AMC Theatres has made headlines in the last few hours, just probably not for the reasons they had hoped. The world’s largest exhibitor unveiled re-opening plans late yesterday to after coronavirus forced it to close its more than 600 venues in the U.S. for nearly four months.
They are now expected to resume operations in 450 of those locations on July 15th, and be almost fully operational by the time “Mulan” hits July 24th and “Tenet” opens July 31st.
As expected they are reducing their seating capacity, implementing new cleaning procedures, placing hand-santisers throughout its theaters and encouraging contact-less and cash-free concessions.
But it’s their policy on masks that has social media in a frenzy. AMC will not require theatergoers to wear masks in regions where masks are not required by law. AMC CEO and president Adam Aron said in a statement (via Vulture):
“In areas of the country where guests are required to wear masks, AMC will abide by that ordinance and guests will be required to wear masks except while eating and drinking. Guests at other locations are strongly encouraged to wear a mask during their visit to AMC.”
AMC will also sell masks for a dollar to guests who forgot to bring one. Separately, Aron spoke with Variety explaining the decision saying:
“We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy. We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary. We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks. When I go to an AMC feature, I will certainly be wearing a mask and leading by example.”
AMC Theaters also will not be performing temperature checks on patrons, but face coverings and temperature checks will be mandatory for employees.
Despite a desire to remain non-political, the stance has drawn swift backlash on social media and has fuelled concern about the safety of cinemas despite the new measures they are adopting.
AMC’s major competitors, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, are taking a similar approach saying on their sites guests will be required to wear masks only where local governments mandate them. They are also targeting a similar mid-July timeframe to re-open, and Cinemark recently released some b-roll footage from a corporate PSA that showcases what cinemagoing could look like in coming months. You can check that out below:
