COVID-19: China’s Cinemas Start To Reopen After Shutdowns

China’s cinemas are reopening after being closed for six months to help slow the spread of the coronavirus – cinemas in “low-risk” areas can open their doors again starting this today Monday.

As most of the country is now classified as low risk it is expected to be essentially a nationwide reopening.

Cinemas will be subject to a strict set of rules, including screenings being limited to 30% capacity and the number of movies shown at a venue capped at 50% of its previous volume.

Customers’ temperatures will be taken, and masks will have to be worn at all times by both cinema-goers and staff.

China, which was the first epicentre of the pandemic, is the world’s second-largest market for movies, with the country’s box offices taking in $9.2bn (£7.4bn) in 2019.

But that figure is, unsurprisingly, expected to fall sharply due to cinema closures and domestic and Hollywood film releases being cancelled or moved online.

---BBC