Coming up at the end of the month at Lakewood Ranch: Godzilla vs. It will be interesting (and for the film industry, crucial) to see if and when more people start to flock back to theaters as vaccinations continue to ramp up and viewers feel safer. I still can’t imagine returning at a point when I might be seated next to a total stranger for now, social distancing remains in place, and certainly no one was sitting within six feet of me.īut the popcorn still tasted the same, the seats are still comfortable, and the big screen is a nice change from all the small-screen streaming I’ve been doing at home. Sure, sitting in an almost empty theater, wearing a mask, felt a little strange at first. Since then, I’ve been back for screenings of Judas and the Black Messiah (perhaps six other audience members), the Oscar-nominated Nomadland (eight or more) and Land, starring Robin Wright (again, just a handful of fellow watchers, but that’s a movie without much PR behind it). (It was Super Bowl Sunday, which may account in part for the extremely low turnout.) There seemed to be more employees on hand than filmgoers that day, with three or four masked staffers at the concessions and several more turning up promptly after the closing credits to do their theater cleaning thing.
I actually ventured out for the first time in a year to a movie at the AMC 20 in Bradenton about six weeks ago, where I had what amounted to a private screening of News of the World, starring Tom Hanks. (In one encouraging bit of news, Touchstar Cinemas acquired the old Parkway Cinema on Lockwood Ridge Road and University Parkway in January and plans to reopen it sometime in the future.) No word yet as to whether downtown Sarasota’s Regal Cinemas will reopen any time soon. CineBistro Siesta Key on South Tamiami Trail and the Venice Galleria Stadium are likewise open with reduced times and films available. The AMC theaters at Sarasota Square Mall are now open Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday the AMC 20 in Manatee County has been open for some time, albeit with reduced showings (late afternoons and evenings only) and fewer auditoriums open. Nationwide, AMC Theatres plans to have 99 percent of its sites open again by the end of March.
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