Richland cinemas reopens with return of new movies

Cambria County, Pa. (WJAC) — Closed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, Edward Troll the owner of Richland Cinemas, says movie theatres across the country are suffering including his.

Troll reopened Richland Cinemas in June when Cambria County entered the green phase of the states reopening plan. However, the only thing Troll had to show on the big screen were old movies as no new releases were coming from Hollywood because of the pandemic.

After being open for a few weeks Troll had to make the decision to close his business again after he says ticket sales weren’t enough to keep their doors open.

“We opened with the hope that in a few weeks the first new movie would come out and as they delayed that and delayed that we used up our PPP money it became obvious that the number of tickets sold for the classic films was obviously not enough to support us we had to reclose again,” said Troll.

Hope has now returned to the theatre as Troll says they’ll reopen for a second time on August 21st with their first new movie release in months.

“We have Unhinged from Solstice Pictures starring Russell Crow, which gives us the first new movie let’s say of the pandemic season,” said Troll.

With this new release Troll says he’s hoping they’ll stay open for good as another film is scheduled to be released in early September.

Troll says he wants people to feel safe coming back into his theatre to enjoy movies. After their first reopening he says his staff is fully trained and prepared to take all the necessary safety precautions.

“The staff when they come in get their temperature taken and they have to wear a mask all the time when we’re inside the building,” said Troll.

Plexiglass barriers are set up at the ticket and concession stands with credit card swipes placed on the outside for guests. Troll says they’ve also marked areas so customers can properly social distance in line at the concession stand and in the restrooms.

While open Troll says one employee’s sole job will be to clean and sanitize surfaces and theater capacity will also be limited to 25 people to a theater. Troll says they’ve also installed a new ventilation system inside their theatres.

“We’re trying to protect both our staff and customers as much as we possibly can and like we said we’re a family business we understand protecting your family and that’s how we decided what to do to reopen Friday,” said Troll.

When Richland Cinemas reopens Troll says they will be running on modified hours.

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