Hundreds of Regal Cinemas will reopen in the U.S. in the next few weeks.
According to a joint release from the movie theater chain and Warner Bros., around 500 locations will open on April 2 with limited capacity based on local guidelines.
In October, Regal Cinemas temporarily closed their U.S. locations. At the time, they said because cities and regions were closing public locations to slow the spread of the coronavirus “studios have been reluctant to release their pipeline of new films,” leaving the theaters without many offerings.
Regal Cinema locations will feature Warner Bros.’ film “Godzilla vs. Kong” during its first weekend open, and then release “Mortal Kombat” starting April 16.
Warner Bros. is releasing all of its 2021 films simultaneously in theaters and on it’s streaming service HBO Max.
After 2021, there will be a longer period of time between a film’s theatrical release and its availability on an online streaming service. The latest deal between Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas, and Warner Bros. gives films 45 days in the theaters before going to streaming platforms.
California and New York account for more than 20% of the total box office receipts each year, according to CNBC. Movie theaters in the Los Angeles area were permitted to reopen to limited capacity a few weeks ago, and those in New York could open the first week of March.
