Ready to get back in a movie theater? These cinemas are opening in Miami-Dade and Broward
Popcorn won’t be popping at mainstream movie theaters until July, but some independent cinemas are turning on their projectors and opening their doors soon.
Miami-Dade and Broward counties have issued emergency orders that have allowed for the reopening of movie theaters if they submit a plan. That’s the same process for casinos, museums and arcades, some of which have already opened.
In Miami-Dade County, ShowBiz Cinemas is one of the only theaters to have a plan approved and a reopening date set. For Broward, Cinema Paradiso and Savor Cinema have also marked approved reopening dates.
AMC Entertainment announced in early June that it is planning for a July reopening date for all of its theaters to coincide with the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and The Walt Disney Company’s “Mulan”, according to a company earnings call. Cineworld Group, the owner of Regal Cinemas, said it will begin reopening movie theaters next week and plans to have all theaters opened by July 10.
AMC and Regal Theaters own most of the movie complexes in South Florida.
ShowBiz Cinemas, located in Homestead, is a 3-in-1 entertainment center that includes theater, arcade and bowling alley. With its plans approved by Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon, the cinema will reopen on Thursday with new safety guidelines.
All employees and customers have to wear face masks (they don’t have to be worn when seated in the theater), staff will be temperature-checked, tickets will only be sold for 50 percent of each theater capacity, bowling will be in every other lane, and the arcade will be open with “extreme sanitation guidelines.”
As part of its reopening, the cinema will show “Raiders of the Lost Ark” starting Friday in Superior Digital Experience, similar to IMAX, for $5.osether independent theaters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have not yet announced reopening dates. Those include Flagship Cinemas in Homestead, Sliverspot Cinema in Miami, Paragon Theaters in Broward, Cobb Theatres in Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater, IPIC in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas in Deerfield Beach, and LeJeune Cinemas in Miami.
Other theaters that have not yet set reopening dates are those that primarily show indie films and not big blockbusters. Those includes Coral Gables Art Cinema, O Cinema South Beach in Miami Beach, University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Cinema and Miami-Dade College’s Tower Theatre. But Savor Cinema and Cinema Paradiso are an exception.
Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood opened on Tuesday with special coronavirus safety measures. They included floor markings, plexiglass barriers, mandatory face masks and reduced capacity theater seating.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)
