Mary Pickford theater in Cathedral City reopening Friday, here’s what movie-goers can expect

The Mary Pickford movie theater in Cathedral City is set to reopen its doors on Friday for the first time in months. 

Riverside County movie theaters were given the green light on Tuesday to reopen. 

“I mean…it’s a relief,” said Ted Hane, the General Manager at the Mary Pickford. 

Hane says they’ve lost millions of dollars due to the pandemic. 

The amount of we’ve personally lost in this venture, there’s no way to achieve it back,” said Hane. 

The last time they were open was June, and that was only for two weeks. To prepare for Friday’s opening, he says all employees have been tested for COVID, they’ve installed plexiglass at the concession counter and increased sanitation procedures.

“In between movies and also just general restroom cleaning is much more elevated,” explained Hane.

He says movie theaters will only be filled to 25% capacity for now. “We know that this is a necessary step to get to the next phase which then increases to 50%,” he said. 

Face masks are also required to enter the theater. “Masks are required until you are seated, so it’s much like a restaurant,” he said. 

They’ve also installed a new air conditioning and ventilation system. “Some of those new systems, the filtration systems, are much more improved than what they used to be,” he said. 

Hane says they’re also still moving ahead with plans to open their drive-in theater across the street. 

The drive-in, which will open sometime next week, will provide a socially distant experience for movie goers. Hane says they’ll be able to accommodate about 60 cars. 

He says people will be able to purchase drive-in tickets online for $9.99 a person -- part of a push on their end to keep prices low to help people on a budget during these times. 

Their opening feature will be the new Christopher Nolan movie Tenet. 

“For anyone in the industry on our end, it’s always a dream to open and operate a drive-in theater...it really is a brand new experience if you haven’t done it previously,” he said.