The Unlock 5.0 guidelines by the Home Ministry has provided a big relief to movie makers and theatre owners as the centre has allowed to operate theatre at 50 % capacity starting October 15. The MHA released the new set of guidelines on Wednesday. A standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the same.
Cinema halls were the first to shut down when the number of coronavirus cases in the country saw a sharp rise. Cinema halls in all states were shut down by March 14, 10 days before the nationwide lockdown was announced. Some of the last films to get a theatrical release were Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Baaghi 3, Love Aaj Kal, all of which suffered a bad box office report due to the pandemic.
However, the Maharashtra Government in its new set of guidelines stated that theatres will not be operating in the state at least till October 31. New guidelines will be issued for the month of November.
Easing of Restrictions and Phase-wise opening of Lockdown.(1/2)#MissionBeginAgain pic.twitter.com/0DPy32X6se
— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) September 30, 2020
On the other hand, West Bengal will be operating its cinema halls from October 1 following all safety protocols.
Meanwhile, release of several big films was delayed because of the theatres being shut. Fans have been eagerly awaiting to catch films like '83, Sooryavanshi and Hollywood releases like Tenet and No Time To Die in the theatres.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/mha-permits-cinema-halls-to-operate-at-50-capacity-from-october-15/