Since the UK’s lockdown on March 23rd, life for the average citizen has understandably become a lot more restrictive. In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, called for all the country’s non-essential shops, outlets and entertainment establishments to close doors until further notice. As of June 22nd, that was 13 weeks ago.
As the country battles to grapple the current pandemic, the decrease in the reported infection rate has been met over the interim of weeks with a slow loosening of the rules, such as the allowance of “unlimited exercise” outside on May 10th or the June 15th reopening of all non-essential shops. Yet, July 4th is a date that all film lovers will now surely have on the tip of their tongue – the official date in which cinemas across the country will be allowed to reopen. This was confirmed on June 23rd in Johnson’s daily briefing where he also revealed a relaxing of the 2-metre social-distancing rule as well as the reopening of pubs and restaurants.
However, while cinemas being allowed to reopen has been met graciously by much of the public, this July 4th date isn’t a definitive opening that all cinemas are aiming for, nor does it mark a complete return to normality. Odeon cinemas were one of the first chains to rejoice at the news and quickly unveiled their social-distancing plan to help keep in line with government guidelines while stating they will “start opening from July”. Likewise, the UK’s biggest cinema chain, Cineworld, has a confirmed date of July 10th. Other chains such as Vue and Showcase are working towards the government’s initial date of June 4th.
This news also comes appreciated for its effect in lessening the strain that the entertainment industry has received during the pandemic. With many films that saw their theatrical run cut short by lockdown, such as Emma and Onward, they were forced to either form deals with streaming services or move to a “rented” format to help recuperate costs. Other films that were expected to be released during the lockdown period also faced a similar issue, with Trolls: World Tour adopting a rented format, and Disney’s Artemis Fowl going straight to its home streaming-service, Disney+. Some bigger releases like the much anticipated live-action remake of Mulan or John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place 2 instead decided to push back release dates in order open to a wider theatrical release. One film that has many cinema-goers excited though is the much anticipated Christopher Nolan film, Tenet. With Nolan’s insistence that the film is released in cinemas first, the reopening of cinemas before Tenet‘s July 30th release date only heights the building anticipation and buzz all around.
You can watch the trailer for Tenet below:
