AMC has released a statement indicating that, given the lack of new releases between now and July, the multiplex will only reopen its theaters in July when “Tenet “(scheduled for release on July 17) and “Mulan” (delayed until July 24) could potentially bring the masses back to theaters. Good luck with that, AMC [Via The Hollywood Reporter].
AMC's statement reads:
"As we plan our reopening, the health and safety of our guests and associates is our absolute highest priority. To be able to open, we also need a line of sight into a regular schedule of new theatrical blockbusters that get people truly excited about returning to their favorite movie theaters. Those blockbusters are scheduled to return this summer, beginning with Warner Brothers’ Tenet and Disney’s Mulan, with many more major titles scheduled immediately thereafter."
Of all the activities to do when the economy is re-opened, moviegoing, sadly, isn’t one of them. Does AMC plan on seating 1/10th of the theatre? Accounting for 2 meters distance in all directions? I just can’t see a movie theater being welcomed with open arms early on in the post-COVID world. We still have no vaccine and accidentally touching that cup holder that was touched by dirty hands the screening before? Not my idea of fun. People are not going to take the risk of a public cinema for reruns of old classics. By delaying the opening they also wait for safer times - less risk for staff, and hopefully more customers.
I love cinema, if it was a drug I’d inject it in my veins, but my 4KTV and surround sound will have to do until we are all vaccinated and the theatrical experience is reopened under safe circumstances. That’s why, I’ve said this before, my hope is that studios start releasing new movies via VOD platforms, that is if they still want an Oscar season to happen …
And so, what AMC seems to be implying in the above statement is rather than reopening as soon as they are legally allowed, they will wait and only reopen when there are enough movies available to make a full schedule. They are banking on “Tenet” and “Mulan,” but many suspect those titles will have their releases delayed.
We are living in a complete unknown, we don’t even know how next week will look in this country and the rest of the world. Movie theatres are confined spaces. If someone who has the virus harmlessly coughs during a screening, then just imagine the panic that could enter people’s minds as they watch the movie. That’s why movie theatres may still be closed by fall. Of course, the virus situation could improve much quicker than expected, or it could rumble on for far longer, we just have no idea. So any current release dates are ultimately just guesses by the studios trying to build a schedule for releases when the whole situation is completely unpredictable.
Nobody expected a 55-year-old NC-17 movie to be one of the surprise box office stories of the fall. Yet here we are, and this absolutely puts a smile on my face.