What I’m watching: a new movie in a theater for the first time in months.

In theaters: ‘The New Mutants’

I went to Regal Cinemas at MGM Springfield this past weekend to see “The New Mutants,” the final film in the “X-Men” series that has been ready for release since 2018, but due to studio politics has been held up until now.

Frankly, I was more interested in seeing what the COVID-19 theater experience would be like more than the movie.

Regal has always sold assigned seats, which makes it easy to establish social distancing. A great number of seats in each auditorium are simply not for sale.

The Regal lobby, known as a comfortable place to meet and buy a cocktail before enjoying a film, is radically different. The chairs and couches are gone and the bar is closed.

The concession stand is selling candy, bagged popcorn and bottles of soda and water. While the soda was acceptable, I did find the packaged corn to be mediocre at best. Fountain drinks and fresh popcorns are deemed as potential hazards at this time. None of the sandwiches that had been available on the menu are offered now.

In the theater the sparse audience – seven of us – were spaced out. Unless I was eating or drinking, I wore a mask, as did most other people.

The restrooms have had their air dryers turned off and sinks have been turned off to create social distancing while washing hands.

Did I feel safe? Yes, as people were following the rules and the auditorium was barely full.

Tower Theaters at the Village Commons in South Hadley has also reopened. On its website it notes the steps taken to ensure safety: All shows limited to 25 seats. Every other row closed for social distance. All groups have at least three seats empty on each side. MERV-13 air filters running in all HVAC systems. Reserved seating available online or at ticket counter. No food in theaters at this time. Closed Monday through Thursday this week. Open Friday through Sunday.

So, as a former theater manager – I was the founding manager of Tower Theaters – I can say no theater is going to make much money under these restrictions. Concessions sales are vital to the economic health of a theater as in pre-pandemic days the studio take as much as 70 percent of the box office for opening week with each week’s percentage dropping five percentage points.

Reopening theaters under these restrictions is clearly a means to try to get some revenue, but the amount is going to be a fraction of the usual amount.

The studios are releasing some films that may have become lost in the shuffle of more important movies. Every potential blockbuster is being held back to see how the pandemic is as we go into fall.

Having said that, “The New Mutants,” shot near Boston in 2017, is a sad little orphan of a film. Originally to be the first of a new “X-Men” trilogy based on the comic book series of the same name, this is now considered the end of the “X-Men” franchise due to the purchases of both Marvel and 20th Century-Fox by Disney.

The film was supposed to be released in 2018, but studio politics got in the way and here it is now – one of the first new films to be seen in theaters in the pandemic.

“The New Mutants” is being marketed as a superhero horror movie, but it’s not. It is the origin film for a group of new young mutants. It’s actually a pretty standard origin film with a couple of moments of “horror” elements tossed in.

Because it was the first of a trilogy the ending sets up the next film and as such is far from satisfying.

A group of teenagers is in a hospital facility that is designed for them to understand their powers and learn to control them. There is plenty of teen angst paired with guilt. The performances are earnest from the young cast, but the story is not very compelling and especially at the climax, pretty muddied.

While I was glad to go back to a theater to see a movie, I cannot say “The New Mutants” was worth the trip.