With cities across the country slowly but surely beginning the long reopening process, we’re starting to get a better sense of when we can transition from COVID-19 quarantine back to normal life. If you’ve been dying to see a movie in a theater, you’re in luck: AMC announced on Tuesday that “almost all” of its locations in the United States and Britain will reopen in July.
Of course, there will be new safety precautions in place as customers seek reassurance that showing up won’t make them sick. “Moviegoers will be looking for assurance that conditions are completely safe,” David A. Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, told the New York Times. “There is real and legitimate concern.”
Some states will require theaters to limit capacity to 25 percent, and groups will be seated at least six feet apart in a “checkerboard” pattern. Seats will be sanitized before each showtime, and some theaters may designate arrival times for ticket holders to avoid last-minute crowding at the concession area.
“We are confident we are taking the necessary steps on a broad array of fronts,” Adam Aron, AMC’s chief executive, told the Times, adding, “We are under no illusions. The waters will be choppy. There may be unforeseen tosses and turns.”
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