GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Movie theaters are back, and just in time for some big releases.
"We're able to reopen both for some holiday movies and for the Christmas season," says Emily Loeks, director of community affairs at Studio C.
When theaters were allowed to operate for a brief time in the fall, Celebration Cinema opened with some new safety measures. And Loeks says they worked perfectly.
"Both in Michigan theaters and across the country, there weren't any cases of spread of COVID within a theater amongst staff or patrons in the theater space," she says.
Like before, you'll be in assigned seats socially distanced from anyone around you. Every other row will also be blocked off so no one is directly in front of or behind you. But there is a new rule change as well.
"New for this reopening is that masks are required 100% of the time in theaters," explains Loeks.
That means no snacks or drinks during the movie, but you can still buy them to go. Loeks says the closures have been tough on the employees, so she feels good about getting them back to earning a paycheck.
"Our team matters a lot to us, there's a lot of highly skilled and valuable people," says Loeks. "Being able to put them back to work ahead of the holidays and as we move into 2021 is just pointing towards this light at the end of the tunnel."
And though some major movie releases are still being delayed or sent straight to streaming services, Loeks believes just getting the doors back open is the first step in the right direction.
"All of these things are about moving towards what we all remember and are hoping for to happen soon again," she says.
Celebration Cinema also waived its online ticket purchasing fee to encourage visitors to buy tickets ahead of time and prevent lines.
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