AMC Theaters announces plan to reopen in phases next month
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E-mail Xinhua, June 19, 2020
LOS ANGELES, June 18 (Xinhua) -- AMC Theaters, the largest U.S. movie theater chain owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, will reopen in phases next month, the company announced Thursday.
The AMC said in a statement that it will resume theater operations at approximately 450 U.S. locations on July 15, and at approximately 150 remaining locations on July 24, in time for Disney's "Mulan" and Warner Brothers' "Tenet."
"After a painful almost four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus, we are delighted to announce that movies are coming back to the big screen at AMC," said Adam Aron, CEO and President of the AMC.
"As we reopen, we recognize that the world has changed, and the health and safety of our movie theater guests and our movie theater staff is our absolute highest priority," Aron noted.
Seat capacity restrictions, social distancing efforts, commitments to health, new intensified cleaning protocols, contactless ticketing and expanded mobile ordering of food and beverages are all vital elements of AMC Safe & Clean initiative, he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic is delivering blow after blow to the beleaguered U.S. entertainment industry, as theaters are being closed and movie releases, film and TV shoots are being postponed or canceled across the country and internationally.
The AMC reported last week a net loss of 2.17 billion U.S. dollars for the first quarter of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said its attendance and revenues began to deteriorate in early March as "social distancing practices were initiated in the U.S. in response to the ensuing COVID-19 global pandemic."
On March 17, in response to COVID-19 safety concerns for AMC's associates and guests, and in compliance with local, state and federal directives, the company suspended operations at all domestic and international theaters, resulting in virtually no revenue for the company for the last two weeks of the first quarter.
Founded in 1920, the AMC is now the largest movie exhibition company in the United States, the largest in Europe and the largest throughout the world with approximately 1,000 theaters and 11,000 screens across the globe. Enditem
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