Cinemark Theatres has shared a video of auditorium seats being sanitized as it continues the process of reopening its facilities that were forced to close because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic."Thank you Marc at our West Plano, TX theatre for sanitizing our auditorium seats before each movie," Cinemark tweeted along with a video of its theater-cleaning process. "We appreciate you!"
The Texas-based company is implementing numerous practices and safety measures. These include staggering showtimes, reducing auditorium capacity and placing hand sanitizer and seat wipes throughout its facilities. Employees are also be required to wear facemasks and gloves, however, in a major departure from what other American theater chains are doing, Cinemark is not requiring moviegoers to wear masks unless local mandates require them. However, in addition to its auditoriums being disinfected every morning, any seat used in a prior screening will be sanitized before the next movie begins.
Cinemark is in the middle of reopening its theaters across the country after the coronavirus forced it to close all 345 of its U.S. locations in March. During the current pandemic, Cinemark employees have taken major pay cuts, with the CEO forgoing his salary. According to the company's website, the first three Cinemark facilities to reopen are located in Texas, resuming business on June 19.