New York theaters can open in March at 25% capacity

After nearly a year of closures, New York theaters will be allowed to open on March 5, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

Theaters in the city will be licensed to operate at 25% capacity, in accordance with current rules for venues in the rest of New York State.

The cinema’s announcement follows a recent series of measures taken by the governor in recent weeks to reopen the state’s economy. Large New York City arenas like Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden are preparing to welcome limited numbers of fans for live basketball games starting Tuesday.

Last week, Cuomo said indoor family entertainment centers, such as arcades, trampoline parks and laser tag facilities, could reopen from March 26 and outdoor amusement parks can return. April 9 at limited capacity.

“Governor Cuomo’s announcement that theaters will reopen in New York City in the first week of March is another important step towards restoring the health of the film industry and our society,” said Adam Aron , CEO of AMC, in a statement.

Aron said the company will reopen its 13 New York City theaters on March 5.

Notably, March 5 also marks the day that Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” becomes available in theaters and on Disney + and Lionsgate’s “Chaos Walking” hits theaters. Later in March, Warner Bros. “Godzilla v. Kong” will also debut.

“New York theaters will be aligned with the rest of the state: 25% capacity; no more than 50 people per screening; masks; allocated seats; social distancing; staff responsible for controlling occupancy, traffic, and seating to ensure compliance, “Cuomo says.” They need the improved air filtration, ventilation, and purification standards that the DOH has specified.

Cuomo has repeatedly said that the state saw the end of its coronavirus peak after the holidays while simultaneously warning of the emergence of highly contagious strains of the virus, such as the B.1.1.7 strain first identified in the UK, could derail the state’s progress and reverse its downward trend in cases.

New York reports a weekly average of 7,400 Covid-19 cases per day, a drop of more than 13% from a week ago and the lowest state average since early December, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

“Theater owners are pleased with the announcement of the safe reopening of New York City theaters,” the National Association of Theater Owners said in a statement. “Stringent voluntary health and safety protocols have allowed theaters across the country to operate safely and responsibly at higher capacity limits for several months without a single outbreak of COVID-19 being traced in cinemas.

“New York City is a major market for film distribution in the United States; its reopening gives film distributors confidence in fixing and keeping their theatrical release dates, and is an important step in the recovery of the entire industry, ”the group said. represents more than 33,000 cinema screens in the United States

New York is a vitally important hub for the sale of movie tickets. There are nearly 300 theaters in New York State, but the primary geographic metric analysts focus on is the New York Designated Market Area, or DMA.

This is an area surrounding New York City that includes parts of Connecticut and New Jersey and excludes theaters north of Albany and west of Cooperstown. Within this DMA are 234 theaters which represent 7.4% of the total national box office, according to Comscore.

It is the second largest ticket sales engine in the United States, just behind Los Angeles DMA, which accounts for 8.9%.

New York City has above average ticket prices and population density, which means it generates more money for the industry than other parts of the United States and Canada. This is one of the reasons why the studios have been keen to push films on the schedule and wait for New York theaters to reopen to the public.

The city has also had massive advertising penetration. Movies that perform well in the city generate a buzz that helps sell tickets in other parts of the country.

Not to mention that New York is symbolically important as it is one of the places where there is a high concentration of Hollywood producers, directors and actors living in the region.