Reading International today announced that it has begun limited cinema operations in New Zealand and will commence operating certain Reading Cinemas in Australia on June 11 in line with government and health department regulations following recent easing of certain government mandated COVID-19 closures.
Kelly Tricarico is the founder, president and CEO of Cinema Pro, Inc and has been involved in the entertainment construction industry for nearly twenty years. She is also an executive member of the board of the newly formed trade group Women in Exhibition. As movie theatres around the country slowly begin to reopen I wanted to get Tricarico’s thoughts about the challenges involved in getting movie theatres ready for the public as we slowly emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia and New Zealand’s largest film exhibitor, Event Cinemas, has released the results from the largest survey of cinemagoers. Conducted in April and May, more than 20,000 Australians provided opinions and captured sentiment on returning to cinemas once they reopen. Overwhelmingly, Australians say they are comfortable returning to cinemas with social distancing measures in place with 94 percent confirming that they intend to return at the same frequency or more as before the pandemic.
The Independent Cinema Alliance and the Cinema Buying Alliance are partnering with Digital Light Sources to launch the first UVC air and surface disinfection program for facility-wide theatre complexes.
Marcus Theatres has added a drive-in movie theatre to its Twin Creek Cinema in Bellevue, Nebraska. Strong Technical Services worked with Marcus to develop the concept. Additional locations are under consideration.
As has long been expected, Korean manufacturer LG has announced plans to begin selling LED screens to mainstream movie theatres around the world. The news was first reported by the Korean media outlet Aju News.
CinemaNext has produced its own test Digital Cinema Package to allow cinemas to regularly test their digital projection and sound equipment to ensure they are in working order prior to reopening to the public. The company’s four test DCPs – one encrypted and three non-encrypted – are available to cinema exhibitors across Europe and internationally and can be downloaded free of charge via the EclairPlay content delivery platform at https://www.eclairplay.com/en_BEL/movies/cinemanext-test-dcp-package.
Everybody who loves movies longs for the moment that movie theaters worldwide will re-open again, because everybody knows there is no better place to experience a movie than in a cinema with friends and family.
Éclair Theatrical Services has partnered with France’s Superior Commission for Image and Sound (CST) and the Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) by overseeing the DCP mastering of their “Test” film, produced specially to allow French cinemas to ensure their projection equipment remains fully functional prior to reopening.
Nigeria’s cinema sector is perhaps the most evolving in the nation’s creative industry, as movie going has become a norm amongst many working-class youths and Millennials in the recent past. In metropolitan cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, the usual #TGIF aura on Fridays is commonly dominated by scenarios of young corporate workers, couples and students, storming cinemas as soon as the clock ticks to call it a day.
