Posted in: Movies | Tagged: covid-19, movie theaters, movies

New York Movie Theaters Outside of the City Will Reopen October 23rd

Published Sat, 17 Oct 2020 13:02:35 -0500

The movie theater industry managed to get a rare win in 2020. When it comes to reopening, there are a lot of why some states and counties have decided not to reopen movie theaters. At the moment, there is the debate whether or not there is even an audience that wants to go to theaters, but that is neither here nor there. New York City has been cited as the reason some studios have elected to move their movie from 2020 to 2021. While it seems silly that one city would hold such an impact, reportedly, New York City makes up 7%-10% of the domestic box office, and frankly, studios need every penny they can get. Some now, we have a step in the right direction. According to Deadline, Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that movie theaters outside of New York City will reopen on October 23rd. They must keep capacity at 25% or up to 50 people, and they will be able to sell concessions.

New York City, USA - Jan. 5, 2017: View of AMC Empire 25 theater on 42nd Street, in Manhattan, at night (Image: Mark Zhu / Shutterstock.com) — New York City, USA – Jan. 5, 2017: View of AMC Empire 25 theater on 42nd Street, in Manhattan, at night (Image: Mark Zhu / Shutterstock.com)

That last part about concessions is a big deal if you know anyone who has worked at a movie theater. They don't actually make their money off of ticket sales but selling concessions. That's why, if something goes wrong, a theater is much more likely to give you a voucher for a free movie than they will ever give you free popcorn. The lack of concessions is reportedly why San Francisco isn't opening its theaters yet, even though they could. They couldn't sell concessions, so it isn't worth it to them. Massachusetts reportedly initially opened without the ability to sell concessions, but now can.

This is a step in the right direction for New York, who seems to have some of their collective shit together, unlike the state that this writer lives in (Utah). There's still no word as to when New York City will open but maybe soon. If New York City cinemas open, there is a chance we might see some of the December releases, notably Wonder Woman 1984 released this year.

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