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This article was published 24/07/2020 (2197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The simple act of going to the movies, denied to Manitobans since mid-March, finally becomes an entertainment option today when Cineplex multiplexes at Polo Park and St. Vital shopping centres open with a selection of classic films and a few recent releases.

The openings come after the province greenlit theatre openings, with 30 per cent capacity, effective Friday.

In a statement, Cineplex said the other multiplexes at Kildonan Place and McGillivray VIP will also open in the coming weeks.

Friday afternoon, Landmark Cinemas announced their Grant Park location would open Saturday as well, although the date for the Towne Cinemas remains up in the air. The Landmark cinemas in Brandon and Winkler are scheduled to open next Friday.

Cineplex will fire up its projectors with a slate that includes older films such as Gravity, The Karate Kid, Jurassic Park and Jaws, as well as 2020 releases Bloodshot, The Invisible Man, My Spy, Sonic The Hedgehog and Jumanji: The Next Level.

At Grant Park, the movie selection will include Jurassic Park, Trolls World Tour, Jaws, Dirty Dancing and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. All classic movies are $5 every day; $2.99 on Tuesdays.

The sole new release will be the Canadian thriller Target Number One at Polo Park. Ticket prices will be $5.

Portage la Prairie’s lone multiplex, Prairie City Cinema, will also open Saturday with a selection of mostly older films (Batman Begins, Ghostbusters, Despicable Me 3 and Trolls: World Tour).

It’s been an especially long wait for that cinema’s owner, David Mulaire, who was denied the opportunity to open while theatres in other provinces, more adversely affected by COVID-19, were allowed to open their doors. Now that he can screen films, his next problem is getting product that will entice moviegoers.

“There’s a huge library and there’s over 4,000 movies we can pick from to book and play,” he says.

But few are new, since studios have held back on big releases, such as Disney’s Mulan, or Christopher Nolan’s anticipated blockbuster Tenet.

“The National Association of Theatre Owners in the States, has been pushing for distributors to go ahead and release their product, because 85 per cent of the world market is now open,” Mulaire says. “That’s what’s going to return moviegoing back to a bit of a more normal state.

“Not just in North America but worldwide, theatres are closing or going bankrupt because we can’t sustain a theatre without new product for years on end.”

On Friday, Mulaire was preparing the cinemas for safe, physically distanced viewing, as well as preparing a final “drive-in” screening of The Wizard of Oz in the parking lot, a makeshift measure he employed to keep the business going.

“It’s been going well enough to pay my staff and not have to take part in the subsidies the province is putting out,” he says. “It’s been putting the lights on and paying the Hydro bills and it’s been keeping me connected with the community.”

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Winnipeg’s sole art house cinema, Cinematheque, has also been waiting for the opportunity to welcome back its moviegoers, but program director Jaimz Asmundson says the Exchange District venue will not likely open before mid-August.

“We have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be able to reopen,” he says. “We’re going to be having a new ticketing system in place. We will have advanced seat selection. Also, our projector needs a bit of repair before we can get going, and the first week that can happen is the first week of August.

“We’re happy to take things slow and steady and make sure everything is in place,” Asmundson says.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing