David Daigle, a manager for Smitty'south Cinemas, cleans counter seating in a theater in Windham on Tuesday in preparation for reopening. The theater chain's managers take taken COVID-xix safety preparation courses. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Maine movie theaters will finally start lighting upwardly their screens after iv months of darkness, with several planning to reopen side by side week and others later this month.

Smitty's Cinemas in Windham, Topsham and Sanford plan to open July 17, while Nickelodeon Cinemas in downtown Portland is hoping to open up that same date or a week later. Cinemagic, which has theaters in Saco, South Portland and Westbrook, is planning to kickoff reopening theaters on July 24. The visitor, which likewise owns theaters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, did non say Tuesday when its Maine venues would open.

Theater operators said Tuesday they know getting people to come dorsum to the movies volition exist a claiming. Hollywood is not yet releasing many new films, including the usual summer blockbusters meant to concenter audiences. Plus, they know not everyone volition feel prophylactic sitting in a theater with others, even if the country is limiting audience capacity to l, requiring groups to exist seated 6 feet apart and mandating masks for viewers non munching on popcorn.

"I'm not planning to go dorsum correct away, I retrieve I'll concord back and see how things piece of work out," said Kimberly Burns of South Portland, who normally goes to the movies about twice a calendar month. "For me, it's non virtually the precautions the theater takes, it'south about sharing air with strangers and non knowing what precautions they have."

Other theaters in Maine have not yet announced reopening plans, including Flagship Cinemas – with locations in Auburn, Falmouth, Oxford, Thomaston, Waterville and Wells – as well as the Majestic motion-picture show theaters in Brunswick and Augusta and The Nordica Theater in Freeport. None of those businesses returned calls, emails and Facebook messages asking for reopening information. Regal, a big national chain, had announced previously it would begin opening its theaters July 31.

Movie theaters were amongst businesses the state immune to reopen July 1, along with amusement and h2o parks, bowling alleys and performing arts venues. Some of the nation's largest movie bondage, including AMC and Cinemark, have announced they'll begin reopening theaters by the finish of July. Neither has theaters in Maine.

Because Hollywood has postponed many of its scheduled summertime releases until at least August, when more theaters are likely to be open up nationally, Maine theaters planning to open in July say they may show "archetype" movies and older fan favorites to endeavor to attract audiences. Some are too considering lowering prices, and all encourage buying tickets ahead of time online.

The Nickelodeon is because showing the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park" and charging $5 for all seats instead of the normal $10, said David Scott, the full general manager. Smitty's is also considering "Jurassic Park," every bit well as the 1975 summer classic "Jaws" and some archetype Disney films and newer, lesser-known movies, said Al Waitt, director of operations. Waitt also said Smitty's will likely charge $4 to $v per person at first, compared to the normal $ten.

David Daigle, a manager at Smitty's Cinemas, cleans drinking fountains Tuesday at the Windham location in preparation for a reopening planned July 17. Ben McCanna/Staff Lensman

In a news release Tuesday, Cinemagic announced prices would be $5 for the archetype films to exist shown in the first week of performance, only did not name the films. The Cinemagic theaters would likely exist able to show new movies July 31 or later, including the thriller "Unhinged" with Russell Crowe, and the spy pic "Tenet," the release said.

The release said "some" of the eight Cinemagic locations in New England would open July 24, but did not say which ones. Zachary Adam, the marketing director for Cinemagic, declined to say when the Maine Cinemagic locations might open.

For some theater owners, reopening with very small crowds to show older movies would non be worth the expense and effort. Shaun Boyle runs the 74-seat Eveningstar Movie house in Brunswick and has no plan to reopen. To keep people 6 feet autonomously, he'd exist able to seat only near 14 people, more if people came in groups of ii or three. He too feels conflicted about masks. He thinks everyone should wearable them in public, only knows people will have them off to eat while watching a pic.

"As long equally there'southward aught new to show, I have no immediate plans to effort to reopen," said Boyle. "If I practise reopen, it might be without concessions."

Smitty's theaters are "dine-in cinemas," serving a full range of food and drink, and are a trivial easier to configure for social distancing, said Waitt, because people sit at tables that can be separated. The capacity in Windham is usually 180, Waitt said, then fifty people spaced appropriately will work easily.

All the theaters reopening said they will focus on sanitizing and cleaning seats and surfaces, while also putting up signs and directions that enforce social distancing.

Traci Hodges, a manager at Smitty'south Cinemas in Windham, cleans theater seats Tuesday. Smitty'south manager of operations said capacity in Windham is commonly 180 people so the theater can easily space out 50 people accordingly. Ben McCanna/Staff Lensman

At Smitty'southward, Waitt said, the theaters volition utilize plastic silverware and dispensable menus. He said managers have taken COVID-19 prophylactic training courses offered by Hospitality Maine and others.

At Cinemagic, employees will undergo daily health screenings, habiliment masks and work behind shields placed at counters and concession stands.

The pandemic has left most movie theaters without income for months. Scott, at the Nickelodeon, doesn't think theaters will make much coin until new films are released. Only he feels information technology's important for his theater to reopen now and start putting in place the precautions and methods that will earn audience trust.

"Opening in July allows u.s. to get up and running, clean everything and know what we're doing before the big movies come up out," said Scott.

Traci Hodges, left, Tracy Lambert and David Daigle clean the concessions counter at Smitty'south Cinemas in Windham in preparation for reopening July 17. Theater operators said know that getting people to come dorsum to the movies will be a challenge. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Smitty'south already had to close i of its locations, in Biddeford in May, because of financial losses during the pandemic. Making money at the other locations, with a express chapters, rubber costs and a wary public, will be challenging, Waitt said.

"The nearly important thing is to keep our customers and staff safe. If people come out and encounter how safe it is, then hopefully the adjacent time they won't hesitate to run into a pic," said Waitt.

But Susan Rooker of South Portland said Tuesday that but a vaccine for COVID-19 would make her feel completely condom in a moving-picture show theater. For now, she'll use the money she would have spent on picture tickets to stream films at dwelling and go takeout food.

"Testing should be gratuitous and ubiquitous. It's not, all the same," said Rooker. "Someone may have COVID-xix simply unknowingly pass it along to the theater. I don't want to bring that abode."

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