Corona: What can a visit to the cinema look like now?

Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for

More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.

After weeks of closings, the first cinemas are now allowed to reopen. A lot will change in the process - visitors will have to get used to a new normal here too.

Up until now, you didn't really have to worry too much about going to the cinema. But now the corona pandemic is also changing cinema visits. The first cinemas have already reopened nationwide, including some in Hesse, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Hamburg was to follow on Wednesday (May 27th), followed by Saxony-Anhalt on Thursday (May 28th). The reopenings for North Rhine-Westphalia (May 30), Baden-Württemberg (June 1), Brandenburg (June 6) and Bavaria (June 15) have been announced in the coming weeks. But what does a visit to the cinema look like in the future?

Tickets: Pay contactless

Go to the cinema, let the friendly employee at the cash desk show you the seating plan and take time to think about where you would like to sit: That is now a thing of the past. Instead, the cinemas ask their customers to buy the tickets online. There should also be as few interactions as possible in the cinemas themselves.

Cinemaxx managing director Frank Thomsen explains: "There is a contactless ticket check at the entrance. At all box offices - cinema and restaurant counters - you can pay by card or contactless."

Desired seats: minimum distance between visitors

On the edge, in the middle or in the back row? Many have favorite places that they like to sit in the cinema. However, in order to maintain the prescribed distances, not all seats in the hall will now be available. Couples and friends are allowed to sit next to each other when booking together, but according to the current rules, they must be 1.5 meters away from the next visitors. This means that several places next to, in front of and behind you remain free and may not be occupied by other guests. Seats are permanently assigned.

How the cinemas regulate this when making bookings has not yet been clarified everywhere. "Between the seats, which can be booked online as blocks of two, corresponding seats are blocked for the required distance and remain free," emphasizes Thomsen from Cinemaxx. According to Christine Berg from the HDF Kino board of directors, card systems could possibly also be changed in such a way that the system automatically blocks the surrounding seats when a booking is made. This could allow a more flexible choice of seats.

The cinemas hope, however, that these rules of distance will change again. Because if it stays at a distance of 1.5 meters, a hall can be used to a maximum of 20 or 25 percent, according to the HDF Kino and AG Kino associations. The majority of the places remain empty: "If two places are occupied, 12 must remain free," says Berg.

According to Christian Bräuer from AG Kino, a distance of just one meter - as in Austria - would be an improvement because then at least every row could be occupied. "Then a chessboard system would be conceivable, in which every row, but the places are shifted and not occupied directly one after the other."

Nerve food: counters are open

For many, a tradition of going to the cinema also includes catering: some treat themselves to gratinated nachos, others want to reach into a giant bag of popcorn, while others toast with a beer or Prosecco. We can continue to look forward to it. Because at the bars and counters of the cinemas there should be drinks and snacks to buy as usual.

However, due to the hygiene regulations, similar to those in supermarkets and other shops, it will be a little different than before. In most cases this means: stand in line and order with a distance and mouth and nose protection. The employees will often stand behind a Plexiglas pane. Maybe nachos and Co. will be presented with a small cover in the future.

Going to the toilet: only with a mask!

"Sorry, can I stop by for a minute?" So far you pushed past the other guests in the row when you wanted to go to the toilet. Now there will be significantly fewer guests in the same row - if at all. The toilets can still be used. However, you usually have to put on the mouth and nose protection when leaving the place.

No uniform mask rule

Speaking of masks: According to Berg, it is not yet clear in all federal states whether you have to wear the face mask during the film. At Cinemaxx it is said that the mask requirement applies to the cinemas that are already open when entering and leaving the cinema halls and when visiting the toilet during the screenings. "As soon as the assigned seat has been taken in the hall, the mask can be removed."

However, should there be a legal mask requirement for the entire visit to the cinema - even during the performance - this would of course also apply to Cinemaxx. Answers to frequently asked questions about wearing the face mask can be found here.

Backstage

Cinema operators now organize differently than before. In larger companies in particular, the films will start more delayed than before in order to equalize the rush of guests. It is also cleaned more often, especially doorknobs and handles. The doors to the halls will probably also be open for the time of admission so that not everyone has to touch them. In some cinemas, visitors may be guided more than before, for example by defining an entrance and an exit. (lv / dpa)

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