Cinema City, the Czech Republic’s largest cinema chain with 12 multiplexes across the country and one megaplex (Cinema City Chodov), will reopen from June 26, parent company Cineworld announced today.
Cineworld’s Cinema City locations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be the corporation’s first worldwide to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. The company is the second-largest cinema chain worldwide, with nearly 10,000 locations.
Cineworld’s Cinema City multiplexes will open June 26 in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Cinema City multiplexes in Bulgaria and Poland will reopen from July 3, while Cineworld’s Yes Planet locations in Israel will reopen from July 9.
In the United States, Cineworld-owned Regal multiplexes will reopen from July 10.
While local competitor CineStar reopened its Czech multiplexes as soon as anti-coronavirus restrictions in the Czech Republic allowed on May 11, Cinema City locations in the Czech Republic have been closed since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in mid-May.
“We are thrilled to be back and encouraged by recent surveys that show that many people have missed going to the movie theatre,” Cineworld executive officer Mooky Greidinger stated in a press release.
“With a strong slate confirmed for the coming weeks, including among others Tenet, Mulan, A Quiet Place Part II, Wonder Women 1984, Black Widow, Bond, Soul, Top Gun Maverick and many more, the entire Cineworld team remains committed to being ‘the best place to watch a movie’.”
According to the press release, Cineworld locations will enhance cleanliness and sanitation measures, update booking systems to ensure social distancing in screening halls, and alter daily schedules to manage large crowds.
While Cinema City’s Czech locations will re-open from June 26, moviegoers may have to wait a few weeks to catch a new summer blockbuster.
While smaller films will see release over the coming month, the first big releases to hit Czech cinemas this summer will be Disney’s Mulan and the Czech-produced biography Havel, which are both scheduled for a July 23 release.
Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Tenet, originally scheduled to open on July 17, has had its worldwide release pushed back two weeks. It will open in Czech cinemas on June 30.
Lead photo: Cinema City Prague – Flora via Facebook / Cinema City Česká republika
