Ready to go back to the movies? What to know in the Triangle — including what’s playing
Movie theaters are allowed to reopen in North Carolina Friday evening, but you may not be able to grab a bucket of popcorn and settle in for a feature film right away.
While some of the movie theaters closed for more than six months because of the coronavirus pandemic will start running again this weekend, others are holding off.
“A theater is not like a light switch — you can’t just turn it on and roll,” said Bill Peebles, owner of The Rialto Theatre and Six Forks Cinema, both in Raleigh.
The Rialto, which mostly shows independent films, sold or tossed all concessions it had in stock when it shut down in March.
“The whole industry is out of practice, to be honest with you,” Peebles said Thursday.
“The commercial Hollywood market is, well, in chaos,” he added, explaining that many release dates have been postponed until next year, or indefinitely. “It’s easy to fill one screen, it’s hard to fill more than one screen.”
The plans come after Gov. Roy Cooper this week announced cinemas and other entertainment venues could reopen at limited capacity starting 5 p.m. Friday. The order is part of the state’s move into Phase 3 of easing coronavirus-related restrictions that have been in place since March.
Which theaters are opening and when?
▪ Alamo Drafthouse: The Raleigh venue plans to reopen Friday.
▪ AMC Movie Theatres: The theater chain announced that 23 AMC locations across North Carolina will reopen between Oct. 9 and and Oct. 16. In the Triangle, AMC DINE-IN Holly Springs 9, AMC Park Place 16 in Morrisville and AMC DINE-IN Southpoint 17 in Durham will open Oct 9. AMC CLASSIC Durham 15 and AMC will open Oct 16.
▪The Carolina Theatre: The Durham venue doesn’t have a set reopening date.
▪Lumina Theater: This Chapel Hill venue doesn’t have a set reopening date and plans to continue showing outdoor movies for now.
▪Park West 14: Movie-goers will have to wait for showings at this small chain, The Charlotte Observer reported. The company has four venues in the state: Sun Valley in Indian Trail, The Pointe 14 in Wilmington, Millstone 14 in Fayetteville and Park West 14 in Morrisville, according to its website.
▪Raleigh Grande: Owned by national chain Cinemark, the theater will reopen Oct. 9. The company operates six other cinemas across the state, in Asheboro, Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Matthews and Salisbury, according to its website.
▪Regal: The national movie theater chain is opening these Triangle theaters Oct. 2: Regal Crossroads & IMAX in Cary, Regal North Hills in Raleigh and Regal White Oak in Garner. Regal also has theaters in Apex, Brier Creekin Raleigh and Chapel Hill but has not announced those reopenings.
▪ The Rialto Theatre: The venue in Raleigh’s Five Points neighborhood plans to reopen Oct. 9.
▪Silverspot Cinema: This chain, which has one North Carolina location in Chapel Hill, is opening on Friday.
▪Six Forks Cinema: The Raleigh venue has no set opening date.
What are the rules?
Under Phase 3, individual theaters will be limited to 30% capacity or 100 people, whichever count is lower. The limitations apply to each movie screen.
People also are required to wear face masks and stand 6 feet apart in ticketing areas. The state order calls on movie theaters to provide hand sanitizer, disinfect during peak times, spread out seated groups and prohibit alcohol sales past 11 p.m.
What’s showing in theaters?
Here are some movies Regal and other major chains were were playing as of Thursday:
- “Infidel,” an action movie about an American man kidnapped in Egypt
- “The New Mutants,” a horror movie based on Marvel comics
- “Tenet,” a Christopher Nolan action movie about espionage
- “The Broken Hearts Gallery,” a comedy about a blog that chronicles break-ups
- “Break the Silence: The Move,” a documentary about the band BTS
- “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” a comedy and drama about a Charles Dickens tale
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
