These 100+ California Movie Theaters Set To Reopen This Week

Los Angeles CA

15 March, 2021

4:59 PM

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CALIFORNIA — An age-old American tradition that brought comfort in times of war and during the Great Depression was rendered unsafe in the era of the coronavirus. But as California's cases continue to plummet, leaving behind a dire winter surge, dozens of movie theaters will reopen this week. By midweek, most counties in California will break free from the state's most restrictive pandemic tiers, allowing for the return of some indoor pastimes. The majority of the state's 58 counties enter the red "substantial" tier this week, allowing movie theaters to reopen at 25 percent capacity with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions among groups. Some of the largest movie theater chains in the U.S. — AMC and Cinemark — have already announced plans to reopen theaters in the Golden State. AMC Theatres, the world's largest movie theater chain, opened the doors to its flagship cinemas Monday afternoon in Burbank and Century City. Beginning Friday, the company will start the process of reopening the rest of its 55 California theaters. Cinemark, another large theater chain, will also reopen cinemas on both ends of the state this month. Its theaters in Long Beach and across Orange, Placer, Contra Costa and San Bernardino counties already opened over the weekend, according to a statement. SEE ALSO: Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions: What's Opening In CA This Week Regal, the second-largest theater chain, has not released information on reopening and did not immediately respond to Patch for comment. Los Angeles County — dubbed the state's COVID-19 epicenter — emerged from the "widespread" purple tier on Monday, allowing movie theaters to reopen for the first time in almost exactly a year. AMC plans to reopen 25 theaters in the county, and Cinemark is preparing to reopen 10. "Los Angeles is one of the most meaningful moviegoing markets in the world, and we look forward to providing moviegoers the entertainment experience they have been craving with the health and safety protocols they can trust," Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said in a statement. California also happens to be home to several famed and beloved cinemas such as the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in San Francisco, but it remains to be seen how quickly such local theaters will bounce back. Derek Zemrak — the owner of the historic Orinda Theatre in the Bay Area — told Patch he's not chomping at the bit to open at a limited capacity. "We are still in discussion on when to reopen," Zemrak said. "In a few weeks, we will start private family rentals. It still doesn't make economic sense to open at only 25 percent seating capacity." Intimate cinemas such as the Orinda Theatre, which opened in Contra Costa County in 1941, will face a different set of struggles than their corporate counterparts with fewer resources and screens to welcome back patrons. Brenden Theatres — a small chain with locations in Modesto, Concord and Vacaville — is gearing up to reopen theaters near the end of March, spokesman Robert Lytle told Patch. "It has been a long year for everyone, and we think now more than ever people could enjoy some of the magic that cinemas provide," Lytle said. "We are taking our time and making sure that we follow all [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and county guidelines to ensure the safety of our employees and customers alike. When we are open, it will be at 25 percent capacity, with social distance spacing between seats and concession registers, as well as increased sanitation spraying at all high contact areas and during cleanup in between shows." The former Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood will announce details in the coming days, a spokesperson told Patch. Tristone Cinemas, another small chain located in the Inland Empire, opened its Temeku Cinema in Temecula, according to its Facebook page. But even as theaters across the Golden State spark their marquees for the first time in months, if not a year, the moviegoing experience is likely to look a lot different from what came before. Harkins Theatres, another American chain with locations in California, will install safety shields or partitions in its theaters, as will other theater chains. Theaters will also reduce capacity, space seats apart and require mask-wearing for all guests and staff in the red-tier areas that comprise regions where more than 65 percent of Californians now live. Hollywood studios have delayed release dates of their most-anticipated films until most theaters can reopen. Until then, the list of films that began showing this week remained limited. Theaters such as AMC began showing the following movies. "Raya and the Last Dragon""Tom & Jerry""Chaos Walking""Boogie""The Father" "The Little Things""Judas and the Black Messiah""The Croods""Wonder Woman 1984""Nomadland" Here's a list of some of the theaters that could reopen in California this week Tristone Temeku CinemaTerra VistaBrea Plaza 5Juruba 14Palm Desert 10 Harkins Theatres Moreno Valley 16 Cerritos 16Chino Hills 18 Mountain Grove 16 AMC Theatres 55 California locations listed here Cinemark Theatres Apple Valley — Cinemark Jess RanchCarson — Cinemark Carson and XDChico — Cinemark Chico 14 and XDChino — Cinemark Movies 8Corte Madera — Century CinemaDaly City — Century 20 Daly City and XD and IMAXDanville — Century Blackhawk PlazaDowney — Cinemark Downey and XDEl Centro — Cinemark Imperial Valley Mall 14Elk Grove — Century Laguna 16 and XDFolsom — Century Folsom 14Fremont — Century at Pacific Commons and XDHanford — Cinemark Movies 8Hayward — Century at HaywardHayward — Century Southland MallHuntington Beach — Century Huntington Beach and XDLa Quinta — Century La Quinta and XDLancaster — Cinemark Movies 12Lancaster — Cinemark 22 and IMAXLarkspur — Century LarkspurLong Beach — Cinemark at the Pike Outlets and XDLos Angeles — Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 and XDLos Angeles — Cinemark 18 and XDMarina - Century Marina and XDMill Valley — CinéArts SequoiaMilpitas — Century 20 Great Mall and XDMonterey — Monterey 13Mountain View — Century Cinema 16Napa — Century Napa Valley and XDNorth Hollywood — Cinemark North HollywoodNovato — Century Rowland PlazaOrange — Century Stadium 25 and XDOxnard — Century RiverPark 16 and XDPalmdale — Cinemark Antelope Valley MallPalo Alto — CinéArts at Palo Alto SquarePlaya Vista — Cinemark Playa Vista and XDPleasant Hill — Century 16 Downtown Pleasant Hill and XDRancho Mirage — Century @ The River and XDRedding — Cinemark Movies 8Redding — Cinemark Redding 14 and XDRedwood City — Redwood Downtown 20 and XDRialto — Cinemark Renaissance Marketplace and XDRichmond — Century Hilltop 16Rocklin — Blue Oaks Century Theatres and XDRoseville — Century Roseville 14 and XDSacramento — Century DOCO and XDSacramento — Century 16 Greenback Lane and XDSacramento — Century Arden 14 and XDSalinas — Century 14 Northridge MallSan Bruno — Century at Tanforan and XDSan Francisco — CinéArts at the EmpireSan Francisco — Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XDSan Jose — CineArts Santana RowSan Jose — Century 20 Oakridge and XDSan Leandro — Century 16 Bayfair MallSan Mateo — Century 12 San MateoSan Rafael — Century NorthgateSan Rafael — Century RegencyTracy — Cinemark Movies 14Union City — Century 25 Union Landing and XDVallejo — Century 14 VallejoVentura — Century 10 DowntownVictorville — Cinemark Movies 10Victorville — Cinemark 16 Victorville and XDWalnut Creek — Walnut Creek 14 and XDWoodland — Cinemark Movies 5Yuba City — Cinemark Yuba City Please check back for updates to this list.