Christopher Nolan One of the First Ticket Buyers as AMC Theaters Re-Open in Los Angeles
Zack Sharf
Moviegoing has returned to Los Angeles, so naturally Christopher Nolan was one of the first customers in line to attend a screening. As reported by NBC News, the “Tenet” and “Dunkirk” filmmaker was “among the first customers in line as film theaters reopened after coronavirus restrictions were eased in Los Angeles.” Nolan attended the AMC Theater in Burbank, California. Los Angeles County finally got the go-ahead on Monday, March 15 to re-open movie theaters after California state leaders confirmed on Friday that the county had moved into the less restrictive red tier on the coronavirus chart. AMC re-opened its two largest Los Angeles locations this week, the Burbank 16 and Century City 15.
As IndieWire film reporter Chris Lindahl wrote last week upon the announcement Los Angeles theaters can re-open: “It’s a significant milestone for an exhibition sector roiled by the pandemic. Following the reopening of New York City theaters last month, this means the country’s two largest theatrical markets will be back in business, which could begin to pave the way to a return to normalcy for theatrical releases.”
“The reopening of Los Angeles theaters will likely inspire confidence in distributors, who have been reluctant to release films in theaters for much of the pandemic,” Lindahl continued. “Aside from Warner Bros.’ end-of-summer ‘Tenet’ experiment and their later day-and-date releases on HBO Max, much of the last year has been devoid of notable releases as distributors pushed release dates further and further ahead.”
There’s no word yet on what movie Christopher Nolan saw on day one of AMC Theater’s re-opening. It’s also not the first time Nolan has returned to theaters to show support for theatrical exhibition during the pandemic. Regal Cinemas got a visit from Nolan and his producer and wife Emma Thomas in September as the Regal Irvine Spectrum re-opened. Deadline reported that Nolan was at the theater to watch the Sony-released romantic comedy “The Broken Hearts Gallery.” The week prior, Nolan was reportedly at the theater to check out Armando Iannucci’s Searchlight offering, “The Personal History of David Copperfield.”
While Nolan’s “Tenet” played in Los Angeles drive-in locations last summer, the espionage epic finally arrived in New York City last month as theaters re-opened. “Tenet” picked up two Oscar nominations this week, one for Best Production Design and one for Best Visual Effects.
