More cinemas to reopen this week

Only 20% resume shows; many will restart only after Tamil films are released

Around 30% of the cinemas across Tamil Nadu, including multiplexes, will open their screens to patrons on Thursday and Friday. Only 20% of the theatres opened on August 23, from when the government allowed cinemas to reopen. Industry sources say the remaining 50% of the cinemas, especially in rural areas, will reopen only after new Tamil films are released or during Vinayaka Chaturti. A source at a cinema in Madurai, who has decided to wait until September, said, “The market here is different. People prefer more Tamil films. So, I have decided to wait until the first week of September. The news about the third wave is all around social media, so we are very cautious.” But Abishek Eashwaran, partner, Priya Complex, Madurai, said he would open one of the screens on Friday with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. In Coimbatore, exhibitors would begin with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and Bell Bottom (Hindi). Even in this zone, a few are in a wait-and-watch mode.