These 100+ California Movie Theaters Set To Reopen This Week

CALIFORNIA — An age-old American tradition that brought comfort in times of war and during the Great Depression was rendered unsafe in the era of the coronavirus. But as California's cases continue to plummet, leaving behind a dire winter surge, dozens of movie theaters will reopen this week.

By midweek, most counties in California will break free from the state's most restrictive pandemic tiers, allowing for the return of some indoor pastimes.

The majority of the state's 58 counties enter the red "substantial" tier this week, allowing movie theaters to reopen at 25 percent capacity with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions among groups.

Some of the largest movie theater chains in the U.S. — AMC and Cinemark — have already announced plans to reopen theaters in the Golden State.

AMC Theatres, the world's largest movie theater chain, opened the doors to its flagship cinemas Monday afternoon in Burbank and Century City. Beginning Friday, the company will start the process of reopening the rest of its 55 California theaters.

Cinemark, another large theater chain, will also reopen cinemas on both ends of the state this month. Its theaters in Long Beach and across Orange, Placer, Contra Costa and San Bernardino counties already opened over the weekend, according to a statement.

SEE ALSO: Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions: What's Opening In CA This Week

Regal, the second-largest theater chain, has not released information on reopening and did not immediately respond to Patch for comment.

Los Angeles County — dubbed the state's COVID-19 epicenter — emerged from the "widespread" purple tier on Monday, allowing movie theaters to reopen for the first time in almost exactly a year. AMC plans to reopen 25 theaters in the county, and Cinemark is preparing to reopen 10.

"Los Angeles is one of the most meaningful moviegoing markets in the world, and we look forward to providing moviegoers the entertainment experience they have been craving with the health and safety protocols they can trust," Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said in a statement.

California also happens to be home to several famed and beloved cinemas such as the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in San Francisco, but it remains to be seen how quickly such local theaters will bounce back.

Derek Zemrak — the owner of the historic Orinda Theatre in the Bay Area — told Patch he's not chomping at the bit to open at a limited capacity.

"We are still in discussion on when to reopen," Zemrak said. "In a few weeks, we will start private family rentals. It still doesn’t make economic sense to open at only 25 percent seating capacity."

Intimate cinemas such as the Orinda Theatre, which opened in Contra Costa County in 1941, will face a different set of struggles than their corporate counterparts with fewer resources and screens to welcome back patrons.

Brenden Theatres — a small chain with locations in Modesto, Concord and Vacaville — is gearing up to reopen theaters near the end of March, spokesman Robert Lytle told Patch.

"It has been a long year for everyone, and we think now more than ever people could enjoy some of the magic that cinemas provide," Lytle said. "We are taking our time and making sure that we follow all [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and county guidelines to ensure the safety of our employees and customers alike. When we are open, it will be at 25 percent capacity, with social distance spacing between seats and concession registers, as well as increased sanitation spraying at all high contact areas and during cleanup in between shows."

The former Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood will announce details in the coming days, a spokesperson told Patch.

Tristone Cinemas, another small chain located in the Inland Empire, opened its Temeku Cinema in Temecula, according to its Facebook page.

But even as theaters across the Golden State spark their marquees for the first time in months, if not a year, the moviegoing experience is likely to look a lot different from what came before.

Harkins Theatres, another American chain with locations in California, will install safety shields or partitions in its theaters, as will other theater chains.

Theaters will also reduce capacity, space seats apart and require mask-wearing for all guests and staff in the red-tier areas that comprise regions where more than 65 percent of Californians now live.

Hollywood studios have delayed release dates of their most-anticipated films until most theaters can reopen. Until then, the list of films that began showing this week remained limited. Theaters such as AMC began showing the following movies.

• "Raya and the Last Dragon"
• "Tom & Jerry"
• "Chaos Walking"
• "Boogie"
• "The Father"
• "The Little Things"
• "Judas and the Black Messiah"
• "The Croods"
• "Wonder Woman 1984"
• "Nomadland"

Here's a list of some of the theaters that could reopen in California this week

Tristone

• Temeku Cinema
• Terra Vista
• Brea Plaza 5
• Juruba 14
• Palm Desert 10

Harkins Theatres

• Moreno Valley 16
  
• Cerritos 16
  
• Chino Hills 18
  
• Mountain Grove 16

AMC Theatres

• 55 California locations listed here

Cinemark Theatres

• Apple Valley — Cinemark Jess Ranch
• Carson — Cinemark Carson and XD
• Chico — Cinemark Chico 14 and XD
• Chino — Cinemark Movies 8
• Corte Madera — Century Cinema
• Daly City — Century 20 Daly City and XD and IMAX
• Danville — Century Blackhawk Plaza
• Downey — Cinemark Downey and XD
• El Centro — Cinemark Imperial Valley Mall 14
• Elk Grove — Century Laguna 16 and XD
• Folsom — Century Folsom 14
• Fremont — Century at Pacific Commons and XD
• Hanford — Cinemark Movies 8
• Hayward — Century at Hayward
• Hayward — Century Southland Mall
• Huntington Beach — Century Huntington Beach and XD
• La Quinta — Century La Quinta and XD
• Lancaster — Cinemark Movies 12
• Lancaster — Cinemark 22 and IMAX
• Larkspur — Century Larkspur
• Long Beach — Cinemark at the Pike Outlets and XD
• Los Angeles — Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 and XD
• Los Angeles — Cinemark 18 and XD
• Marina - Century Marina and XD
• Mill Valley — CinéArts Sequoia
• Milpitas — Century 20 Great Mall and XD
• Monterey — Monterey 13
• Mountain View — Century Cinema 16
• Napa — Century Napa Valley and XD
• North Hollywood — Cinemark North Hollywood
• Novato — Century Rowland Plaza
• Orange — Century Stadium 25 and XD
• Oxnard — Century RiverPark 16 and XD
• Palmdale — Cinemark Antelope Valley Mall
• Palo Alto — CinéArts at Palo Alto Square
• Playa Vista — Cinemark Playa Vista and XD
• Pleasant Hill — Century 16 Downtown Pleasant Hill and XD
• Rancho Mirage — Century @ The River and XD
• Redding — Cinemark Movies 8
• Redding — Cinemark Redding 14 and XD
• Redwood City — Redwood Downtown 20 and XD
• Rialto — Cinemark Renaissance Marketplace and XD
• Richmond — Century Hilltop 16
• Rocklin — Blue Oaks Century Theatres and XD
• Roseville — Century Roseville 14 and XD
• Sacramento — Century DOCO and XD
• Sacramento — Century 16 Greenback Lane and XD
• Sacramento — Century Arden 14 and XD
• Salinas — Century 14 Northridge Mall
• San Bruno — Century at Tanforan and XD
• San Francisco — CinéArts at the Empire
• San Francisco — Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD
• San Jose — CineArts Santana Row
• San Jose — Century 20 Oakridge and XD
• San Leandro — Century 16 Bayfair Mall
• San Mateo — Century 12 San Mateo
• San Rafael — Century Northgate
• San Rafael — Century Regency
• Tracy — Cinemark Movies 14
• Union City — Century 25 Union Landing and XD
• Vallejo — Century 14 Vallejo
• Ventura — Century 10 Downtown
• Victorville — Cinemark Movies 10
• Victorville — Cinemark 16 Victorville and XD
• Walnut Creek — Walnut Creek 14 and XD
• Woodland — Cinemark Movies 5
• Yuba City — Cinemark Yuba City

Please check back for updates to this list.