Return to the big screen in Lakewood Ranch

Tara’s Dee Sollenberger gathered with 19 friends at Lakewood Ranch Cinema for a private viewing of “Black Panther” in February.

The private rental was an opportunity for Sollenberger and her friends to get out of the house and do something fun while staying safe and social distancing, Sollenberger said.

“We had the theater to ourselves,” Sollenberger said. “It was a great experience.” 

Private rentals will continue Mondays through Thursdays after Lakewood Ranch Cinema reopens March 31.

During the Save Our Cinemas fundraiser Feb. 27, the Sarasota Film Society raised $12,000, which contributed to the nonprofit’s ability to reopen earlier than expected.

Trisha Calandra, the vice president of the Sarasota Film Society that owns Lakewood Ranch Cinema, said the nonprofit originally planned to reopen in the middle of April, but the money from the fundraiser as well as studios releasing new films allowed for the nonprofit to open March 31.

The theater will only be showing “Godzilla vs. Kong” March 31 and April 1.

On April 2, the theater will add “Tom and Jerry,” “Nomadland,” “Raya and the Lost Dragon,” “Nobody” and “Minari” to its lineup of movies.

“People are much more willing to come to the movie theater to see something they’ve never seen before compared to when we were getting absolutely no releases from Hollywood, and we had to show classic films,” Calandra said.

To keep the doors open, Calandra said the theater will need between $50,000 and $75,000 per month in revenue.

The theater will be at 60% capacity to start.

“We are still trying to stay safe, so the community feels safe coming to the movies,” Calandra said. “I just want to see smiling faces back in the movie theater. We’ve been closed for almost a total of seven months between the two closures, and just to be able to open again is exciting for us.”

Calandra said reopening also means bringing back 10-12 of the theater’s 40 furloughed employees.

“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and having that camaraderie again because this is a total family,” Calandra said. “Everybody who’s worked there has pretty much worked there for 10-plus years.”

Calandra said she hopes that as more people get vaccinated, more people will be more comfortable with going to the theater, and the theater can fully reopen by the summer.

“You feel the camaraderie of the audience as well — it’s an experience when you go to a movie,” Calandra said. “It’s not the same when you watch it in your living room on your 50-inch TV. It’s just not the same. It’s a much more enjoyable experience when you see a movie with other people in the movie theater, and you can kind of enjoy that moment all together.”