Local theaters no longer targeting opening dates

Analyst: U.S. cinemas could stay closed into 2021

At this rate, if we ever want to set foot in a movie theater again, Americans may have to head overseas.

Assuming there’s a country left that would let us through immigration.

On Monday, Warner Bros. took “Tenet,” its twice-delayed Christopher Nolan thriller, off its release schedule. Thursday saw AMC, the largest theater chain in America, push back its reopening plans from July 30 until an undetermined date in mid-to-late August. Hours later, Disney indefinitely delayed its live-action remake of “Mulan.”

What’s playing out now is essentially a high-stakes chicken-and-egg scenario: Studios don’t want to release pricey new movies until theaters can reopen, but theaters can’t sustain a reopening effort without new blockbusters.

Originally planned for a July 17 opening, “Tenet” had most recently been scheduled to arrive Aug. 12. As the first major movie to be released since March 13, the film would have marked a tentative return to moviegoing, and theater chains had been basing their reopening plans around it. “Mulan” had been moving in tandem with “Tenet” so it wouldn’t be the first movie

MOVIES

gate. Until Thursday, it had been scheduled to open Aug. 21.

The shuffling of the two movies was a result of the uncertainty over when U.S. movie theaters could reopen, especially in New York and Los Angeles, the latter of which is seeing an unprecedented surge in new COVID-19 cases.

There’s speculation within Hollywood that both “Tenet” and “Mulan” will open in countries that are further ahead in containing the

COVID-19 outbreak long before they will hit American theaters.

Cinemas throughout Europe have begun reopening, and China, the world’s largest market outside the U.S., started that process Monday. In its announcement, AMC, which operates the cinemas at Town Square and Rainbow Promenade, said about a third of its theaters in Europe and the Middle East have reopened.

Doug Creutz, an analyst with the financial service firm Cowen Inc., has predicted American cinemas could remain shuttered for another year because of social distancing.

“We now expect domestic theaters to be largely closed until mid-2021,” he wrote, “in part because we don’t think studios will be interested in releasing their largest movies into a capacity-constrained footprint.”

After a few false starts, Cinemark, which operates locally under the Century brand, had announced its theaters at The Orleans, Santa Fe Station, South Point and Suncoast would reopen July 24, with Sam’s Town and Henderson’s Cinedome coming along later. None of those theaters currently has an opening date.

Regal, the valley’s largest theater chain, had listed a July 31 opening for its theaters at Aliante, Boulder Station, Colonnade, Downtown Summerlin, Fiesta Henderson, Green Valley Ranch Resort, Palace Station, Red Rock Resort, Sunset Station, Texas Station and Village Square. After the events of last week, its website was updated to say that the announcement of a new reopening date will be coming soon.

Michel Euler The Associated Press Moviegoers wear masks as they wait for a screening last month in Paris. Cinemas throughout Europe have begun reopening after COVID-19 closures, and China, the world’s largest theatrical market outside the United States, started that process last week.