UPDATE: According to "Deadline", Los Angeles Health Officials confirm that movie theaters in the county can begin reopening on Monday as the county has moved out of the "Purple tier" and into the "Red tier." This all goes into effect at 12:01 AM on Monday and the decision was made based on the state of California achieving a milestone of 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in hard-hit communities. This will allow movie theaters, indoor dining, gyms, and other shuttered facilities to begin reopening at limited capacity.
It has finally happened! As we approach a year since movie theaters began to shutter nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been announced that Los Angeles movie theaters can begin reopening next week at 25% capacity. Los Angeles follows New York City which recently reopened on March 5 under the same conditions.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced Thursday that theaters will be allowed to reopen at the limited capacity being set sometime between Monday and Wednesday of next week. The county was waiting for the state to distribute two million vaccine doses to underserved populations, a key trigger in the state’s reopening framework that was established by Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Governor announced on Wednesday that California would hit the vaccine milestone today, meaning that counties could move to the “red tier” if they had less than 10 new cases a day per 100,000 people. This tier will also be significant for places like retail stores, gyms, indoor dining, museums, zoos, fitness centers, dance studios, aquariums, and yoga studios. The key difference for establishments like gyms, dance studios, and yoga studios, is that they can reopen at 10% capacity rather than 25%.
Before we get too excited, movie theaters in Los Angeles will need some time to get situated for reopening since this news arrives a little last minute. The major theater chains like AMC & Regal believe their venues won’t be operational until Friday, March 19, because they need more time to hire back staff. They will also need to decide exactly how many staff to hire back since limited capacity will make things initially hard to turn a profit. They will be wanting to keep their labor costs low. In addition to limited capacity, Los Angeles movie theaters will also have to have reserved seating, and groups will have to be spaced at least six feet apart in all directions. Also, like in New York City, you can't have more than 100 people in one auditorium.
This is good news for the industry though! Los Angeles is a huge box office market much like New York City & with both being back online, studios will feel more confident about releasing their films on the big screen rather than delaying them even further. I know I'm thrilled! I live in Los Angeles County & today marks a year since I've been to a movie theater and I've REALLY missed it. It's truly time to go back to the movies again!
If YOU live in the Los Angeles area, are YOU thrilled to be able to soon go back to the movies again?