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Phil Murphy lifted restrictions on movie theaters.

“Movie theaters need three things to sustain themselves,” says Sodano.

“They need profits, they need people and they need product.

“‘Tenet’ is a big movie, Christopher Nolan is a big director, and Warner Bros.

is a big studio, but there’s one thing they can’t control, and that’s their audience,” says Sodano.

For movie theaters that took the risk of reopening — implementing safety measures, orchestrating extra auditorium cleanings and hiring back staff and training them to adhere to new protocols — the dearth of studio content is a big stumbling block.

“It feels like distribution has kind of abandoned the movie theaters,” says Brian Schultz, founder and CEO of Studio Movie Grill, which operates theaters in 10 states.

Christopher Nolan put an amazing stake in the ground with ‘Tenet,’ but now other studios need to follow his lead.”.

Movie theaters have had to pay rent for months while taking in virtually no revenue — and their balance sheets may not improve even when they are allowed to resume operations.

“If you open too soon and there’s no product out, or just an OK-performing movie every few months, you’re sitting there with a lot of fixed costs and no revenue coming in,” says Steele

Studio Movie Grill, which operates in states such as Texas and Florida, has reopened 19 of its 31 theaters, but it’s been a struggle to draw crowds

“I want people to know that we’re ready for them to come back to the movies,” says Schultz

If studios start releasing more movies, then audiences will return to theaters