Grab your mask and popcorn: Charlotte area movie theaters are reopening tonight
Movie theaters are opening again in the Charlotte area starting Friday night after having been closed for half a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We delighted to welcome our friends back,” said Gem Theatre owner Steve Morris. “Our ultimate concern is the health and safety of our customers so that we all can return a more normal life.”
Gov. Roy Cooper this week announced the state would move into Phase 3 easing coronavirus-related restrictions. Entertainment venues, like movie theaters, have been closed since March. Starting at 5 p.m. Friday, movie theaters and amusement parks can reopen at limited capacity. Bars across the state also may open but patrons may only be seated outdoors.
In theaters, with seating limited to 30% occupancy or 100 customers, whichever is less, “we expect quite a few sellouts since our customers are used to our 900 seat capacity,” Morris said.
Movie-goers are required to wear face masks and stay six feet apart at counters, according to the state mandate. Theaters also should provide hand sanitizer, spread out groups in the auditoriums and deep clean, according to the order.
Theaters also have their own safety protocols planned, including contactless payment options for tickets and concessions, Plexiglas at registers, cleaning auditoriums between showings, according to company officials and websites.
Regal on Friday told the Observer North Carolina theaters, including four in the Charlotte area, would reopen that night. However, on Sunday, the theater chain’s parent company Cineworld said on Twitter it is considering the temporary closure of all U.S. and U.K. cinemas, “but a final decision has not yet been reached.”
Other movie theater chains like Charlotte-based Stone Theatres opened its two South Carolina theaters in August but closed them less than a month later citing low attendance and lack of new releases.
Dale Coleman, vice president of the regional chain, previously told the Observer the regional chain wouldn’t open its four North Carolina theaters until possibly Nov. 20 with the release of the new James Bond film “No Time to Die.”
MGM, Universal and Bond producers said on Friday, however, that the film’s release date would be delayed until April 2. Many other blockbuster films like “Black Widow,” “Wonder Woman” and “Top Gun: Maverick” also pushed back release dates amid the pandemic.
Which theaters are open around Charlotte?
▪ AMC Movie Theatres: AMC theaters in the Charlotte region will begin opening next week, the company announced Thursday. Four Charlotte theaters — AMC Carolina Pavilion 22, AMC Concord Mills 24, AMC Northlake Mall 14 and AMC Park Terrace 6 — will open on Oct. 9. AMC Hickory 15 also will open Oct. 9, followed by AMC CLASSIC Lincolnton 8 and AMC CLASSIC Shelby 10 on Oct. 16. The chain, headquartered in Kansas and owned by Wanda Group in China, has 23 theaters in North Carolina.
▪ AmStar 14: The Mooresville theater is reopening Oct. 2.
▪Carolina Cinema Mall: Owned by Southeast Cinemas, the Concord theater with eight screens will reopen Oct. 2. Weekend pop-up drive-in movies continue.
▪ Cinemark Movie Bistro Charlotte: The theater on Monroe Road will reopen Oct. 9. The five other Cinemark theaters in North Carolina, including one in Salisbury, also will reopen next week.
▪ Gem Theatre: The Kannapolis theater, one of the oldest single-screen movie theaters in continuous operation, will reopen Oct. 9 showing “The War With Grandpa.”
▪ Our Town Cinemas: The Davidson four-screen theater with cafe and drafts said online it is making preparations to reopen.
▪Regal: The Knoxville-based national chain is reopening most Charlotte area theaters Oct. 2, according to the company website. Regal Cinebarre Arboretum and Regal Stonecrest at Piper Glen in Charlotte, Regal Stonecrest Birkdale & RPX in Davidson and Regal Franklin Square Stadium 14 are reopening Friday, a company spokeswoman confirmed Friday. However, Regal Phillips Place and Regal Starlight Charlotte are opening soon, according to the website.
▪Studio Movie Grill: The theater opened in December in Prosperity Village in the University area. A spokeswoman said the theater does not have plans set to reopen in Charlotte yet.
▪ Sun Valley 14: The Indian Trail theater owned by Charlotte-based, family-owned regional theater chain Stone Theatres will likely reopen in November, company vice president Dale Coleman previously told the Observer.
What’s showing in theaters?
Some theaters will show a mix of major motion pictures and classics and other movies. Here are some of the feature films playing at theaters:
▪ “Infidel,” an action movie about an American man kidnapped in the Middle East
▪ “Tenet,” a Christopher Nolan action movie about espionage
▪ “The Broken Hearts Gallery,” a comedy about a blog that chronicles break-ups
▪ “The New Mutants,” a horror film based on Marvel Comics
▪ “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” a comedy drama about a Charles Dickens tale
▪ “Unhinged,” an action thriller about an unstable man
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Grab your mask and popcorn: Charlotte area movie theaters are reopening tonight."