After being closed due to COVID-19 safety measures, AMC theaters is planning to reopen hundreds of its theaters across the country by the end of the month, starting with about a dozen locations in New York state this week.
It'll be a little more intimate than before in New York, though. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's guidance on theaters reopening is 25 percent capacity or no more than 50 people per viewing.
The entertainment industry has taken a hit during the pandemic due to restrictions of large gatherings. AMC's CEO Adam Aron said movie companies are hesitant to release large blockbusters unless larger markets can host them. Reopening those theaters will help bring movies back across the country.
He said, "The reopening of movie theatres around the country is essential to the theatrical industry and the entire entertainment ecosystem. ... Therefore, it is a monumental step in the right direction for our entire industry that theatres are starting to open across the state of New York."
AMC said it would reopen 530 of its 600 cinemas in the U.S. by the end of the month.
Variety reports theater companies are counting on Warner Bros. to keep “Wonder Woman 1984” on schedule for Christmas Day.
