PLAINVILLE, Conn. — AMC Theatres is ending a five-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The movie chain said more than 100 theaters across the country will reopen Thursday, August 20.
Among those locations are only two in Connecticut at this time: AMC Plainville 20 and AMC Danbury 16.
The Southington and Lisbon AMC locations are planning to reopen August 27, while Bloomfield is scheduled for September 3.
AMC is not only celebrating reopening after COVID-19, but also its 100th anniversary. So, the movie chain will be charging special, extremely discounted ticket prices.
Reopening day tickets are just $0.15 (plus sales tax). The company touted the deal as “Movies in 2020 at 1920 Prices.”
Movie-goers can check the AMC Theaters website starting Thursday to see the status of their theater. The chain says it plans to have two-thirds of its theaters open by Sept. 3, in time for Christopher Nolan's highly-anticipated "Tenet." The remaining theaters will open when they are cleared to do so from state and local authorities, the email said.
America's largest theater chain tried weeks ago to reopen, but the surge of coronavirus cases in parts of the country forced it to push plans back. AMC also faced backlash in June for initially not making mask use mandatory and saying it would defer to local governments. It later announced it was changing that policy.
According to a release, AMC designed a "Safe & Clean" sanitation program for its reopening. The initiative includes:
- Significant reductions in the maximum tickets available for each showtime and seat blocking in reserved seating auditoriums to allow for appropriate social distancing between parties
- Enhanced cleaning procedures that include extra time between showtimes to allow for a full, thorough cleaning and nightly disinfecting utilizing electrostatic sprayers
- Use of high tech HEPA vacuums, upgraded air filtration efforts including the use of MERV 13 filters wherever possible
- New guest and associate safety protocols that include mandatory mask wearing by all guests and associates, hand sanitizing stations throughout the theatre and the availability to guests of disinfectant wipes.
