B&B Theatres in Ridgeland set to open next week

RIDGELAND, Miss. (WLBT) - New employees of B&B Theatres stocked the front lobby with movie theater snacks Thursday.

They open September 3rd for the people of Ridgeland and across the metro. Paul Fransworth with B&B said the coronavirus pandemic was a setback.

“We’ve been working on this project for a number of months and I think we’re more or less ready to open when theaters were closed down,” he said. “And so the timing has been less than ideal.”

B&B is following COVID-19 guidelines from CinemaSafe, an alliance made up of hundreds of theater companies that want moviegoers to be safe. The guidelines include mask wearing and distancing the seats between guests.

“We’re also spacing out the showtimes to give our crew additional time to get in and do a deep clean on every auditorium between every show,” said Fransworth.

“We’re hoping for a strong opening,” said general manager Kywanna Gibbs. ”I feel that people are ready to kind of get out of the house after being quarantined for so long.”

Unhinged is one of the first big budget movies to premiere in theaters this year. The pandemic delayed the initial release date but the movie managed to make over $4 million opening weekend.

“Our studio partners have been really good too about reaffirming their commitment to theaters and saying, ’Listen, we have these movies. Some of them have been done for months now, but they’re saying we’re holding them to make sure that they can get released to theaters,’” said Fransworth.

B&B’s unique set-up could help drive sales too. The warming reclining seats, the child playground showroom and the motion 4-D set could add to the experience.

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