ENTERTAINMENT

They're back! Regal Cinemas to reopen theaters in Southwest Florida, starting Friday at Bell Tower

Charles Runnells
Fort Myers News-Press

Regal Cinemas is reopening all its Southwest Florida movie theaters over the next month, starting Friday with Regal Belltower and ScreenX in south Fort Myers.

The theater chain has announced the news on the websites for its five local movie theaters.

“Regal is thrilled to welcome our guests back to movies!” the websites say. “Select theatres are now open and showing larger-than-life movies like 'Godzilla vs. Kong' and "Mortal Kombat."  Additional theatres will be opening in the weeks to follow.

“We are excited to open our doors and begin sharing our love of movies with our fans.”

Regal Belltower reopens Friday at Bell Tower Shops, followed by three more theaters on May 7: Regal Naples 4DX & IMAX in North Naples, Regal Gulf Coast & IMAX in San Carlos Park and Regal Town Center in Port Charlotte. Then Regal Coconut Point in Estero opens May 21.

Other theaters:Cape Coral movie theater reopens with 'Tenet,' 'Bill & Ted,' 'New Mutants' and more

Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) raises hell in the new "Mortal Kombat."

Belltower's opening lineup includes "Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train (Dubbed),"  "Mortal Kombat,""Godzilla Vs. Kong," "The Unholy,""Nobody" and "The Croods: New Age." Tickets are available for pre-order online.

Richard M. Grover, vice president of communications for Regal, didn’t respond to an email requesting comment Monday.

The theater chain’s parent company, Cineworld Group, announced in March that it would begin reopening its U.S. theaters starting April 2. The move coincided with the release of the Warner Bros. movie "Godzilla vs. Kong."

Regal — the second largest theater chain in the country — is one of the last major chains to reopen after closing for a second time during the pandemic. Its 7,211 theater screens nationwide and 549 theaters had remained dark since October.

AMC — the country’s biggest chain — reopened all of its U.S. theaters in March, including its Merchants Crossing 16 theater in North Fort Myers.

Regal has posted details online about what customers can expect. “As we re-open our theatres, we remain committed to the safety of our patrons and employees,” the chain wrote on its websites.

This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Kong in a scene from "Godzilla vs. Kong." (Warner Bros. Entertainment  via AP)

The safety rules and protocols are similar to the last time Regal reopened in August 2020 (only to close again two months later). They include:

  • Contact-less payment options, such as the ability to buy tickets and concession items using the Regal mobile app.
  • Socially distanced seating with the theater's reservation system maintaining two empty theater seats between groups (or one seat at locations with recliners).
  • Guests asked to leave two empty seats between groups, for theaters without reserved seats.
  • Guests required to wear face masks in the lobby, hallways and restrooms. They can remove them inside the auditorium while eating and drinking.
  • And daily health screenings for employees, including “temperature checks where mandated.” Employees must also wear masks and wash their hands every 30 to 60 minutes, at least, “dependent on job role.”

Theaters will operate at 50-percent capacity “where required by state or county mandate,” according to Regal, but it doesn’t specify what capacity other theaters will maintain.

Regal closed its theaters in October 2020, less then two months after they’d reopened for the first time. They’d been closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic.

— USA Today contributed to this story.

Connect with this reporter: Email crunnells@gannett.com or connect on social media at Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter) and @crunnells1 (Instagram).