Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced over the weekend that movie theaters outside of New York City — except Broome, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Steuben and Tioga counties in the Southern Tier region and several other upstate counties — may reopen at 25 percent capacity under state guidance starting October 23.
No more than 50 people are allowed in front of each screen in each movie theater for a single showing. Theaters may only open outside of New York City in counties that have COVID-19 positivity rates of less than 2 percent on a 14-day average and do not have any cluster zones. This does not include six of the eight counties in the Southern Tier region, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Theaters that may reopen will be subject to rigorous state guidance and enforcement.
The owner of Cinema Saver in Endicott announced last week that the theater would cease all operations this coming Sunday. Cinema Saver had been open only for private parties after the state banned movies in March during the early stage of Cuomo’s “New York On Pause” closing mandates.
The owner of Regal Cinemas in the Town of Dickinson temporarily closed all 536 of its theaters earlier this month across the country, although none have been open in New York State for months. Since late June, almost every other segment of the economy was allowed to reopen with safety precautions, except movie theaters.
Since late June, almost every other segment of New York’s leisure and recreational businesses have been allowed to reopen with safety precautions, except movie theaters.
