Cineworld set to reopen in July

Moviegoers rejoice! Cineworld has just announced that they are planning to re-open all of their cinemas in England from July 10th. And with a backlog of huge films like Tenet and No Time to Die just waiting to be put on the big screen, there isn’t a better time this news to drop.

Back on March 20^th, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, shortly after majority if not all UK cinemas closed their doors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, that if the rate of infectivity was low enough cinemas could reopen in July. Cineworld has clearly taken these words to heart and is all set for that July 10th reopening date, as long as they are given the final go-ahead by the UK government in regards to restrictions.

Screenings will be a bit harder to come by as Cineworld will be doing staggered screen times.

So, if everything hopefully goes as intended it looks like in less than a month, we can be back in cinemas stuffing popcorn in our faces like the good old days. But we are still in a pandemic so, as with most things these days, there is going to be safety measures in place for staff and the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. And these changes may lead to quite a different cinema experience.

While movies will finally start getting released again, screenings will be a bit harder to come by as Cineworld will be doing staggered screen times. This is to help enforce social distancing by reducing the chance of customers crossing paths and a build-up of crowds in the foyer. The staggered screen times will also allow employees additional cleaning time between screenings, which is another thing Cineworld will be trying to do overall, making sure to sanitise high touchpoints in the cinema like door handles.

One of the most significant changes is that of picking where you are going to sit. Cineworld has stated that booking will ensure friends and family can sit together (presumably those within the same bubble) while ensuring a safe distance from other groups. This clearly means that the screens will be working at a more limited capacity so be aware when planning to go. There are many more measures Cineworld has put in place that are similar to other places like increasing contactless payment to £45 and plastic screens at the tills.

So it seems that Cineworld is more than ready for us and I bet more than a few of us are ready to be back in their warm embrace.