UNITED STATES一AMC theaters are reopening next month and announced this Friday, June 19 that all viewers are required to wear masks while in the theater. 

 

AMC CEO Adam Aron said that by July 15, 450 theaters around the country will reopen, while the remaining 200 will expect to reopen on July 24. AMC worked along with experts to create a plan that introduces a wide range of sanitary guidelines for customers and stoff to  follow.

 

Aron received some backlash from an interview he had with Variety, when he said that he didn’t want to make customers wear masks and wanted to avoid being drawn into a political controversy. The AMC chain spoke this Friday and realized that they needed to crack down on their mask policy. 

 

To convince “moviegoers” to show up and watch the big screens, theater companies need to show that their theaters are safe during a pandemic.

 

Regal Cinemas also confirmed Friday that it would require guests to wear mask stating: 

 

“As related to our employees, guests will also be required to wear masks. Disposable masks will be made available as needed,” the chain said. 

 

The following was stated by AMC on Friday.

“At AMC, we have been consulting with top scientists and health experts to create a broad, sweeping, far-reaching health and safety effort to make AMC Theatres safe for our guests and associates when our theatres reopen in July. Among many elements of that comprehensive plan was a requirement for our associates all to wear masks nationwide, as well as a requirement for our guests all to wear masks in the many parts of the country that will require it. In those areas of the country where masks will not be required, we nonetheless planned to strongly encourage mask usage by guests, and fully expected that the vast majority would do so. That policy on guest mask usage, which is directly comparable with our major competitors and many other highly regarded retailers, was announced yesterday afternoon.

This announcement prompted an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks. At AMC Theatres, we think it is absolutely crucial that we listen to our guests. Accordingly, and with the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing our guest mask policy. As we reopen theaters, we now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks as they enter and enjoy movies at our theaters. The speed with which AMC moved to revise our mask policies is a reflection of our commitment to the safety and health of our guests.

We will constantly monitor the scientific community’s latest thinking as to the efficacy of mask usage. We also will be looking at the varying health conditions in specific localities around our theaters all across the country. This will help us to determine what our mask policy will be as we go forward, as well as to make any other needed changes to this policy.

Guests coming to our theaters may bring their own masks of course, but for those who do not have one, masks will be available at our theater box offices at a nominal $1.00 price. Those who are unwilling to wear a mask will not be admitted or allowed to stay.

We also want to take this opportunity to express our great appreciation to our many guests who took the time to communicate their views. We will continue to listen and continue to monitor the changing nature of the coronavirus, adapting and adjusting our policies accordingly.”