As movie theaters around the world make reopening plans, Imax Corp.’s chief executive officer thinks they can learn from one of China’s key mistakes: Restarting too early may backfire.

About 500 cinemas in China tried to resume operations in March, before schools there were allowed to reopen. That led to a backlash on social media, and the country postponed a phased theater reopening until June 10. Cinema owners in other places should also consider a slower reopening, said Richard Gelfond, whose company’s technology is in more than 1,500 theaters in 80 countries, including about 700 in China.

“People didn’t think that was the right way to open the country,” he said. “Those will be the kinds of things that we’ll learn.”

That means audiences can expect some markets to open more quickly than others, with the earliest restarted locations showing older content before new blockbusters are available. Theaters will also have to limit capacity, and they’ll probably take customers’ temperatures and make them wear masks, he said.

Most U.S. cinemas have already said they’ll hold off on allowing customers to return, even where legal restrictions on gatherings have been lifted. Some of the largest chains, including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cinemark Holdings Inc., said they’ll probably open their doors again in June or July, when new blockbusters are released for the first time since the pandemic.

Tim League, executive chairman of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, has said reopening without putting the proper health protocols in place risks creating a bigger problem. Other industries are facing similar tough decisions about resumptions, and Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease official, warned cineplex Congress on Tuesday that more people could get sick if the country goes back to normal too quickly.

Gelfond said when theaters do fully return, they’ll look much as they did before, despite fighting with studios over the so-called theatrical window and having to refinance their debt. Earlier this month, AMC vowed to stop showing films from Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures after the studio suggested it would make some movies available to home audiences the same day they’re released in theaters.

The dispute is a “sideshow,” Gelfond said.

People in parts of Asiaare already returning to theaters that have opened, suggesting there’s still demand for the in-person experience of watching a movie. Additionally, cinematic runs help solidify other revenue streams for movies, including pay-TV deals and licensing agreements for theme parks and toys. Blockbusters will still be released in theaters, he said.

“You can watch baseball on TV, but you still go to baseball games. It’s a cultural experience, a shared experience,” he said. “If anything, this will reinforce the specialness of movies.”