Carrollton Regal Theater Reopens its Doors to the Public

Despite all the assumptions and rumors, Carrollton Regal officially reopened to the public on Aug. 28 after taking time to improve the theater and put a plan in place to open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Part of it was really just coming up with a game plan like a lot of places have,” said Clayton Gilley, a manager for Carrollton Regal. “We got basic individual spacing in the lobby, closed off parts of the auditoriums, and we took a lot of that time to do some cleaning work on some projects.”

Carrollton Regal has had a hard time letting citizens know that they are open because of the missing sign and the inability to display movies being shown to drivers passing by on Bankhead Highway. Despite this trouble, a new sign will likely not be put up in the near future.

“Unfortunately, that was just a really bad coincidence,” said Gilley. “There was a really bad storm in January or February that broke the old sign. We were in the middle of taking the torn one down, and we were going to put up a new basic one right when this all hit.

“But with the shutdown and the company trying to get back on its feet, we just don’t have the budget right now to get it replaced,” continued Gilley.

The theater has not only had to worry about a broken sign, but also about certain guidelines that have to be put in place in order for guests to have a comfortable and safe experience. Some of the changes they have made include sectioning off some seating areas in addition to no arcade or gaming features available in the lobby.

“We have closed off half of every other row in the auditorium, and we are asking the guest to keep further apart if not in a pair,” said Gilley. “We try to get groups to sit at least two seats apart from other groups. Thankfully, we have not been extremely busy, so that hasn’t been a problem yet.

“We are asking for a mask in the lobby and theater to be worn when you are not eating or drinking,” Gilley continued. “We are doing extra cleaning of the auditoriums. We have a few people go in and sanitize each individual chair, and then if we have larger groups, we have a big sanitizing fogger that we use in the auditoriums.”

Right now the Carrollton Regal has six films showing, including Black Panther, Broken Hearts Galler and Tenant. The action film Infidel is advertised ascoming to the theater on Sept. 17.

With the reopening, Gilley hopes to see more students enjoy the theater as they did in the past, and he also hopes to see business increase in the future months.

“This is a pretty laid back time right now. We haven’t been that busy, so if students like the slowness I think it’s a perfect time to come see a movie,” said Gilley. “We just encourage that you stay safe and follow all guidelines, and we hope to see people soon.”