Theaters Re-Opening For Blockbuster Season

Just in time for the traditional summer blockbuster movie season, more and more movie theaters across southwest Florida are open again to the public. Cinemas across the country were shuttered for the pandemic in 2020, with Hollywood itself grinding to a halt. But as fears of the virus lessen and the country begins to get back to normal, more and more Americans are ready to kick back with a new Marvel superhero adventure or steaming romantic comedy.

Many theaters were allowed to reopen in August, with mask and social distancing rules in place. But new spikes in the virus through the end of 2020 put a halt to that. Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S. closed all of their theaters in October in the midst of a spike. Now Regal is among the first theater chains to reopen across Florida.

In the Sarasota area, Regal Town Center 16 will reopen on Friday, May 21 with new Cinema Safe guidelines in place in all of their theaters. Developed by the National Association of Theater Owners, Cinema Safe will implement guidelines for wearing masks in the theater, distancing in the seats and lobbies, and reducing capacity to roughly 50%, along with new rules for air filtration. Other big theaters already open in the area include the Regal Oakmont 8 in Bradenton and the AMC 12 inside the Sarasota Square Mall. The AMC 12 is open three days a week over the weekend, with plans to fully reopen for the rest of the week on May 27.

In the Lakewood Ranch Area, Lakewood Ranch Cinema is now open! Tonight they are featuring 3 films! They also are taking your safety seriously and will feature reduced auditorium capacity, staggered showtimes, sanitization, staff wearing masks, and updated air condition filtration. To boot their going one extra step fogging the auditoriums with anti-microbial disinfectant.

In the Tampa area, all three AMC theaters are open at Highwoods 20, Veterans 24, and West Shore 14. Regal Citrus Park is also open in the Town Center Mall. For a more relaxed atmosphere, complete with food service, the CMX CineBistro at Hyde Park in Tampa has reopened both its theaters and its kitchen. CMX CineBistro is known as a world-class dinner-and-movie concept theater, which also offers alcoholic drinks and traditional movie theater snacks.

The CMX Cinemas Countryside location in Clearwater has also reopened for business, along with the Sunset Point Cinema Bar & Grille and AMC Woodlands Square 20.
Check your local listings for movies and times.