Lunchtime Poll: When will you go back to movie theaters?
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 1:20PM 
Yesterday they announced that movie theaters in NYC will be able to reopen on March 5th. That's just two weeks shy of one full year since they were closed down due to the pandemic. Seating will be at 25% capacity or 50 people in the room, whichever is less. But will that be enough to convince people to gather in indoor spaces again? If theaters have reopened in your town have you been back? Or are you waiting for the vaccine? Or do you have some other marker by which you'll venture out again? Do tell in the comments.
I'm sure I would feel safe once I get the vaccine but I dont qualify. Not the right age. Not an essential worker -- movie-blogging doesn't count, alas. (Here's what qualifies you in NYC if you're here and curious. If you're elsewhere your state or city probably has a similar page and you should definitely check. I have a friend who has asthma, for example, and he didn't realize he qualified but now he's scheduling his vaccination.)
Reader Comments (61)
When Black Panther 2 is released. Maybe West Side Story. AND only after I and large section of the population are fully vaccinated. It really will take an event to get me back and willing to sit in an excised space for an extended period of time. I love and miss the experience, but we haven't reached a point where the risks that still remain outweigh that love.
I'm so jealous of people who are vaccinated! I am just below the cutoff age but have no underlying conditions so I imagine sometime in April I might get a first dose if I'm lucky and all goes well. If not, maybe June?
Two weeks after my second vaccination I will feel comfortable venturing out to the grocery store. I haven't been in months. Maybe by midsummer I'll feel comfortable seeing a movie on an outdoor screen somewhere, maybe if my friends set up something outdoors or there is a popup beach screening, that sort of thing.
One of the issues that I haven't seen mentioned so far is that I don't think I can wear a mask and glasses at the same time without fogging up, and I refuse to be a dicknosing a-hole, so it make more sense to just watch at home for now and until the masking requirement goes away.
The good news is that while I miss going to the movies, it's not like I've missed seeing movies. I've seen more movies (and TV) than ever before in my life and I'm honestly almost burned out. The things I'd most like to attend are outdoor concerts. The Hollywood Bowl is calling me more than the movie theater.
I'm in the Greater Miami area, and my buddy and I go every once in a while to see something worth catching on a big screen.
Usually 4-5 other people there, everyone spread out.
Eat my popcorn and drink my Pepsi in peace while quietly chatting with my pal about the ridiculousness of what we're seeing or trying to guess the movie the trailer's for within the first 5 seconds of it playing.
Masks aside, literally nothing has changed for me.
Reading the responses in this thread are fascinating; they run the gamut from one extreme to the next.
I saw Tenet back in September right before the lockdown in my area; it was myself and one other person in a 300+ seat theatre. At the time I was getting stir crazy from not having seen anything since probably February of last year, but at this point I'm not sure if I'll be going back or not once restrictions are lifted; vaccine or no vaccine.
Will go back once I'm fully vaccinated, before that not a chance. Since things are not going well here in Brazil with Covid numbers going crazy and a messy vaccine rollout, I think this will be in 2022.
2022... maybe? Beyond the virus, movies are expensive, plus everything comes out in iTunes within three months.
As soon as I left LA and returned to Florida I was reunited with my favorite pastime, thank god! I saw Promising Young Woman, which was fun, and I've been able to see some older movies that have been randomly playing. I saw Grease on my birthday, for instance, which was one of my favs as a kid so that was cool.
Just visited my boyf in ATL and saw Nomadland--devastatingly beautiful film.
We have just both received our second vaccine. In 13 days we are free and we cannot WAIT to go to the movies.
Once I get vaccinated. I’m going to be in one of the last groups to be eligible to get it so by the time it happens for me, most other people should be protected. My local theater is the Alamo Drafthouse and while they have been open with limited seating for a while, I don’t want to sit with a mask on and I don’t want to be taking it on and off to eat. (I won’t go to any kind of restaurant right now either.)
Nathaniel. I don't understand why you "don't qualify". You mean you don't qualify FOR NOW, right? In Argentina people are vaccinated in order: first healthcare personnel, older than 80, older than 70, people who work in education, older than 60 etc, etc. I am older than 60 and a diabetic, so I hope to get vaccinated soon.
Cinemas opened a week ago, and theaters approximately to months ago.
Answer to Manuela Malasaña (February 24th). In Spain we have all the freedom of expression that you wish as other democratic countries in the world. You only have to read the forums of a newspaper with people lying about vaccines or whatever you want. And second, Spain has similar figures than other countries of the European Union of vaccination rate. DON´T LIE. This thread is about cinema, not about politics.