AMC hopes to reopen U.S. theaters as early as May

The coronavirus is still at large out in the world, shuttering businesses and forcing millions to forego work and stay at home. Had you heard? The virus is hitting some businesses worse than others, with theater chains being an obvious casualty. When we’re dealing with a highly contagious disease that can be spread through touch, few people are eager to pack into a theater. Theaters around the world have shut down.

But that won’t last forever…right? The other day, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron went on CNBC’s Squawk Alley and said that while the largest theater chain in the country had currently closed its door, they expect to reopen sometime from “May 1 to mid-June.”

"I think if we learned anything in the last two weeks is people just so want to get out of their houses. I think we’re all feeling cooped up and want to get out and have life return to normal."

Well, we all want life to return to normal, but I dunno if I’d hold my breath over a May 1 opening. The federal government just extended its social distancing guidelines through the end of April. June sounds like a safer target, but even in cinemas do reopen around then, will there be movies to show? Wonder Woman 1984 was bumped from its original June 5 release date, and now major studios are even delaying their July releases.

This reminds me a little of early reports that China, which has been dealing with the coronavirus longer than any other country, was going to slowly reopen its theaters, but then nope: the authorities closed them down again. So while of course I want theaters to open again, I don’t think we do ourselves any favors by rushing into things before they’re safe. And to be fair, Aron did say that the “May 1 to mid-June” prediction was just that: a prediction. The information on this topic changes all the time, so nothing is set in stone.

Meanwhile, other organizations are trying to find ways to live with the shutdown. Alamo Drafthouse, another chain, is kicking off an “Alamo-at-Home” initiative, bringing its “Terror Tuesday” and “Weird Wednesday” series to its Virtual Cinema, with help from Kino Lorber, Film Movement and Magnolia Pictures. And the American Film Institute has started the AFI Movie Club, where people can gather to watch a new classic movie every day, complete with trivia and a new gust host. Steven Spielberg got things rolling with a short video about the first movie in the series, The Wizard of Oz:

It may not be the same as seeing a movie on the big screen, but it’s cool to see theaters being resourceful.

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h/t The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline