Cineworld has announced it will reopen US cinemas next month, followed by the UK in May, after signing a deal with Warner Bros to show films in theatres before they are streamed.

The company will open a handful of its Regal cinemas in the US in early April.

Godzilla vs. Kong will be the first film to make its debut in the theatres.

Cineworld said the deal with Warner Bros means films will have a period of exclusivity in cinemas before being made more widely available.

It follows a row last year when Cineworld and rival AMC, which owns the Odeon Cinemas chain, criticised Universal Pictures for releasing Trolls: World Tour online while theatres were forced to close because of the coronavirus.

Both Cineworld and AMC threatened not to show some Universal Pictures films.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56496213

Cineworld has announced it will reopen US cinemas next month, followed by the UK in May, after signing a deal with Warner Bros to show films in theatres before they are streamed.

The company will open a handful of its Regal cinemas in the US in early April.

Godzilla vs. Kong will be the first film to make its debut in the theatres.

Cineworld said the deal with Warner Bros means films will have a period of exclusivity in cinemas before being made more widely available.

It follows a row last year when Cineworld and rival AMC, which owns the Odeon Cinemas chain, criticised Universal Pictures for releasing Trolls: World Tour online while theatres were forced to close because of the coronavirus.

Both Cineworld and AMC threatened not to show some Universal Pictures films.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56496213
Still waiting!

Odeon has become the latest cinema chain to say it will reopen on 17 May following months of lockdown closures.

Following a similar announcement from Cineworld, Odeon said it would open most of its 120 UK sites with new safety measures in place.

The industry has been hit hard by Covid and Odeon's owner AMC warned last month it was running out of cash.

"We've all missed the magic that the cinema brings to movie watching," said Odeon managing director Carol Welch.

The chain - Britain's largest - said it would be reopening the "vast majority" of its sites, including flagship cinemas at London's Leicester Square, Manchester's Trafford Centre and Birmingham's Broadway Plaza.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56981630

Will you be going to see a film?

Will you be going to see a film?
I will not be going again until it is completely safe to go.

...I dearly want to see Spielberg's remake of "West Side Story".

Will they be taking temperature checks?

Cinemas are set to reopen in England, Scotland and Wales from next Monday - but there's been a bit of a backlash to the rules in Wales.

The UK Cinema Association says regulations are stricter in Wales than the other nations, with venues having to follow the same rules as indoor hospitality.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the association which represents 90% of the industry including big cinema chains, says because many cinemas are licensed for the sale of alcohol Welsh officials "lumped them in" with pubs and restaurants.

So only a "small minority" of Welsh cinemas will be able to reopen next week because of these extra rules.

The Welsh government - which is due to confirm on 13 May whether the lockdown easing will go ahead on 17 May - says cinemas will open "when safe to do so".

Cinemas are set to reopen in England, Scotland and Wales from next Monday - but there's been a bit of a backlash to the rules in Wales.

The UK Cinema Association says regulations are stricter in Wales than the other nations, with venues having to follow the same rules as indoor hospitality.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the association which represents 90% of the industry including big cinema chains, says because many cinemas are licensed for the sale of alcohol Welsh officials "lumped them in" with pubs and restaurants.

So only a "small minority" of Welsh cinemas will be able to reopen next week because of these extra rules.

The Welsh government - which is due to confirm on 13 May whether the lockdown easing will go ahead on 17 May - says cinemas will open "when safe to do so".

What movie will they be showing?

What movie will they be showing?
The only film I have heard so far is "Sound of Metal". A film that is on my list, but I will wait.

It'll be nice to see them before they close them forever, which will happen within the next 2-3 years. Thanks Covid.

It'll be nice to see them before they close them forever, which will happen within the next 2-3 years. Thanks Covid.



It'll be nice to see them before they close them forever, which will happen within the next 2-3 years. Thanks Covid.


It isn't Covid's fault. Covid is only the last nail in the coffin of the demise of movie theaters. Way back at the beginning of this thing I predicted-somewhere on this very board-that Covid would finish off things that were struggling on their last legs anyway, and that movie theaters were among them. Various chain stores have already gone. I think you are accurate in saying that in 2-3 years cinemas will be largely gone. Oh, there will always be small niche places for hard core movie fanatics to go to, but the day of the big blockbustuster  and "going to the movies" as the norm will be over. We live in an on demand culture. Having to go to a certain place at a certain time, fight traffic, pay money to park, pay big money for a ticket and for "refreshments", sitting through endless previews...and of course the biggest irritation of them all...noisy humans with their cell phones. I don't care how many cushy airline seats they install, why go through all this torture when you can stream a movie in the comfort of your home and even pause it to go to the bathroom. 

And look what's already happened. The Academy Awards have tanked to within an inch of it's life and the Golden Globes have been cancelled in several senses of the word.  Movie theaters are toast. It's a whole new landscape out there.

It isn't Covid's fault. Covid is only the last nail in the coffin of the demise of movie theaters. Way back at the beginning of this thing I predicted-somewhere on this very board-that Covid would finish off things that were struggling on their last legs anyway, and that movie theaters were among them. Various chain stores have already gone. I think you are accurate in saying that in 2-3 years cinemas will be largely gone. Oh, there will always be small niche places for hard core movie fanatics to go to, but the day of the big blockbustuster  and "going to the movies" as the norm will be over. We live in an on demand culture. Having to go to a certain place at a certain time, fight traffic, pay money to park, pay big money for a ticket and for "refreshments", sitting through endless previews...and of course the biggest irritation of them all...noisy humans with their cell phones. I don't care how many cushy airline seats they install, why go through all this torture when you can stream a movie in the comfort of your home and even pause it to go to the bathroom. 

And look what's already happened. The Academy Awards have tanked to within an inch of it's life and the Golden Globes have been cancelled in several senses of the word.  Movie theaters are toast. It's a whole new landscape out there.


A whole new landscape that is increasingly conformist, increasingly Orwellian, repressive, and isolated in every sense of the world. Everything is digital. We're becoming some dystopian hybrid of WALL-E and 1984.

What movie will they be showing?
Disney's latest offering opens on May 28th, "Cruella", a live-action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney film, "101 Dalmatians'.

BTW, I saw some of the location filming for this in London back in December 2019.

Cinemas are set to reopen in England, Scotland and Wales from next Monday - but there's been a bit of a backlash to the rules in Wales.

The UK Cinema Association says regulations are stricter in Wales than the other nations, with venues having to follow the same rules as indoor hospitality.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the association which represents 90% of the industry including big cinema chains, says because many cinemas are licensed for the sale of alcohol Welsh officials "lumped them in" with pubs and restaurants.

So only a "small minority" of Welsh cinemas will be able to reopen next week because of these extra rules.

The Welsh government - which is due to confirm on 13 May whether the lockdown easing will go ahead on 17 May - says cinemas will open "when safe to do so".

So I heard the UK is completely opening back up but if they have these restrictions, masks, social distancing, etc. I don't consider that re-opening completely. If they still have distancing markers on the ground and limited capacities in the movie theatres, they aren't completely back open to normal. Plus on transit you must be wearing a mask, right?

Cineworld enjoyed a "strong opening weekend" in the UK as film fans rushed back to cinemas, led by demand for Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.

The chain said more people than expected returned as lockdown eased and it now anticipates "a good recovery in attendance over the coming months".

It also saw "good concession income" as families snapped up popcorn to accompany their viewing.

The US-owned chain has seen huge losses due to closures during the pandemic.

In November, it was even in talks over a rescue deal that would have meant shutting UK cinemas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57226155

So I heard the UK is completely opening back up but if they have these restrictions, masks, social distancing, etc. I don't consider that re-opening completely. If they still have distancing markers on the ground and limited capacities in the movie theatres, they aren't completely back open to normal. Plus on transit you must be wearing a mask, right?


But which would you rather have, nothing open but no mask wearing or everything open and some social distancing and mask wearing?

There have been some experiments on having supporters in football stadiums and a couple of nightclub events to see what the transmission rates are afterwards.

There have been some experiments on having supporters in football stadiums and a couple of nightclub events to see what the transmission rates are afterwards.
Only 15 positive COVID-19 tests after trial mass gatherings at BRITs, Liverpool’s Circus club and beyond

But which would you rather have, nothing open but no mask wearing or everything open and some social distancing and mask wearing?

There have been some experiments on having supporters in football stadiums and a couple of nightclub events to see what the transmission rates are afterwards.

I'd rather have everything open and back to normal like pre-pandemic, period.

I'd rather have everything open and back to normal like pre-pandemic, period.
Open everything, even with the Covid-19 and the many variants still rampant?

Open everything, even with the Covid-19 and the many variants still rampant?

Yes. These variants existed before Covid and we got along just fine with our natural immune systems protecting us.

Yes. These variants existed before Covid and we got along just fine with our natural immune systems protecting us.
How can the variants exist before Covid-19 first came into being, and how many deaths has there been with so many people with their "natural immune systems protecting" them?

How can the variants exist before Covid-19 first came into being, and how many deaths has there been with so many people with their "natural immune systems protecting" them?

Illnesses and viruses have been around since the dawn of time and we did just fine without the government telling us what to do. Also if death is prevented from viruses, it will still happen due to something else. Death is inevitable.

Illnesses and viruses have been around since the dawn of time and we did just fine without the government telling us what to do. Also is death is prevented from viruses, it will still happen due to something else. Death is inevitable.
That is true, but right at this moment it is Covid-19 the cause of the most deaths.

That is true, but right at this moment it is Covid-19 the cause of the most deaths.

It's never gonna end then. Every year a new variant will be out and back to lockdown or some restrictions forever. The vaccine doesn't protect against all variants.

I'd rather have everything open and back to normal like pre-pandemic, period.


Who wouldn’t want that.

But if that couldn’t happen for another year, say, which would you rather have?


But which would you rather have, nothing open but no mask wearing or everything open and some social distancing and mask wearing?

I'd rather have everything open and back to normal like pre-pandemic, period.
To put in context: here in the UK, shops, restaurants, barbers, and cinemas have reopen back on April 12th, and three to four weeks later cases have risen.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

But which would you rather have, nothing open but no mask wearing or everything open and some social distancing and mask wearing?

There have been some experiments on having supporters in football stadiums and a couple of nightclub events to see what the transmission rates are afterwards.

I'd rather have everything open and some social distancing/mask wearing.

I'd rather have everything open and back to normal like pre-pandemic, period.

I don't blame you.

To put in context: here in the UK, shops, restaurants, barbers, and cinemas have reopen back on April 12th, and three to four weeks later cases have risen.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

Then open everything back up and don't watch the news. There will always be daily cases. There will always be variants popping up, it's never gonna end then. Someone made a funny joke I would like to share. A son asked his dad "When is the  pandemic gonna end" and he replied "when the government says so".  ;D I don't see this ending ever for this reason and there probably won't be any rebellion. Once these current variants are old news, there will be other variants. And then another virus strain altogether. Only instead of relying on our natural immune systems to protect us like normally in time's past, it will be the government calling the shots, and people agreeing with it through media programming. I'm so tired of it.

I'd rather have everything open and some social distancing/mask wearing.

Personally I would rather all masks and social distancing be removed so we can put this nightmare behind us.

Personally I would rather all masks and social distancing be removed so we can put this nightmare behind us.

I know, I don't blame you Slim, this pandemic has taken a toll on everyone.  :(