Movie theatres in Kerala, which were expected to open on Monday, will reopen only on Wednesday, October 27. Daniel Craig’s last Bond movie No Time To Die will be screened in theatres across the state on the opening day, reports The Hindu. Another Hollywood film, Let There Be Carnage, will also be screened the same day. The first Malayalam movie to be screened after theatres reopen will be Joju George’s Star, starting October 29.
Theatre owners in the state asked for two days’ time to make necessary preparations before reopening the venues after months of closure. Representatives of film bodies had a meeting with Kerala’s Minister for Culture Saji Cheriyan on Friday. The film bodies placed a few demands for consideration, such as allowing full occupancy in theatres, to make up for the loss of the past months. The government is expected to release a fresh order with guidelines on reopening theatres on Monday.
Other films which will release in the coming days are the Hollywood film Venom 2 on October 27 and the Tamil movie Doctor starring Sivakarthikeyan on October 28, reports Onmanorama. Rajnikanth starrer Annaatthe will release on November 4.
Among the big Malayalam projects, Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup will release on November 11. Based on the real life story of fugitive Sukumara Kurup, it is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Suresh Gopi starrer Kaaaval will release on November 24.
There is still no word on Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, the Mohanlal starrer which has been awaiting release for more than a year and a half, but had to be pushed due to COVID-19. Theatres in Kerala, which first closed in March 2020, had reopened later than other states after 10 months, in January 2021. However, they had to be closed again in mid-April following the second wave of COVID-19.
As per the existing guidelines, only those who have had both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed entry into movie theatres. This is one of the conditions that the film bodies want relaxed, since it would make those under 18 – a good percent of movie-goers – ineligible to enter cinema halls.