Like everything else on this beleaguered planet, the entertainment industry has seen its unfair share of COVID-19 damage. Productions and live events ground to a halt in mid-March, leaving countless people out of work . Many expensive films were shelved indefinitely . Broadcast networks have scrambled to fill programming holes in their fall lineups . Anticipating billions in lost revenue, Hollywood looked to Congress for financial aid. Projects that resume filming, like The Bold and the Beautiful and Jurassic World: Dominion , must administer repeated coronavirus tests and adopt costly safety protocols.

Despite all those handicaps, movies will outlive the pandemic. Whats less certain is how the theaters that exhibit them will fare.

The traditional theatrical business was facing hurdles before COVID-19 hit, thanks in large part to the ever-expanding streaming explosion. Last year, North American ticket sales saw a 4% dip . Even if Hollywood studios make peace with steeper losses in 2020, individual theaters are sure to suffer. It has long been true that theaters earn most of their profits from concessions, putting venues that shuttered for months in jeopardy. AMC, the countrys largest chain, narrowly avoided bankruptcy last month. Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said he doesnt expect the industry to return to normal until 2022 . And while the coronavirus may have created a boom time for drive-ins with their built-in social distancing, independent theaters have been left praying that virtual screening options keep already vulnerable earnings afloat.

That leaves several open-ended questions, including how the pandemic might alter long-term Hollywood economics. Addressing them is tricky when different regions of the United States are weathering different circumstances, but heres what we know based on the information thats currently available to the public.

When Will Movie Theaters Reopen?

COVID-19 rates are still high in the U.S. , but because some regions have managed to tamp down their numbers, certain theaters are reopening in August. AMC which faced a public-relations debacle in June when the companys leadership said masks wouldnt be required (theyre required now) opened more than 100 of its approximately 630 locations on Thursday with a reduced-ticket-price promotion. Alamo Drafthouse, the trendy dine-in franchise, returned in select locations on Friday and will reportedly show Christopher Nolans much-anticipated Tenet when it finally opens Sept. 3. (More on Tenet below.) But for now, those venues will go without income from California and New York, the two largest moviegoing markets, where the states COVID-19 regulations still prohibit theaters from reopening.