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Movie Theaters Reopen, Optimistic for 2021 - Loudoun Now

Movie Theaters Reopen, Optimistic for 2021 - Loudoun Now

tagsBass Performance Hall Seats Dec 5 , 21

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Since last March, Loudouners has been using the living room as a movie theater, reducing the screen size from 50 feet to 50 inches. For several months, this was their only choice. But now, half of the county’s movie theaters are open and showing movies every day of the week, and they expect a turnaround in 2021.

Since the beginning of October, all three Regal theaters in downtown Dulles, downtown Brambleton and the village have been closed, AMC Loudon Station 11 in Ashburn, Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in Loudon Station 1 and the The village’s CMX Movie Village 14 Leesburg has a limited capacity. According to the latest restriction order issued by Governor Ralph Northam, the permitted opening rate of cinemas is 30%.

Due to the relatively low attendance rate, although the theater can operate normally, it can basically only pass.

Scott Flanagan, vice president of operations, said that the Alamo Draft Cinema's business volume was less than 25% of the same period last year.

He said: "Compared with last year, we are significantly down."

To help finances, Alamo closed on March 17 and reopened in the first week of August. From now until at least the end of February, it only works four days a week (Thursday to Sunday). Flanagan said that the integration into four days can also help theater employees, many of whom work for tips and like to work shifts on weekends.

Flanagan said that the biggest challenge for Alamo is not the lack of moviegoers. Rather, this is the reason why Hollywood lacks content.

He said: "This may cause harm to people even more than people's concern for safety."

CMX Cinemas acquired Cobb Theaters at the end of 2017, which was closed longer than Alamo. Although CMX was also closed in mid-March, it did not reopen until November 20. It is now open every day of the week.

This year looks brighter. Between April and August, 55 new movies are planned to be shown on the big screen, many of which will be movies originally scheduled to premiere in 2020. One of them will be the 25th highly anticipated film in the James Bond series, "No Time To Die", which was originally set to premiere in April last year and is now set to be released on April 2.

CMX Cinemas chief operating officer Javier Ezquerro said that this year, when a new major movie is released almost every weekend, his team is “really excited about this year”.

He said: "I have never seen a calendar year like 2021. This is really shocking."

The theater manager said that their staff is the top priority of cleaning. All six theaters of the Loudon Theater, which represents four theater companies, are members of the National Theater Owners Association. The organization runs the CinemaSafe program, which promotes an agreement made by epidemiologists to safely bring guests back to the theater.

With the exception of Alamo spending $60,000 to upgrade HVAC filters and improve its fresh air intake system, all Drafthouse employees wear masks and gloves at all times and perform temperature checks at the back door before entering the theater. After each movie is shown, the crew also disinfects each theater with vital oxide sprayed from electrostatic sprayers.

Flanagan said that important oxide is one of the safest cleaners on the market. He gave an example. He said that a person can use a fork sprayed with chemicals 10 minutes ago. Of course, Alamo employees will not spray chemicals on tableware.

When a guest or group of guests purchase tickets at Alamo, the two seats between them and the next group will be automatically closed.

CMX cinemas use the same type of security measures. Its ticketing system also automatically locks the north, south, east and west seats of each group. Between each performance, the staff of the COVID Clear disinfection company used sprayers to disinfect the air and surfaces in the theater.

Loudoun's theater is trying to attract more guests by renting out individual theater rentals to various groups.

CMX Cinemas offers these private rental services, with prices starting from $99. The theater also offers $5 tickets for the entire day every "Terror Tuesday". On Sunday, CMX will celebrate "Hero Day", when front-line staff will receive free tickets at the box office.

At Alamo, the rent for individual theaters is $150, and the minimum meal purchase requirement for each group is $150.

Although it may seem expensive at first, Flanagan clarified that if the rent is divided among 10 people, the reward is the ability to watch movies in a theater that can usually accommodate 100 people, paying an extra $15 per person. Flanagan said that the minimum $150 diet is basically a given, because people usually buy food and drinks anyway.

He said: "Actually, I think this is a pretty good deal."

The Alamo also has the county’s only active admission theater, and Flanagan said the theater currently keeps the Alamo open.

Decades ago, when driving to the bottom of a larger screen to watch movies from inside the car, this was outdated, but since indoor theaters remain closed for most of the summer, this experience will be nationwide in 2020 Was reborn.

Alamo’s driving field is about five blocks away from the theater and is the product of a collaboration with One Loudoun since August. There, there are 186 cars that can be parked in an 18-foot-high space for passengers to listen to FM 94.3 and watch movies on a big screen-the price of the 4K laser projection screen is $40,000, and the price of the accompanying equipment is even higher . Guests can also order from Alamo’s menu and deliver the food directly to the car. Flanagan said the service is as fast as inside the theater.

He said: "For us, this is a big opportunity...but it is rewarding."

And it paid off, it did. Flanagan said that during the opening weekend of "Wonder Woman 1984", Ashburn was the 45th largest box office in the United States.

He said: "For the opening weekend, it is very important."

Andrea Khoury, president of Khoury Media Group, who is in charge of One Loudoun's public relations, said: “People really appreciate the choice of outdoor activities” and watch movies with their family.

Flanagan said that he has heard of many people over the age of 50, and they remember having participated in the fun of car driving decades ago.

"People like it," he said.

The county recently extended the licenses of the Alamo and a Loudon Church to keep these outdoor movies running until the end of April. From now until at least then, if allowed, movies will be shown on the screen every day. The screen can withstand wind speeds up to 24 mph.

Flanagan said: "The county has always given super support."

Loudoun County Parks, the Department of Recreation and Community Services also in July at Bolen A Parker near Leesburg (Bolen A. For each of these displays, 70 cars stopped and many people were full. Up.

Loudouners was lucky to visit three cinemas during the pandemic. Nevertheless, before COVID, they had six options.

According to the Regal website, all of its theaters were suspended on October 9 in response to the increasingly severe theatrical environment and the closure of key markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company stated that it will continue to monitor the situation and "announce plans to resume operations at an appropriate time, because major markets have more specific guidance on their reopening status, and in turn, studios can also resume their main distribution channels. . Enter the big screen."

These closures have undoubtedly caused a huge blow to the company, especially for the Brambles plant. The factory installed 4DX and ScreenX cinemas in December 2019 to enhance the visual effects on the screen and include seats synchronized with movement and other effects such as wind, fog, rain, lightning, snow, vibration and smell. At that time, the rich also announced that they would upgrade the seating and lobby of the Brambleton Theater.

Normally, Regal, a subsidiary of Cineworld Group, operates 549 theaters in 42 states including Washington DC, Guam, American Samoa and Saipan, which is equivalent to 7,211 screens.

Since many Loudouners have recently brought the company back to the theater, more people continue to play newly released movies in their living rooms.

According to a WarnerMedia survey, only 39% of American cinemas were open during the pandemic, and only half of the seats in these theaters were available for ticket sales. At the same time, the Internet within millions of American homes has not stagnated.

On Christmas Day, when WarnerMedia’s "Wonder Woman 1984" (Wonder Woman 1984) premiered in theaters, it also premiered on HBO Max. On December 27, the entertainment conglomerate announced that retail subscribers of HBO Max had watched "Wonder Woman 1984" on the day of its debut, in addition to millions of wholesale subscribers accessing the platform through wired, wireless and other services. Compared with typical days in November, the total viewing time of HBO Max on Christmas Day has also more than tripled.

WarnerMedia announced that it will release movies on HBO Max in 2021 and multiple movies will be shown at the same time. Until January 25, "Honder Woman 1984" can be played on HBO Max.

Nevertheless, Ezquerro and other similar recent announcements expressed optimism about the cinema industry.

He said: "Just because you are playing a movie does not mean you will never return to the theater."

Flanagan said that he is not too worried that streaming will shut down the theater, because the studio derives most of its revenue from movie ticket sales.

Flanagan said that to go deep into 2021 and beyond, he expects the operation to remain quiet in March. However, he predicts that after vaccinating people again in April, a little bit of normalcy will return, and he hopes that the governor will relax restrictions on businesses.

He said: "You will be able to see a clear difference in April." "We are excited about 2021."

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