Film Going to the movies amid Covid 19

How comfortable are you going to movie theaters at this time?

A friend of mine invited me to go with her to see Dune in theaters tomorrow night, but I am a little scared honestly. I wouldn't mind seeing this under normal circumstances. I read Frank Herbert's Dune, I thought the 1984 movie adaptation wasn't bad and I like a number of the cast members in this new one, and would like to especially see Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, and the special effects look good and I have enjoyed other films by the director Denis Villeneuve like The Arrival. I would normally say sure, why not? But going to the physical movie theater does honestly give me some pause in 2021, I don't have an HBO max subscription though, so I think the only way to see it with her is if we go to the movies together.

I haven't seen a movie in theaters since before the pandemic was declared, I see trailers that interest me, but never get around to going to the box office, and stick to just waiting for the dvd/blu-ray release, an in the meantime re-watching old favorites or renting movies when I want to watch something new. I just don't do a lot of public recreational activities these days like I used to, despite being someone who loved going to the movies, plays, musuems, shopping, restaurants, book stores, gardens, it just feels awkward, even with restrictions being lifted, I do still fear Covid, and with the cold and flu season coming up too, I don't know if I am ready to go the cinemas yet. I haven't given my answer though, and am thinking hard about whether to take the plunge and hit theaters or not.

How about some of you guys, have you seen any movies in theaters, and did you feel at ease doing so? Would you be open to going to movies at some point this year if you have not yet?

I have gone to the movies four times this year with a group of friends and I have been fine. We all wear a mask and we all got the covid vaccine.

I've only gone once since the pandemic started and that was to see Shang Chi. My local cinema had restrictions which eased my nerves a bit - masks aside, they had unbookable seats that kept customers at a safe distance. Plastic screens, emphasis on etickets, and hand sanitiser stations too.

I've been to the movies only twice. It's just not something my family does often. We usually just rent movies. We are also subscribed to about 7 different services so most of the time there isn't much of a point.

I've received both vaccines and have presumed things normally. I've done my responsibility and haven't feared much. I will still put on a mask if the place requests I wear one.

VisionofMilotic said:

How comfortable are you going to movie theaters at this time?

A friend of mine invited me to go with her to see Dune in theaters tomorrow night, but I am a little scared honestly. I wouldn't mind seeing this under normal circumstances. I read Frank Herbert's Dune, I thought the 1984 movie adaptation wasn't bad and I like a number of the cast members in this new one, and would like to especially see Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, and the special effects look good and I have enjoyed other films by the director Denis Villeneuve like The Arrival. I would normally say sure, why not? But going to the physical movie theater does honestly give me some pause in 2021, I don't have an HBO max subscription though, so I think the only way to see it with her is if we go to the movies together.

I haven't seen a movie in theaters since before the pandemic was declared, I see trailers that interest me, but never get around to going to the box office, and stick to just waiting for the dvd/blu-ray release, an in the meantime re-watching old favorites or renting movies when I want to watch something new. I just don't do a lot of public recreational activities these days like I used to, despite being someone who loved going to the movies, plays, musuems, shopping, restaurants, book stores, gardens, it just feels awkward, even with restrictions being lifted, I do still fear Covid, and with the cold and flu season coming up too, I don't know if I am ready to go the cinemas yet. I haven't given my answer though, and am thinking hard about whether to take the plunge and hit theaters or not.

How about some of you guys, have you seen any movies in theaters, and did you feel at ease doing so? Would you be open to going to movies at some point this year if you have not yet?

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I have been to the movies quite a lot since I got double vaccinated. The cinema was previously taking measures such as leaving empty seats, and only allowing online booking. Since restrictions were lifted however, they have dropped the empty seats between guests requirement, which is a worry I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not sure how you will be booking, but my advice is to sit in the back row, that way no one can sit behind you at least. I do that every time now :)

Most importantly... enjoy the film :)

Going to the movies was one of the first activities I did out of lockdown! Went to see Shangchi with friends.

It was a safe experience. There was a lot less traffic in the theatre so social distancing could be practiced without trouble. I went on a weekday so it was a lot quieter as most people were at school or work. They let us as a group of friends sit together but everyone had to be double vaccinated and wear masks before they could enter. It was a lot of fun. I haven't been to a movie theatre since the last lockdown ended sometime last year so it was nice being back there again. That being said I understand the reluctance and possible risk to be sitting in the same room for 2+ hrs but overall I think there are enough precautions. :D

I think if nothing else, not being safe enough would mean them having to lose revenue and close down, so from what I have seen etc. cinemas are generally going to be safe to go to and see movies.

That said, I need to start going again myself, especially as at the moment the local one is doing a deal on tickets, so gotta capitalise on that whilst I can!

I'm still hesitant to go to the cinema. My employer offered me a free ticket to go and see No Time To Die, but I just didn't feel ready. Plus I would have had to have used public transport which is a no for me, especially at this time of year.

For the time being I'm happy relying on Netflix and Disney+ for my movies. The gap between cinema and home releases seem to be narrowing these days so the wait isn't so bad. I do miss the cinema though.

I went to see Black Widow whenever that came out with my gf and her lil sis, there weren't that many people in the screen so we were all pretty spaced out and I was entirely comfortable.

I had been meaning to go see Shang Chi but is that even in the cinema anymore? I'm not a huge cinema goer, maybe once a month or so if there happens to be something I wanna see on, and it's never high priority for me so stuff like this often happens by the time I'm like yeah lets make a date to go see Shang Chi (or w/e else), it's not even being shown anymore lol.

.hack said:

I had been meaning to go see Shang Chi but is that even in the cinema anymore? I'm not a huge cinema goer, maybe once a month or so if there happens to be something I wanna see on, and it's never high priority for me so stuff like this often happens by the time I'm like yeah lets make a date to go see Shang Chi (or w/e else), it's not even being shown anymore lol.

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It still has the odd screening here, but it's now out on Disney Plus already so you could catch it there if needs be :)

Ash Ketchup said:

It still has the odd screening here, but it's now out on Disney Plus already so you could catch it there if needs be :)

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Thanks for the info, well I already pay for disney plus so now I feel like I might as well watch it there lol.

I went to see Tenet last summer or autumn and it was only me and 3 others in the whole salon lol. Felt very safe.

However, more recently, we went to see Dune. They still had some restrictions in the cinema though, so only every other row was occupied, and there was 2 seats empty between each group that had booked. Felt perfectly fine tbh.

I suspect they'll remove all those restrictions too before too long though... They gotta get their profits back up, after all :V But it remains to be seen if people will want to really book spots in a salon that seems filled.

VisionofMilotic said:

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Did you end up going? If so, did you enjoy being back at the cinema?

Ash Ketchup said:

Did you end up going? If so, did you enjoy being back at the cinema?

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I sure did. We went to the movies on a different day though, she and I visited the movie theater this Friday instead of last. We chose the best theater our town has, one that is very spacious, newer and has always been well-maintained and uses a different seating structure where each person has their own big, oversized comfy sofa/chair that's reclinable, and creates more space between person to person so you're not jammed together.

When I got to the cinema my nervousness melted away. I breathed a sigh of relief at the box office when we were asked to chose our seats, viewed the digital theater floor plan, and I could see that only a couple of seats had been reserved, and mostly we had the theater to ourselves. I also felt relaxed when i entered the building because the theater was kept impeccably clean, the floors just glittered, there wasn't a fallen popcorn kernel in sight.

Everyone who worked in the theater maintained proper social distancing and wore masks, while still being very nice and helpful if you needed anything. Hand sanitizer stops were everywhere. The ushers worked hard around the clock cleaning floors, walls and seating after each screening, and strangers were not seated together. They observed a covid policy of not filling the theater to full capacity, so you would be able to have the seats directly in front of you, behind and to sides remain unoccupied, unless you were with a guest as I was, and wanted to be together. I mentioned it already, but there weren't a lot of people in there anyway, i think it was less than a dozen once everyone arrived, and we had the row to ourselves. It probably also helped that the movie we were seeing is playing in multiple theaters within the theater so everyone doesn't have to converge on the same place, and can be sorted into different theaters to keep the numbers small.

I kept your advice in mind, and was hoping to sit at the back, but my friend realized once she got there that she had forgotten her reading glasses at home, and asked that we buy seats near the front in case there was text she needed to see. So we picked seats close to the picture, not the very front row-- that would have blinded me, but maybe the third row or fourth. It's good we did sit closer for her viewing experience because Dune does use subtitles sometimes.

Most of the people who came were near the back rows, well beyond 6 feet away from us, and everybody kept their mask on.

The row we were on was designed for wheel chair access, we didn't sit in the seats actually reserved for handicapped persons of course, but there were a couple of seats near the end of the aisle that anybody was allowed to reserve, and being on that whole row was just more secluded from the others and intimate with some elevation, ramp and a railing and lots of extra space to store equipment potentially. So it felt like one of the most well-shielded places we could watch the movie from.

I felt fairly safe during the movie, and felt fine after leaving. In future I could probably see a movie again. I guess it kinda exciting to be back. This theater does something called Flashback Cinema where it shows older movies on certain nights. I saw that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be playing this season to celebrate it's 20 year anniversary, so I might have to take the grand old cinema up on their offer and go to that this year :) I kinda wish it was Azkaban or Goblet of Fire, but still a good.

VisionofMilotic said:

I kept your advice in mind, and was hoping to sit at the back, but my friend realized once she got there that she had forgotten her reading glasses at home, and asked that we buy seats near the front in case there was text she needed to see. So we picked seats close to the picture, not the very front row-- that would have blinded me, but maybe the third row or fourth. It's good we did sit closer for her viewing experience because Dune does use subtitles sometimes.

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I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

The cinema is essential escapism for me. I missed it dearly when I couldn't go, but like you, I was nervous once it opened back up, especially as I'm in a high risk group. I'm glad we both managed to get over the fear.

Speaking of subtitles, another good tip is watching subtitled screenings because they tend to be far less busy :)

I've gone a few times since Covid started up. My twin and I always sit way in the back and we go on Sunday when nobody does anything where I live, so the theater is usually fairly empty. We also always make sure to wear our masks and wash our hands, so I'm not worried about going.

I don't go to movie theaters that much anyway, so no I haven't been in a while. If someone invites me though, I'd deffo be down. Just make sure we're still following proper safety measures and all.

Back when I was in High School, I went a lot to the movies. Like once a week / every two weeks a lot.

Nowadays, I barely consume mainstream media like series or movies or whatever. I mostly stick to fanfic, YouTube and the pile of books I need to read for college lol

I don't mind going to the movies, every so often me and my friends will schedule something but I guess I just got out of the habit of going due to the pandemic and I haven't really felt the need to go anymore recently.

So I guess, I don't mind going if I think there's something interesting, I'm just not particularly interested in the usual offerings.

With the current amount of cases, and being at high risk, I'm currently unable to go once again, even though I'm desperate to see the new Spiderman film. Maybe when it dies down a bit, as long as it's still in the theatres by then.

It's times like this I wish all films had a buy at home option like some that have been released this year, especially those by Disney :(