movie theater

(WAND) - The National Association of Theatre Owners of Illinois has proposed a way to safely reopen movie theaters across the state.

The group said their proposal would allow theaters to open more quickly than what is currently outlined under Governor JB Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan.

It takes several weeks for studios to deploy marketing and other assets ahead of a film's release, so they say this will determine whether studios release new films this summer.

They said preventing films from opening this summer will create a ripple effect in the film industry that will impact jobs and tax revenues for years to come.

"We need to open the theaters so that the studios will start releasing new films," said Chris Johnson, the group's president.

Under Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan, movie theaters cannot reopen until Phase 4. That means the earliest theaters could open in some regions would be June 26. The plan also sets a limit of 50 people per auditorium. 

Currently, only drive-in theaters are allowed to be open in the state, with social distancing restrictions in place.

The alternative plan proposed by the group calls for limiting auditorium attendance to 50 percent capacity (the same standard set for restaurants and bars).

New safety measures outlined in the proposal include:

  • Requiring employees to undergo training before returning to work on enhanced cleaning procedures, personal health and wellness, use of face masks and gloves, and maintaining social distancing
  • Taking employee temperatures before reporting to work for each shift
  • Mandating that cloth masks be worn at all times and disposable gloves be worn during customer interactions
  • Maintaining a minimum of six-foot distance between viewing parties, using empty seats and rows as necessary
  • Placing six-foot spacing markings in areas where guests may have to queue and assigning staff to ensure social distancing is respected
  • Encouraging customers to purchase tickets online to decrease contact opportunities

"The idea is, let's make the capacity based on the room, and the configuration of the seats, and how far they're apart from each other," Johnson said.

Skip Huston, owner of Decatur's Avon Theater, is fully on board with the proposal.

"I agree totally with all of that," Huston said. "It's gonna be a piece of cake, because it's just natural in these times that you're gonna wanna use common sense."

Huston also said because of having the country's third largest market, Illinois theaters are needed to reopen, to get the industry back on track, in time for the first expected major blockbuster of the summer - Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" - in mid-July.

"If we don't have LA, Chicago and New York in the mix of theaters opening by July 17th, Warner Brothers may pull back on that July 17th date," he said.

"A movie theater without movies is not a movie theater," he added, laughing.