The popcorn is popped and the film is rolling at Reading Cinemas Charlestown now coronavirus restrictions on cinemas have been partially lifted.
The business reopened on Thursday after theatres, cinemas and performance spaces across NSW were allowed to reopen with limitations on Wednesday.
While only a small number of movie goers hit the movies to catch a film on the first day, cinema complex manager Tahlia Piper said she expected things to pick back up with the school holidays kicking off this weekend.
"It's so exciting to be back," Ms Piper said. "Especially seeing all the other states already open.
"When I turned the popcorn machine on this morning I was like yeah! I missed that smell."
The cinema has introduced strict social distancing measures and additional cleaning services to minimise the risk of any potential spread of the coronavirus.
The business is encouraging customers to buy their tickets online, where an automated system will block out the three seats beside, in front and behind the person or group. For Gold Class, where the seats are bigger and more spread apart, the gap between groups is two seats.
A maximum of 10 people are allowed to book seats together and up to 50 people in total can attend the same session time.
Online tickets will also gather attendees' information for tracking and tracing while in person ticket holders will have to provide details at the complex.
The cinemas will also go through a deep clean between each session and the bathrooms will be cleaned more regularly than usual.
Ms Piper said staff were also asking customers not to attend the complex any earlier than 15 minutes before their screening to deter loitering.
With movie production on hold, Ms Piper said the cinema was screening a second run of films that appeared just prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as some old favourites.
"We're going to screen the original Ghostbusters, some Disney throwbacks and (Christopher) Nolan's three Batmans," she said.
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