-distanced seating, adapted daily screening schedules and revamped cleaning procedures.

The announcement comes a week after AMC Theaters set its own reopening for July. The company said the majority of its theaters will be open by the end of next month.

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This means most theaters will be open by the time Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated Tenet opens on July 17, followed by Disney's pushed-back Mulan on July 27. The live-action remake was originally set to open in theaters just days before they were quickly shut down as the spread of the virus continued across America.

Many of this year's highly anticipated films — including Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984 and F9 — were delayed amid the pandemic and movie theater closures. However, some studios have also opted to release its films on demand.

Universal premiered its Trolls World Tour on demand, causing a rift between Universal and AMC. The chain decided to ban Universal's films from its theaters.

In May, a new study from Performance Research and Full Circle Research Co. indicated that the majority of moviegoers — 70 percent — would prefer to watch the first-run of a movie as a digital rental at home instead of heading to a theater.

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