It’s easy to admit this idea looks impressive as Oma Cinema, a new theater idea will open in France next year it sounds like. Any Star Wars fan could tell you that it does in fact look like a part of the Galactic Senate, even if it wasn’t intentional. But just looking at the design it’s easy to think that it might be great for social distancing, but those poor ushers look like they’re going to be going upstairs, downstairs, upstairs, and then downstairs again as they have to clean each individual platform. Boohoo, right? Think about the type of safety protocols that are bound to be instituted when this place opens, then say that since the cleaning would have to be top-notch. In a sense, this almost feels like a multiple-person job, as in three or four ushers to clean a theater in order to get everything and keep the theaters clean in a timely and efficient manner. Then think of the capacity that might be needed to make the kind of money that this place might demand, and you’re looking at a very intriguing-looking idea, but also one that’s rather costly. Just from looking at this, it’s definitely bound to be a theater that will require reserved seats, which could be problematic if it’s a full theater and there are only so many seats and no enough together for a family or even a couple. But since it’s first-come, first-served, and online reservations are so easy to get, one can imagine that more people might take to the habit of reserving their seats before getting to the theater.
The overall experience looks fairly awesome since the view is great for everyone, even though those up top are still bound to have a slightly better view just because of their vantage point. But as it’s always been, those that sit at a lowered elevation usually do so either because there are no other seats, or because for some reason they want to see the grain of the screen, among other excuses. One might think that they would put in an escalator or two for those that have an issue with so many stairs, or perhaps they’re thinking of an elevator, or that people that have problems ascending staircases will reserve tickets in the pods below. It’s hard to say really, but there are a few apparent drawbacks to the theater thus far, as despite the lowered capacity there is the issue of the seats being so close together, which is a big question that might need to be addressed. Also, it almost looks as though the seats might give up a bit of comfort that’s offered by cinemas such as Regal when it comes to reclining chairs, which are nice really since they’re kind to a person’s back and are nice and cushy. They might make the ticket prices go up, but the comfort is worth it every once in a while.
It feels like it might be a while yet before the theaters in the USA are in full-swing, but some are certainly trying to get the experience to come back since many theaters have been hit hard by the pandemic. Reduced seating, security protocols, and anything else that can be done to keep people safe and get them in the doors are being looked at over and over in order to try to find some failsafe manner that can help theaters pack as many seats as they can again. People are ready, of this, there’s no doubt, and moviegoers are ready to make tracks to their local theaters in an attempt to catch whatever new movie might be coming in the next few weeks. But so far only drive-ins are really getting the business, and most of them are showing older movies that people still enjoy, but don’t quite compare to the blockbusters that folks want to see. Whether American theaters will even give a thought to copying this style is hard to say, but at this point, the cost would likely be a massive expense that a lot of theaters couldn’t even begin to entertain. Ripping out seats, creating the necessary mounts to make such things possible, and then trying to cover the cost with mounting ticket prices that are already too expensive for some is a hard sell, and for theaters that are doing what they can just to keep the lights on, doing anything other than spending the necessary money for upkeep would be a risky proposition.
There is something special about the theater experience to be fair, but with the mounting costs, the needed safety measures, and the overall expense of going to the movies these days, some folks are ready to pay a little extra to get the movies on streaming, without the fuss.
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