Theatres, multiplexes gearing up to reopen on November 10 around Tamil Nadu
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Theatres and multiplexes in Tamil Nadu have indicated that they may resume operations from November 10 following the usual working process (SOP) laid down by the State and Central governments.
A number of standalone theatres stated they may wait for an additional week and take a call on the idea of the movies which are prepared for launch. If there aren’t any new releases from the Tamil trade, theatre-owners are planning to re-release a number of movies or display different language movies.
On Saturday, the State authorities stated it could enable theatres and multiplexes to reopen from November 10 with 50% of seating capability. To create consciousness among the many viewers, theatres have been requested to display messages on the COVID-19 precautionary measures through the exhibits.
“Unless there is some big film for Deepavali, we will not reopen the theatre. We would rather wait than incur losses. On normal days, our occupancy rate is 70%; now, with the 50% limit, it does not make sense for us to reopen immediately,” stated the proprietor of a well-liked theatre within the metropolis.
Udeep B., managing director of Mayajaal, stated his screens would open on November 10.
“Complete COVID-19 new normal SOP has been set in the multiplex last month itself,” he stated.
“There are some films in the pipeline, which we expect to be released. Or we will open with other language films playing in other States. There will be some new release for Deepavali or there are some Hindi films releasing. We will play them,” he stated.
‘Patrons will come back’
Archana Kalpathi, CEO, AGS Cinemas, stated, “We will be starting on November 10 to test the protocol. Looking at the way restaurants and other places have bounced back, theatres will also see patrons come back if we give them comfort and safety. If there is no new content, we will release movies that were running before COVID-19 broke out.”
Most theatre-owners identified that producers had been hesitating to launch movies, questioning whether or not audiences would threat visiting a theatre. They need to wait and watch. “We have already incurred heavy losses and we don’t want to release films and get stuck again. Families will take more time to visit theatres until the number of COVID-19 cases come down. And patrons aged below 25 will not come unless it is a big star film. I will wait until Pongal,” a producer stated, talking on the situation of anonymity.
The 1,213 screens with over 6.36 lakh seats within the State downed curtains in March. According to estimates, a one-day closure of all theatres will lead to a mean lack of ₹8 crore.
Amusement parks
Theme park operators are in a dilemma as they rely closely on colleges and kids. While a handful of them stated they might resume work on November 10, others stated they might wait till 2021. “We have a lot of water-rides. So we don’t want to take chances. We will open in March 2021,” stated a theme park operator from the southern a part of the State.
In Chennai, VGP and some extra amusement park operators stated they might reopen this month as quickly as their contract employees and workers return.
“We will resume operations on November 10. We will start training our staff in queue management and handling various rides in compliance with the norms prescribed by the government,” stated V.G.P. Ravidas, managing director of VGP Universal Kingdom.
Vincent Adaikalraj, director of Black Thunder, stated, “We have a park at Udhagamandalam that we will open [after getting approval from the Collector]. With regard to Black Thunder, we will open it at November-end or in summer. We are still evaluating the same.”
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