The several States in the United States have opened their economies and started getting back to normal by allowing the businesses to open. Restaurants, Malls, and Cinemas have opened in several states with the Governments keenly observing the possible increase in the Corona cases.
Even though allowed, Major theater chains have remained closed and not to take the risk while some smaller theaters have chosen to reopen — with heightened security measures in place. In most states, theaters are allowed to “operate at up to 25 percent of the total listed occupancy of any individual theater for any screening,”
While smaller theaters take the risk to make some bucks, the big chains see no use in operating at 25% since that does not even make up for the operational expenses. The standalone theaters report decent the turn around ranging from 15-20%. However, there are no movie releases to motivate the audience to come to the theaters, they feel.
Desi theaters which typically screen Indian films say that things will be entirely different for them. “We do not expect the Indian audience to exhibit similar behavior of the locals here. Moreover, unless movies release in India, there is no point in opening the theaters here,” they say.
