Regal Majestic & IMAX is planning to reopen in Downtown Silver Spring on May 21, according to an announcement on the theater chain’s website.
The announcement of the May 21 reopening of Regal Majestic & IMAX comes after the chain announced some locations will reopen on April 2, in time for the theatrical release of Godzilla vs. Kong. “Select theatres will be opening April 2, in time for Godzilla vs. Kong,” the announcement reads. “Additional theatres will be opening in the weeks to follow. We are excited to open our doors and begin sharing our love of movies with our fans.”
According to Montgomery County restrictions that went into effect last week, theaters at which live performances occur or motion pictures are shown may open 25% capacity, provided they do not sell or permit food for consumption at the facility.
“[Concession sales are] really a critical piece of the puzzle for us if we’re going to remain financially viable,” said Doug Murdoch, Executive Director of the National Association of Theatre Owners, last week in an interview with WTOP. The NATO covers 10 theaters that operate in Montgomery County, including the Regal Majestic & IMAX.
Regal shut down all of its U.S. locations on October 8 of last year, as upcoming movie releases were being postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Cineworld Group PLC’s Regal Entertainment Group’s decision to suspend operations at its more than 500 locations this last October followed a cascade of postponements for big-budget Hollywood films, most recently the James Bond title “No Time to Die.”
“We are like a grocery shop that doesn’t have vegetables, fruit, meat,” Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year. “We cannot operate for a long time without a product.”
The nationwide closure came after Regal reopened some locations in August. The theater chain originally closed all its U.S. theaters on March 17 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the country. Due to county restrictions, the Downtown Silver Spring location at 900 Ellsworth Drive did not reopen since the March closure.
Regal Cinemas’ area locations include the Downtown Silver Spring location, which was renovated in 2017, as well as theaters in Rockville, Germantown, Laurel, Hyattsville, Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.
Source file photo by David Lay