Burnaby movie goers can expect to see Cineplex Theatres Metropolis at Metrotown reopening as early as next month.
Cineplex Inc. announced plans of reopen theatres across Canada and will begin showing “previously released titles” at six theatres in Alberta on June 26.
The movie giant hopes to re-open as many theatres as they can on July 3 depending on restrictions placed by the government and health authorities.
Work is also continuing on construction of a five-screen theatre complex in Burnaby at the Amazing Brentwood shopping centre.
According to Cineplex representative Sarah Van Lange, theatres in British Columbia will be among the second stage to open, with other provinces still to be determined.
In order to keep employees and guests safe, all theatres will be launching reserved seating in auditoriums to ensure proper physical distancing, showtimes will be staggered to reduce theatre lobby congestion, concession registers will be limited and employees will be required to wear personal protective equipment.
Cineplex said it is taking its resumption of business one step at a time, starting with "measured operations" at the Rec Room — a chain of entertainment locations serving food, drink and arcade games. Its Winnipeg location opened on Monday, while Calgary and Edmonton as slated to reopen later this week with isolated gaming sections for small groups.
A Rec Room entertainment centre is under construction in Burnaby at the Amazing Brentwood shopping centre.
During mid-March, Cineplex was forced to close all 164 of their theatres in light of COVID-19 and government restrictions.
While a trickle of smaller movies have been released over the past few months, largely at drive-in theatres, Hollywood studios have been reluctant to return to business as usual without confidence that people would consider visiting their local cinemas.
Warner Bros. recently pushed Christopher Nolan's Tenet, one of few big summer movies still on the schedule, back two weeks to July 31, and postponed Wonder Woman 1984 from August until the fall.
-With files from The Canadian Press
