Go to the cinema at Christmas? Mask yourself and check local COVID-19 restrictions – National

Canadians who wish to continue their long tradition of going to the movies on Christmas Day must mask themselves and review their local restrictions.

No fewer than seven new Hollywood films will open this holiday weekend, including “The Matrix Resurrections”, the spy prequel “The King’s Man” and the family musical “Sing 2”. .

Most provinces have introduced stricter measures for large meeting rooms in hopes of slowing the spread of the highly contagious variant of Omicron.

In Ontario this means that moviegoers have to forego the usual popcorn and drinks as snacks cannot be sold for the cinemas.

The province joins most of the country in introducing 50 percent capacity measures, with rules varying in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.

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Only Saskatchewan has not introduced any capacity restrictions for its cinemas.

In Nova Scotia, cinema capacity is limited to 25 percent, with a maximum of 50 people per screen. Food must also be consumed in a designated area for eating and drinking.

And health officials in Quebec and Newfoundland have decided to close cinemas for the time being as COVID cases increase in these regions.

The Christmas break is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year in cinemas, with a string of blockbusters and award winners filling the big screen.

But apart from the hurdles of the pandemic, the latest releases of the week are also overshadowed by the massive success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. The Marvel Adventure opened in large numbers a week ago and is showing little sign of slowing down.

The superhero movie is expected to top $ 1 billion at the global box office this weekend, making it the biggest movie of the year.

Other new releases coming to cinemas for the holidays include two films by well-known authors, Paul Thomas Anderson’s dramedy “Licorice Pizza” and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth”.

There is also “A Journal for Jordan” directed by Denzel Washington and “American Underdog”, a dramatization of the life of the MVP of the National Football League, Kurt Warner.