Indoor movie theaters in New York are closed. Without the New York movie market open, distributors are pushing critical releases to late 2020 and even into 2021. The entire exhibition industry depends on securing these films. We need Governor Cuomo to open New York’s movie theaters NOW. Take a few minutes today to urge Governor Cuomo to open New York’s movie theaters and save the exhibition industry.
Copy and paste this suggested letter to Governor Cuomo using the Governor’s official contact form here.
Dear Governor Cuomo:
We write to urge you to reopen New York State’s movie theaters. These essential community businesses are as safe as or even safer than many other venues that have been open for months. New York’s theaters are committed to a healthy, safe, and responsible reopening and ask for the opportunity to do so.
New York is one of the most important movie markets in the world. New York’s cinemas being closed affects every exhibitor across the United States and indeed the world, as movie distributors do not want to release films without the opportunity to play them in New York as well. No new films were released until September, and we are now facing months with no new film product at all. Without new movies we cannot survive. We will be left with no choice but to shut down, for many of us permanently, leaving us and our employees utterly stranded.
New York’s movie theaters have pledged to follow a nationwide safety protocol developed with leading epidemiologists called CinemaSafe (www.cinemasafe.org). CinemaSafe is a comprehensive program that addresses all aspects of theater attendance, from when a customer first buys a ticket online to when they walk in the door to when they depart after seeing a film. CinemaSafe includes mask requirements, assigned seating, staggered showtimes, hygiene measures, and much more. The close gathering of crowds in movie theaters will no longer be allowed. Reduced capacity caps and automatic seat block-offs will ensure proper physical distancing. Theaters have also adopted upgrades to air filtration systems and will increase the flow of fresh outdoor air into their ventilation systems. Unlike in a restaurant, where patrons face one another and talk to each other across the table, moviegoers sit facing forward without speaking, which will reduce the spread of aerosols. Lastly, there have been no published (or pre-published) studies that report the spread of COVID-19 within movie theaters, even though theaters in other parts of the US and the world have been able to reopen for some months.
We urge you to please allow New York’s theaters to reopen and welcome back customers in a safe manner. Our entire industry and our 150,000 employees nationwide depend on this. Thank you for your consideration.