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Cineplex is reopening Ontario theatres on July 16

The exterior of Cineplex Scotiabank theatre in Toronto

Are you ready to go back to the movies? Next Friday, you can.

After months of sitting dormant, Cineplex theatres and entertainment complexes in Ontario are reopening next Friday (July 16), as the province moves into step 3 of its reopening a little earlier than expected. But the country’s largest exhibitor is raring to go, announcing its Ontario venues will open “with enhanced safety and cleaning measures and a 50 per cent capacity to a maximum of 1,000 guests per building.”

Films set to screen on opening day include the new releases Space Jam: A New Legacy and Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions, Black Widow, The Forever Purge, The Boss Baby: Family Business, F9, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and A Quiet Place: Part II.

Advance tickets (with assigned seating to ensure physical distancing) will go on sale Wednesday on the Cineplex website, through the app and at venue box offices.

“Our team has been waiting for this day and are thrilled that next week we will finally be able to reopen our doors in Ontario,” the company’s president Ellis Jacob said in a press release.

Cineplex is also also reopening its amusement venues in Ontario, with mandated limitations: the Rec Room and Playdium complexes will institute physical distancing policies to accommodate a maximum of 1,000 indoor patrons, and 75 per cent capacity on outdoor patios.

A spokesperson confirmed that concessions will be open at its theatres, and masks will be mandatory under provincial guidelines – which state that “members of the public are permitted to remove a mask or face covering temporarily to consume food or drink, or as may be necessary for the purposes of health and safety.”

We’re just curious to see which films get the prized placement (and higher ticket prices) on the chain’s IMAX screens. (Space Jam matinees and Black Widow and F9 in the evenings, we’re thinking.)

Full details on Cineplex’s health and safety strategy, including concessions, masking and reserved seating and cleaning protocols, can be found here.

@normwilner

NOW film writers Norm Wilner, Radheyan Simonpillai and Glenn Sumi explore their feelings about going back to the movies in an episode of the NOW What podcast, available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or playable directly below:

NOW What is NOW Magazine’s twice-weekly podcast. New episodes are available Tuesdays and Fridays.

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