Chinese cinemas will be allowed to reopen starting July 20 in low-risk areas, after months of closure because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The China Film Administration said that the reopening will be in line with local prevention and control measures and added that theaters in medium- and high-risk areas will remain shut for the time being.

Operators will need to get the final go-head from local authorities and register with the China Film Administration.

Local disease control departments will supervise and instruct businesses that re-open to better ensure that anti-epidemic guidelines are followed.

The resumption of operations comes with a set of rules, the administration said. While theaters are allowed back in service, ticket offices will remain closed.

All movie tickets must be sold online through a real-name reservation system. Social distancing will also be observed inside the screening venues, with at least one empty seat between spectators. The number of moviegoers allowed in each theater hall will be capped at 30 percent of its maximum capacity.

Operators will also have to cut by half their movie schedules, while moviegoers will not be allowed to stay in theater halls for over two hours.

Disinfection and temperature checks

Venues must carry out daily disinfection, multiple times a day. Items with direct contact with the audience, such as armrests and 3D glasses should be sanitized for every screening. Public equipment, including automatic ticket machines, vending machines, chairs in waiting areas and toilets should be cleaned at least five times a day. Halls, corridors and passageways should be sprayed twice daily.

Customers must register using their name and phone number before entering cinemas, and temperature checks and mask-wearing are mandatory.

Food and drinks will not be allowed inside the theater halls.

The internet reacts

The announcement that cinemas are back in business was a trending topic on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, receiving over 96 million clicks in the span of just hours.

Many listed the titles they've been looking forward to since the beginning of the year, including "Leap," "Mulan," "Detective Chinatown 3," as well as computer-animated fantasy film "Legend of Deification."

Other however said they were reluctant about going back to movie theaters.

Cinemas in China were ordered to close on January 25, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, which is largely considered the country's biggest box office season, normally marked with major releases and increased attendance.

According to Maoyan.com, a film ticket booking platform, during the first half of 2020, Chinese film box office stood at 2.24 billion yuan (320 million U.S. dollars), down 93 percent from the 31.1 billion yuan (4.44 billion U.S. dollars) recorded in the same period last year.

Economic Daily reported in April that over 2,200 cinemas collapsed in the first quarter. A performance projection published by Wanda Cinemas, one of China's biggest entertainment companies, shows that the company's losses range between 1.5 billion and 1.6 billion yuan (210 million – 230 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year.

Cinema staff also cheered the decision, expressing excitement to go back to work after six months at home.

(Cover image: File of an empty cinema. /CFP)