Grand Junction Cinemas Hope the Release of TENET Will Bring in More Patrons

Cinemas in Grand Junction are hoping that the industry sees a resurgence with the release of the new film, Tenet, The Daily Sentinel reports.

"The 50% capacity definitely has limited us, but our community has stayed strong coming out to support us, even with old movies and with the start of new movies," Picture Show Manager Chris Cherin said.

The Picture Show isn't the only theater struggling and hoping this sparks a change. Regal Canyon View, the other cinema in the city, had been closed until this month.

"The reason why I think a lot of theaters have held off is because Christopher Nolan has pushed so hard for this to bring the theaters back and to bring people back, and he's really been the driving force behind all of this," said Regal Canyon View's manager. "Without him, I don't think any of this would be happening. I think we would still be closed. He stuck his neck out for theaters in general and so did Warner Brothers, so we're trying to do everything we can to make sure they get the best showtimes, the best everything."

Both theaters held advanced screenings of Tenet this week, to gauge how many people they can anticipate during its opening weekend.

On Thursday, the film's official release date, Picture Show screened the film nine times and Regal Canyon View screened the film 22 times throughout the day, with new showings beginning every 30 minutes all day.

"Honestly, I think it's a stepping stone for the rest of the year," Cherin said. "A lot of the other movies that are slated for the end of the year, based on how well 'Tenet' does with the limited capacity, international sales, things like that, it's going to show everybody if it's a viable option to put a movie out or if we're going to see a lot of movies pushed back to next year."

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