Odeon Trafford Centre will be one of the first UK cinemas to reopen with new safety measures

Odeon, the nation’s largest cinema chain, has announced it will start reopening cinemas from 4th July with enhanced health and safety measures in place.

Only ten branches across the country will open to begin with – and Manchester will be one of them.

The intu Trafford Centre Odeon, which you can now reach by tram, will reopen on 4th July, followed by the Odeon cinemas in Rochdale on 13th July and the Great Northern on 16th July.

The Trafford Centre branch includes the new state-of-the-art 164-seat Dolby Cinema screen, which opened late last year bringing an immersive cinematic experience to Manchester.

Following three months of small screen home entertainment, film fans can once again book tickets for the big screen, including Manchester, from 25th June. 

A mix of recent and remastered classics will be screened at the Trafford Centre following the reopening including 1917, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (re-released and remastered in 4k for its 40th anniversary), Sonic the Hedgehog, Onward, Interstellar, Bad Boys for Life, Dunkirk and The Hangover.

Summer’s big blockbusters are also just around the corner, beginning with Mulan and Tenet at the end of July alongside other new releases including Dreambuilders and Unhinged.

New measures in place will include booking online and contactless ticket checks in the cinema, and contactless till payments for purchasing food and drinks. Odeon says a new range of ‘grab and go’ pre-packaged food and drinks including a bottled drink, Butterkist popcorn and a bag of sweets will help improve speed of service

Limited seats will be on sale for each show with guaranteed unoccupied seats between guests to meet social distancing requirements, whilst enabling family groups and social bubbles to sit together.

Staggered show start times will aim to reduce queues, with safe queuing measures in place such as floor markings and cinema host support, and newly serviced air conditioning will ensure that fresh air is delivered into all screens, say Odeon.

There will also be more frequent cleaning routines on all high contact areas of the cinema, and sanitiser stations offering complimentary sanitising gels and wipes.

Teams will be trained on safety and hygiene measures, and equipped with PPE, including face coverings and gloves.

“We’ve carefully planned every step of our guest journey and put safety measures in place that will enable our highly trained colleagues to provide a controlled and safer cinema experience for all our guests,” says Carol Welch, Odeon UK managing director.

“New measures include social distancing in our auditoriums and foyers, additional cleaning regimes, and a request to book tickets online prior to arrival. 

“We would like to thank our colleagues and guests for their patience during this period, and we can’t wait to welcome guests back to big screen entertainment and a safer cinema experience.”

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