Cinemark shifts re-opening to end of July & changes its stance on face masks

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Now the trifecta is complete! Following the moves of AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas, Cinemark becomes the last of the big three movie theater chains to move its re-opening date to the end of the month due to studios shifting tentpole releases like TENET and MULAN, into August. The exhibitor is also backtracking on its stance that patrons won't have to wear protective face coverings in order to enter their doors. Much like AMC and Regal before them, they are now requiring guests to wear them to enter the premises.

It was only a few short weeks ago that Cinemark became the first of the big three movie theater chains to announce re-opening plans. The process was supposed to begin at the end of June and take place in stages that would eventually lead to a full re-open by the time TENET arrived on July 17. A lot has changed since this announcement was made so now Cinemark has to adjust to those changes. Cinemark will now re-open on July 24 with catalog titles and then July 31 with new releases. As of now, Russell Crowe's UNHINGED will be the first new movie to go wide after moving off its July 10 date last week. The more concerning release date changes that resulted in Cinemark following the lead of AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas by postponing their re-open date, was when Christopher Nolan's TENET moved from its July 31 date to August 12. This was followed by Disney's MULAN making moves from July 24 to August 21. Movie theaters need these new releases to be in play to justify their plans to re-open and that's essentially why all of these moves keep happening.

There are still some points of concern from studios as they rearrange release dates based on stories about the COVID-19 pandemic that show spikes in populous states like Texas, Florida, and California. Studios are especially looking at California, particularly Los Angeles County, and New York City because they need these two largest box office markets in the States to be open to justify risking releasing $200 million films like TENET and MULAN. On Monday, Los Angeles County said they're putting a "hard pause" on opening their movie theaters while New York City isn't including movie theaters in their Phase 4 of reopening their economy at this time. Maybe this will change as we get closer to August but it seems like a sure thing the studios will push these particular releases into September if these markets aren't ready to open their doors. From there it becomes a question of will these major exhibitors keep pushing their re-opening dates along with the movie release date changes or will they go with the new dates they've landed on and hope for the best?

Cinemark is also flipping the script on its expectations for face masks. When they first announced reopening plans, they said patrons would be encouraged but not forced to wear face masks to enter their theaters. In the time since their announcement, AMC and Regal also reversed their decision on this matter and likely to not look like the rebel in this game of movie theater bingo, Cinemark is now requiring patrons to wear face masks upon entry. As is the case with AMC and Regal, you have to wear your mask throughout the theater but you can remove it while eating and drinking in the auditorium. 

Do YOU think this has all become a bit exhausting? Do YOU think Cinemark, AMC or Regal will be ready to operate by the end of July?