The Hollywood Theatre in Mattydale is preparing to welcome guests for the first time in about seven months, and like everything else, the moviegoing experience will look a little different.

Owner Conrad Zurich has purchased a disinfectant spray device to clean the theater between showings. It's one of many investments he's made to reopen. He's also added air filters, extra sanitizing stations, and touchless faucets.

“I haven’t added it up because it’s a huge amount, and I would probably get scared if I looked at that number in mass," said Zurich of the money he spent to retrofit his theater for the COVID era. "But we’re trying to do everything that we have to do and everything that makes sense to do.”

Seating is assigned and limited to 50 people. Groups who arrive together may sit together, but each party must be separated by six feet. When you sit down, you can take your mask off. But employees will have masks on.

“The biggest change is probably going to be all the new procedures to kind of keep everyone safe and make sure not only the workers but everyone that comes here is safe," said Tyler Carter, the manager of Hollywood Theatre.

Carter and the rest of the crew are excited to get back to work. They were expecting to reopen in June, but the silver screen stayed dark. Now, titles are on the marquee, and a communal viewing experience is cued up.

“If you’re in a theater, if you’re watching a comedy, a comedy is a hundred times funnier when everyone’s laughing around you," said Zurich. "If you’re watching a scary picture in the dark, it’s much scarier than when you’re in your living room.”

You can leave your living room and head to the theater if there are no COVID-19 cluster zones in your county and the positivity rate stays below 2 percent.