CGV to reopen 36 theaters next week after coronavirus shutdown

A CGV movie theater / Korea Times file

South Korea's largest multiplex chain CGV said Friday that next week it will reopen 36 theaters that have been shut down for about a month due to business disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will restart operations in a bid to overcome the crisis by revitalizing the virus-hit film industry and our neighborhood economy," an official from the company said.

Theaters, including those in Myeongdong and Daehangno, central Seoul, will resume operations from Wednesday, she said.

CGV, an affiliate of entertainment giant CJ Group, closed the 36 cinemas ― out of 116 nationwide ― March 28, to deal with a sharp drop in ticket sales.

With the spread of COVID-19 peaking in March, the number of moviegoers fell to an all-time low of 1.83 million, down from 14.67 million tickets sold nationwide in the same month last year.

"We are still struggling with decreasing moviegoers and mounting expenses such as rent," the CGV official said. "But we decided to reopen the theaters in consideration of the whole industry including investors, producers and distributors."

The company said it will keep customers in theaters spread out, as part of social distancing, by limiting the number of tickets available for screenings.

The reopening comes as South Korea's daily confirmed cases of the coronavirus have remained around 10 over the past few days.

Some domestic and foreign-made movie distributer that pushed back their premieres for the spring are reportedly considering new release schedules. (Yonhap)