Kempsey Cinema still in the dark with no date set for NSW movie theatres to reopen

Kempsey Cinema had been open for just four months when non-essential businesses were ordered to close in late March to help stop the spread of the virus.

Now, with a number of restrictions easing, locals are able to head back to their favourite cafes, restaurants, museums, pubs and clubs while no date has been set for NSW cinemas to reopen.

CEO of Majestic Cinemas Kieren Dell said the industry in NSW has been left behind as other states reopen cinemas to the public.

"Every other state has announced the dates for the reopening of cinemas and some states have already started to reopen cinemas, but we've had nothing," he told the Argus.

"It is frustrating, but we're preparing so that when the date is announced we'll be ready."

The industry is hoping for a July reopening, with a number of social distancing measures and good hygiene practices in place to ensure the safety of movie goers and staff.

"We have started having negotiations with the health department on how we can adhere to the restrictions that will be in place when we reopen," Kieren said.

There will be a range of new safety measures including staggered session times that will allow for increased cleaning between each session, sanitiser points throughout the cinema complex and social distancing measures in the theatre.

"We will be allowing household groups to sit together, but every second row will be empty with two empty seats between each group in a row.

"We will see a decrease in session times because of this and there will be less people in the theatres at one time. In our big theatre in Kempsey it means that instead of seating 180 people, we will only be able to seat 51."

The movie industry is a global one and the pandemic has halted movie production companies across the world, with many studios holding back on releasing their blockbusters until cinemas are back up and running.

One of these films is Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk, Tenet.

"Tenet is scheduled to be released in July and the industry is hoping it will drive ticket sales, along with Black Widow and the new James Bond movie No Time to Die," Kieren said.

"Once we're back in the swing of things there will be fantastic content. We're confident people are itching to get back to the cinema and will support us when we do reopen."