AMC, Regal theatres and more closing due to COVID-19
By Alexandra Heilbron on March 17, 2020 | 4 Comments
Theatres closed as of today due to COVID-19
Although last week AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas announced they were limiting ticket sales in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, they have now closed as of March 17, 2020. They had no other choice after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut the recommended limit on public gatherings to just 10 people on Monday, March 16, 2020.
AMC is hoping to open again in six to 12 weeks.
AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement.“We are ever so disappointed for our moviegoing guests and for our employee teams that the new CDC guidelines that Americans should not gather in groups larger than 10 people make it impossible to open our theatres. Still, the health and wellbeing of AMC guests and employees, and of all Americans, takes precedence above all else. We will continue to monitor this situation very closely and look forward to the day we can again delight moviegoers nationwide by reopening AMC movie theatres in accordance with guidance from the CDC and local health authorities.”
Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger released a statement that read: “Any time, at any Regal, it’s our goal to provide a safe and healthy environment for our employees and guests. At this time, we have made the difficult decision to close our theaters. We value our movie-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving them again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters.”
In the meantime, Universal announced that it would be releasing current films such as The Hunt, The Invisible Man and Emma through on-demand services. They will also be releasing films directly to streaming or Digital On Demand, including the animated film Trolls World Tour, which was scheduled to debut on April 10, 2020. ~Alexandra Heilbron
UPDATE: Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins Theaters, Cinemark, Showcase Cinemas and Bow Tie Cinemas also closed Monday after theatres in Los Angeles were ordered closed over the weekend by the County of Los Angeles.
All theatres in the states of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington were ordered closed as of Monday at midnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 190,466 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally and 7,525 deaths. In the U.S., there are 5,266 cases and 94 deaths.
Comments & Discussion
Similar Articles
Why Chris Pine will never appear in a horror movie
April 6, 2022 | 5 Comments
Chris Pine has two new thrillers coming out, but when asked whether he’d like to try a new genre of movie, like horror, he revealed why he won’t do one.
Oscar attendees will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination
February 18, 2022 | 1 Comment
All audience members attending the Oscars will need to show proof of vaccination, as well as two negative PCR tests, the Academy announced yesterday (Feb. 17).
Dwayne Johnson fans divided over Joe Rogan Spotify support
February 2, 2022 | 40 Comments
Dwayne Johnson’s support of controversial podcast host Joe Rogan, who has supported the use of Ivermectin to battle COVID in the past, has divided his fans.
Is, “The Hunt, The Invisible Man and Emma” the only movies that can be streamed?
For now those are the films. It’s up to the studios who have releases in the next few weeks to make the decision to hold out for theaters to return to normal or put what they have on streaming. It also depends on how much of a risk it is financially and what they have or haven’t spent just yet on marketing and budget. I think if this drags out longer that many studios whether they want to or not will be putting their stuff on streaming services and blu-ray to lessen their loss. I saw Emma in theaters. Don’t forget Birds of Prey which is critically acclaimed but had horrendous marketing. There’s a possibility depending on how long this drags out that it could kill the movie theater industry or the Cineworld takeover of Cineplex which frankly needed to go through.
when is movies re opend
The first movies scheduled to release in theaters are mid-July, so sometime around then as long as cases of coronavirus in the U.S. are contained by then.