North Bay's Galaxy Cinemas and parent company Cineplex are hoping for a fast and furious return to theatres for moviegoers while following all capacity and public health directives.
Cineplex recently announced it is preparing to reopen its venues in North Bay and across Ontario this Friday, July 16, coinciding with the move to Stage 3 of the Roadmap to Reopen Ontario. The company's cinemas have been closed for months on separate occasions due to government and public health restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario theatres will be able to open with enhanced safety and cleaning measures and a 50 per cent capacity to a maximum of 1,000 guests per building, per the details of Stage 3. Cineplex will reopen as many of its 68 theatres across Ontario as possible on Friday. The company operates a network of 161 theatres and 12 entertainment venues across Canada, all of which have reopened, except for those in Manitoba.
"Our team has been waiting for this day and are thrilled that we will finally be able to reopen our doors in Ontario," says Ellis Jacob, President and CEO, Cineplex. "We can now enjoy movies the way that they’re meant to be seen, with Cineplex providing the escape of the big screen and big sound that we have all been missing for so long."
Jacob and other industry players have been critical of the slow pace of the reopening and imposed capacity limitations.
See related: Retail, movie theatre execs slam Ontario's 'insane' reopening plans
See also: Ontario movie theatres facing 'unreasonable' reopening restrictions: industry group
Cineplex says its guests will be able to focus on the magic of the big screen and have fun on the games floor with VenueSafeTM, a set of protocols and procedures that Cineplex follows to keep employees and guests safe, per local provincial guidelines. These protocols include reduced capacity and enhanced cleaning, safety signage throughout its facilities, reserved seating at theatres and a games-floor configuration at its entertainment venues designed specifically to ensure proper physical distancing between games.
Cineplex notes its theatres have safely welcomed millions of guests over the course of the pandemic and there have been zero resulting cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada, or the world. The five Cineplex entertainment venues in Ontario — including its locations of The Rec Room and Playdium — will also reopen with physical distancing to a maximum of 1,000 guests per building indoors and 75 per cent outdoors on patios, while strictly adhering to local guidelines as set by public health authorities.
As part of the reopening, Cineplex will be showing highly anticipated new releases including Black Widow; F9 The Fast Saga; Space Jam: A New Legacy; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; A Quiet Place Part II; Escape Room: Tournament of Champions; The Forever Purge; and, The Boss Baby: Family Business. More information on showtimes and tickets will be available at Cineplex.com, the Cineplex app or your local theatre starting Wednesday.
