After aiming for a mid-July relaunch, AMC Theatres said on Monday that it is pushing back reopening nearly 75% of its US locations to July 30. AMC said it hopes to have its remaining locations reopened the following week. The theater chain shuttered most of its locations in March to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The theater chain was planning to reopen locations in mid-July to account for the releases of potential blockbuster “Mulan” and “Tenet.” The release dates for those two movies have been pushed back into August.
“We continue to devote extraordinary resources into our plan to operate our theatres with a hyper commitment to the safety and health of our guests and associates, notably in the United States through our new AMC Safe & Clean initiative,” Adam Aron, CEO & President, AMC Theatres wrote in a statement. “Our theatre general managers across the U.S. started working full time again today and are back in their theatres gearing up to get their buildings fully ready just a few weeks from now for moviegoers. That happy day, when we can welcome guests back into most of our U.S. theatres, will be Thursday, July 30.”
AMC did not unveil exact social distancing measures that would be implemented, but previously said it is working with Harvard University’s School of Public Health to develop best practices. AMC added that it is developing protocols for personal protection equipment, cleaning, limited theater capacity, blocked seating, and other strategies.
Earlier this month, AMC unveiled its Quarter 1 figures, showing that the company took a nearly $2 billion loss after seeing nearly all of its theaters close during the spread of the coronavirus.
The first quarter results only covered AMC’s financial situation as of March 31, but showed a steep decline in revenue and attendance through the first three months of the year compared to 2019 as theaters began to close in mid-March.
