Hundreds of movie theaters in New Jersey have been given the green light to reopen this weekend by Gov. Phil Murphy, though they will have to do so under very strict COVID-19 safety regulations.
In a tweet posted Monday morning, Gov. Murphy said that cinemas and other indoor performance venues will be allowed to open their doors again on Friday, provided that face masks are worn by all employees and attendees and social distancing rules are enforced. Venues will also be required to limit their capacity to either 25% of the maximum amount or 150 people, whichever is fewer.
“We are able to take all these steps today because of the hard work millions of you have done to keep pushing down our positivity rate and our rate of transmission, and all the other health metrics we follow, to where we are comfortable and confident in taking them,” Murphy said during his daily COVID-19 briefing.
While the National Association of Theater Owners and major theater chains have promoted their implementation of social distancing protocols, including keeping seats empty between viewing parties and deep cleaning of all auditoriums and public spaces in between screenings, the 25% limit may be too strict for smaller theaters as it would prevent them from selling enough tickets to keep up with operating costs. Most theaters that have reopened worldwide have enforced a 50% capacity limit, which is viewed as a cap that would both allow for social distancing and leave enough seats open to allow theaters to remain profitable.
It remains to be seen how many theaters will choose to reopen under the 25% limit, but Murphy’s announcement will be welcome news to the national chains that operate multiplexes in the state. Last month, NATO filed a lawsuit, alongside major chains like AMC Theaters, challenging the New Jersey’s theater shutdown, though it was ultimately denied by a federal judge. Those chains will now be able to add their New Jersey locations to the hundreds of locations reopening nationwide for the release of Warner Bros.’ “Tenet,” which made $53 million from its release in 41 overseas markets this weekend.
While most U.S. states have given permission to theaters to reopen, several states, including California, New York and Michigan, have kept their theaters closed, aside from drive-ins. California Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined on Friday a new, multi-tier reopening system that would allow counties to steadily reopen businesses once they get the rate of new COVID-19 infections down to certain levels, though county health departments can still enforce stricter closure orders if they so choose.
Currently, the majority of California counties have not reached a level where indoor theaters can reopen. Two notable exceptions are San Francisco and San Diego County, both of which under the state system could allow theaters to reopen with 25% capacity.
In New Jersey, over 191,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the start of the pandemic in March along with over 16,000 deaths. NATO of New Jersey, the state’s movie theater trade organization, did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The Scene at ShortList 2018: TheWrap's 7th Annual Short Film Festival (Photos)
TheWrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman and awards editor Steve Pond join the filmmakers featured in the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival at AMC Century City on Thursday.
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Jurors Dana Gill, Jim Cummings, Irene Taylor Brodsky, Jihan Robinson and Rafael Casal at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"Weekends" director Trevor Jimenez at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Student director Cecilia Albertini at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"The Goodnight Show" actress Ellie Dubin and director Charlie Schwan join the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Filmmakers Cecilia Albertini and Andrea Brusa are featured in the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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The "Labor" film team joins the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Actress Ellie Dubin, who starred in "The Goodnight Show," at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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The "Labor" film team and "Magic Alps" co-director Andrea Brusa at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Filmmakers David Fortune, Dominique Koski, Aqsa Altaf, Charlie Schwan and Cecilia Albertini.
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"Night Shift" team before the awards ceremony at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"Night Shift" actor Calvin Picou at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes" producer Josh Polon joins the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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TheWrap's Sharon Waxman at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival
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"The Goodnight Show" director Charlie Schwan joins the crowd before the awards ceremony.
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TheWrap team celebrates before the awards ceremony.
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The jurors of the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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TheWrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman kicks off the awards ceremony.
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Sharon Waxman speaks about the selection of short films featured in the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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The audience at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival awards ceremony.
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Guests mingle at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Filmmakers Quran Squire and David Fortune.
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Sharon Waxman welcomes guests to the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky speaks at the jury panel at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"Blindspotting" co-writer and star Rafael Casal speaks during the jury panel at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Juror Jihan Robinson, VP of nonfiction programming at Topic Studios, speaks about the short film format.
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"Thunder Road" filmmaker and Shortlist 2016 winner Jim Cummings joined the jury at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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The "Labor" team before the awards ceremony.
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Guests at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Guests converse at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Eleven filmmakers sit down to talk about their projects during the panel and awards ceremony.
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"Z-MAN" director David Fortune speaks about his film during the filmmakers panel.
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"Magic Alps" co-director Andrea Brusa speaks about some of the challenges working with a goat in his film.
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Aqsa Altaf, director of the student short "One Small Step," joins the filmmaker panel.
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Student director Aqsa Altaf speaks abut her film, "One Small Step."
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Filmmakers Randall Christopher, Quran Squire and David Fortune meet up during the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"Z-MAN" director David Fortune takes a selfie with Sharon Waxman and filmmaker Quran Squire.
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Sharon Waxman and filmmakers Quran Squire and Marshall Tyler converse during the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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"The Goodnight Show" director Charlie Schwan speaks at the filmmakers panel.
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"Night Shift" director Marshall Tyler speaks about the challenges of making his film, which is set in a bathroom.
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"My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes" producer Josh Polon.
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"Night Shift" director Marshall Tyler.
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Program director Landon Zakheim announces the student prize winner, "The Peak."
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TheWrap's awards editor Steve Pond announces the audience prize winner, voted on by the public.
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Co-director Andrea Brusa accepts the audience prize for "Magic Alps."
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"Magic Alps" co-director Andrea Brusa accepts the audience prize on behalf of his co-director, Marco Scotuzzi and the rest of the film's team.
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"Magic Alps" co-director Andrea Brusa with Steve Pond after his win.
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"The Driver Is Red" director Randall Christopher accepts the industry prize, voted on by the jury.
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"The Driver Is Red," directed by Randall Christopher, is the industry prize winner.
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"The Driver Is Red" director Randall Christopher with jurors Rafael Casal and Jim Cummings.
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Producer Dominique Koski holds the student prize for "The Peak."
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Director Randall Christopher holds the industry prize for "The Driver Is Red."
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"The Driver Is Red" director Randall Christopher with Steve Pond.
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Juror Irene Taylor Brodsky after the awards ceremony.
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Juror Jim Cummings and director Randall Christopher at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Sharon Waxman with winners Randall Christopher and Andrea Brusa.
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"My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes" producer Josh Polon with guests at the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival.
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Sharon Waxman with winner and director of "The Driver is Red," Randall Christopher.
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Filmmakers and filmgoers gathered at AMC Century City to celebrate this year’s slate of award-winning shorts
TheWrap founder and CEO Sharon Waxman and awards editor Steve Pond join the filmmakers featured in the seventh annual ShortList Film Festival at AMC Century City on Thursday.