Palace Cinemas is the first of the major cinema chains  to announce a reopening date.  Palace Cinemas  Chief executive  Benjamin Zeccola has announced that Palace Cinemas will reopen on Thursday July 2.

Instead of six sessions a day in cinemas, he expects there would be just three screens initially because of the need for intensive cleaning of all surfaces between screenings.

With groups able to sit together – separated from other patrons – cinemas would have just 20 to 35 per cent of seats occupied initially.

The chain will screen the Steve Carell-Rose Byrne political comedy Irresistible, Judd Apatow’s comedy The King of Staten Island, the music industry romantic comedy The High Note and the Italian-American drama The Burnt Orange Heresy.

Palace also plans to resume the French Film Festival which was cut short when the pandemic forced cinemas to close in March.

Mr Zeccola said the chain wanted to reopen with new releases rather than films that had already screened in cinemas or were available online.

“Opening with anything that’s not fresh is less attractive to us,” he said.

Featured image – Steve Carrell and Rose Byrne in the new American film ‘Irresistible’