Even though Warner Bros. postponed the release of Tenet for two weeks, CEO of Cinemark Theaters Mark Zoradi remains confident about cinemas re-opening this July. SlashFilm reports Cinemark just released a health and safety guidelines video. In it, Zoradi himself explains new rules. Among these measures are contactless exchanges, mandatory masks for all the staff, and thorough disinfecting of public areas. Staff members will clean touch screens for ticket purchasing every 30 minutes and disinfect auditoriums after every screening. Furthermore, Cinemark will reduce ticket prices to $5 for adults and $3 for children. Currently, Cinemark is re-opening some of its theaters in Texas as a test run. The eventual goal is to re-open more than 300 theaters by mid-July.
But here’s the catch, though: there are no rigorous rules regarding face masks for visitors. Masks are mandatory only if the local laws say so. Otherwise, guidelines merely encourage theatergoers to wear them. Cinemark wants to have its cake and eat it too. The theater chain strives to convince moviegoers it can provide them with a safe and clean movie-watching experience. However, it simultaneously doesn’t want to alienate visitors who, for whatever reason, refuse to wear face masks or take the pandemic seriously. Instead, Cinemark leaders hope all of their other measures will help prevent the spread of the pandemic. If they’re right: great. But if they’re wrong, there are literally human lives at stake here.
