Harrogate cinema delays reopening as Hollywood keeps hold of new blockbusters

The next week had been set to be the most exciting one for the town's film fans since lockdown began.

The next seven days was to have seen the reopening of both of Harrogate's cinemas - the five-screen 910-seater Odeon and the five-screen 410-seater Everyman.

But, in a major blow for film buffs, Harrogate Odeon has now decided it makes no economic sense to reopen because of the way the industry is operating during the 'new normal' and the attitudes of potential movie-goers themselves,

The film programmes scheduled to start in Harrogate were heavy on popular family favourites, classic movies and Oscar-winning cult films but light on new product from Hollywood.

The major film studios' reluctance to send out new releases for fear of small worldwide box office figures during Covid-19 is part of the problem in the current situation of 'chicken and egg' in a world still dominated by extensive precautionary measures to combat the virus.

The Harrogate Advertiser has been told that Harrogate Odeon will no longer be opening on July 16 as originally planned and that this is mainly due to the challenges around what content it can play and the public demand being so low for the older content it had intended to show.

But Harrogate Odeon is hoping the delay to reopening will be a short one that it will be in a position to open at some point early August.

However, the reopening of Harrogate Odeon remains dependent on the slate of movie releases available to cinemas and the impact the pandemic has on the releases.

There are no reports of Everyman Harrogate cinema delaying its own reopening tomorrow, Friday when the first day's programme is expected to be a mix of new hits and popular family favourites such as Oscar winner Parasite, Sonic The Hedgehog, Trolls World Tour, Love Sarah, Jumanji: The Next Level, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Wolf of Wall Street, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Incredible £395,000 lifeline for Harrogate Theatre

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