Movie Theaters Owners Urging Cuomo to Reopen New York Cinemas
Written by SOURCE on October 15, 2020
In its sixth week in theaters, Tenet earned just $2.1 million domestically, pushing its U.S. total to $48.3 million. The Christopher Nolan-directed film has undoubtedly felt the absence of the New York market. While 48 states have reopened their indoor movie theaters in some form, New York has remained closed since March at the behest of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Variety reports the executive committee of the Global Cinema Federation, a worldwide organization of major cinema operators, including AMC, Cinemark, and Cineplex, have written an open letter to Cuomo, pleading that he consider reopening theaters in, at least, certain areas of New York.
“We recognize your commitment to ensuring that the citizens of New York remain safe and protected from COVID-19. With certain zip codes in New York seeing spikes of the virus, we are, of course, not suggesting that you open the entire state at once,” the GCF said. “We are, however, requesting that you adopt a plan similar to that in California, where Governor Newsom has allowed openings on a county-by-county basis according to virus data.”
The letter suggests that New York’s reluctance to reopen movie theaters has contributed to a domino effect in the industry where studios are delaying the release of new projects to limit the possibility of seeing them tank at the box office, leaving cinemas with the tough choice of trying to weather the storm or close down, which could prove to be detrimental to their business. “Without new movies to play in our cinemas, many members of the global exhibition community will be forced to close their doors again,” the letter reads. “Many of these companies will not survive.”
It appeared that New York was moving towards reopening its movie theaters in late August, but we’re in October now, and there doesn’t seem to be a glimmer of hope in sight. It didn’t help that the number of new coronavirus cases in the state have steadily surpassed the 1,000 mark since late last month.
The letter references a study from the National Association of Theater Owners, which highlights the successful measures taken to limit the spread of the virus, as well as indicating that no reported cases have been tied to someone who recently visited the cinema. “It is genuinely no exaggeration to say that the continued closure of cinemas in your state has put their future in jeopardy, and we ask that exhibitors in New York be given the opportunity to operate again,” the letter reads. “We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and work together on a plan to reopen New York’s cinemas.”
