Texas, as with several other states in the US, will be lifting stay-at-home restrictions for its citizens, as well as allowing non-essential businesses to reopen beginning as soon as this weekend. That means that cinemas, along with other businesses that have been closed for weeks already, will be able to open their doors, as long as they keep the crowd size to below 25 people. But that doesn’t mean theaters will be rushing back, with Alamo Drafthouse already saying its locations are going to remain closed.
READ MORE: Alamo Drafthouse Brings The Theater Experience To You With “Alamo-At-Home” Initiative
Speaking to THR, Alamo Drafthouse, which is a chain that operates 40 locations around the US and is based in Austin, Texas, has said that despite the Governor’s insistence that non-essential businesses can reopen, the company isn’t opening its doors anytime soon.
An Alamo spokesperson said, “Opening safely is a very complex project that involves countless new procedures and equipment, all of which require extensive training. This is something we cannot and will not do casually or quickly. We will not be opening this weekend. But know this, when we do open, we will be providing the safest possible experience for both our staff and our guests and we can’t wait to see you all again!”
READ MORE: AMC Won’t Reopen Theaters Until New Studio Films Are Ready, Most Likely In July
The news of Alamo continuing to remain closed despite the go-ahead to reopen comes on the heels of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) saying that most major chains won’t be able to reopen as quickly as states hope. Like Alamo, many of the nation’s cinemas don’t have the time to get everything back up and running in less than a week’s time. Not only that, but chains such as AMC Theatres have also stated that they won’t reopen until the studios are able to promise that new films will be hitting the screens.
While it’s unclear if Alamo Drafthouse will take as long as AMC, Cinemark, or Regal to reopen, most people seem to be pointing to July 17’s release of “Tenet” as the first major film to hit the big screen since the stay-at-home orders went into effect. That means that most cinemas will aim to be open to the best of their ability by that time, leading many to believe that they will begin to reopen their doors and show older films sometime in June.
READ MORE: Spike Lee Doesn’t Think Cinemas Are Ready To Reopen: “Hell To Da Naw”
Again, since Texas is rolling out the reopening plan a bit earlier than most, it’s unclear if cinemas in that state will be able to get back to relative normalcy quicker. But for now, it appears that Alamo Drafthouse isn’t following the state’s timeline and is going to make sure everything is safe before attempting to invite customers back.