France to Reopen Cinemas on June 22
France’s movie theaters will reopen on June 22 after being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic for the past three months, prime minister Édouard Philippe announced in a televised press conference Thursday.
The reopening of the country’s over 2,000 cinemas, with over 6,000 screens — the highest screen total in Europe — are part of France’s Phase 2 of reopening. Philippe also said that restaurants, bars and gardens will reopen on June 2 under the reopening plan.
“All the measures that we’ve announced will be re-evaluated at the end of June, or more precisely, before June 20th, the date of our next meeting,” Philippe added.
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Philippe also said in his address that Paris is no longer deemed a coronavirus danger zone with a “red” ranking, that schools will reopen “faster than expected” and that France would now be able to test “everyone who displays symptoms.”
Screen Daily recently reported that exhibitors were eyeing a July reopening date and had drafted health guidelines that were presented to the government, including opening theaters at reduced capacity and modifying venues to new cleanliness measures.
As for what movies French cinemas will actually show, “Tenet,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” and “Mulan” will all open in late July and early August, and some French films that were already showing in theaters before the shutdowns began, such as the Juliette Binoche film “How to Be a Good Wife” that opened in January, could become available.
Read original story France to Reopen Cinemas on June 22 At TheWrap
