Showbiz Cinemas will be joining fellow Texas-based circuits EVO Entertainment and Santikos in being among the first cinema circuits in the world to reopen after COVID-19 closures.
The circuit announced it is planning to reopen its Texas and Oklahoma locations on May 18, programming archival titles at a reduced price until the launch of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, currently scheduled on July 17. The plans are contingent on guidance from local authorities as the reopen date approaches.
ShowBiz announced it will be instituting several sanitary measures when their cinemas open once again. These include, but are not limited to, staff wearing masks and gloves; requiring patrons to wear masks; and newly implemented auditorium disinfection procedures between every showtime.
Seating capacity per auditorium will be capped at 25 percent, with six feet of distance between all seating patterns. Capacity will be increased to 50 percent per auditorium in a future phase. While Showbiz employees will have their temperature taken before every shift, the circuit announced it is not intending to take guests’ temperatures.
“This is a fluid situation subject to governmental and medical recommendations and mandates,” said Jeremy Devine, ShowBiz Cinemas Vice President of Marketing and Film. “Safety is truly the defining measure, and we will strictly adhere to governmental guidelines with an overabundance of caution.”
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