Movie lovers, rejoice! In another sign that we may be sort of returning to a time before COVID-19 and all that brought with it – including the closure of our beloved movie theaters – we’re back in those lush, plush loungers, Icees in hand, babies!
Starting today, Stadium 9 will once again fire up the projectors and pop the popcorn, all while following safety protocols the theater had instilled when it reopened for a little while last summer.
Kara Young, director of operations for New Mexico-based Allen Theatres, which owns Stadium 9 and the Gaslight in Durango, said the theater follows safety guidelines set by CineSafe, a program that, according to its website, “promotes protocols and guidelines developed and supported by leading epidemiologists to support a safe return to move theaters.” The health and safety guidelines include:
All employees must wear a face covering or mask, and patrons must mask up at all times except as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Social distancing must be maintained except for members of the same household or those who attend the movies together.Reduced capacity. Air filtration.Frequent hand-washing.Hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol will be placed in easily accessible public areas.Enhanced cleaning.Employee health training.Modified concessions. Mobile ticketing.Stay home of you’re not feeling well.And for those who may want to go to the movies but are hesitant to sit with strangers, Stadium 9 is offering patrons the opportunity to buy out a showing for $150, which allows you to bring up to 20 people. Buyout tickets are available online where regular tickets are purchased.
Young said Stadium 9 is opening now because the movie industry is finally starting to release new films, rather than pushing their release dates ahead, which had become the norm during the pandemic.
“‘Godzilla’ opens next week, and that’s going to be kind of a big movie. And so we were really kind of waiting for better content. There’s a lot of content, but nobody knows about it, nobody wants to go see it,” she said. “And so the thought was we need to wait until there are movies people actually might want to go see. That’s why now. And of course, May is when everything should be hitting strong – we have ‘Black Widow’ opening in the beginning of May, and then every week after that.”
As for the Gaslight, Young said once more movies start rolling out, the downtown Durango theater, which has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic, will reopen.
It’s still wait and see for the Animas City Theatre, though, said co-owner Michele Redding.
The venue, which usually hosts live music and a selection of independent films, plans to reopen to live music in April, but if you’re looking forward to catching a film, you’ll have to wait, Redding said.
“We are looking to start music again mid- to late April, but at this time, we do not have any plans for movies,” she said. “With the content not be prevalent right now, for indie theaters, we’re actually trying to decide if we’re going to continue showing movies. And if so, what that’s going to look like. I’m not sure that we’re going to go back to seven days a week showing films; it may be one off or a short run if there’s a particular film, just with all the streaming and things, I’m just not sure what it’s going to look like moving forward.”
And while there’s still a lot of reopening ahead, Young said this baby step is a morale-booster.
“It’s been a long time,” she said. “It was nice, we got to hire our manager back in Durango and she’s hiring staff, just getting geared back up, it’s made everybody happy. It’s really amazing what it does for your psyche, just to have this one theater open. We’re all ecstatic.”
katie@durangoherald.com
Now playing
Stadium 9
900 Translux Drive, Durango 247-9799, www.allentheatres.com
Chaos Walking. Todd Hewitt lives on the distant planet of New World – a new hope for humanity until struck by “The Noise,” a virus that inflicts immersive visions of one’s every thought. The cacophony drives many mad until Hewitt makes a hidden, silent discovery: There is a girl named Viola, who may be the key to unlocking New World’s many layered secrets. Together, the two are forced on a white-knuckle adventure into an unexplored planet – trying to escape and hide in an environment where all thought is heard, all movement seen – as they both discover the truth about the lives they left behind and the spectacular world they’ve learned to call home. Rated PG-13.
Raya and the Last Dragon. Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it will take more than a dragon to save the world – it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well. Rated PG.
The Marksman. With vicious drug cartel assassins on their heels, a hardened border town rancher (Liam Neeson) helps a young boy escape to safety across America. Rated PG-13.
Tom & Jerry. One of the most beloved rivalries in history is reignited when Jerry moves into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of “the wedding of the century,” forcing the event’s desperate planner to hire Tom to get rid of him. The ensuing cat and mouse battle threatens to destroy her career, the wedding and possibly the hotel itself. But soon, an even bigger problem arises: a diabolically ambitious staff member conspiring against all three of them. A blend of classic animation and live-action, Tom and Jerry’s new big-screen adventure stakes new ground for the iconic characters and forces them to do the unthinkable ... work together to save the day. Rated PG.
