AMC is reopening movie theaters this month, charing 15 cents a ticket

AMC is reopening 100 theaters on August 20, and charing only 15 cents a ticket! That would be a great deal…if not for that pesky pandemic, anyway.

Movie theaters have been more or less completely shuttered in the United States for the past few months on account of the global pandemic sweeping across the world, killing thousands and hospitalizing thousands more. The coronavirus is easily spread from person to person indoors, so crowding into a dark room with a bunch of strangers doesn’t sound like a great idea.

But…theater chains are hemorrhaging money, so AMC — which recently entered into a new debt agreement that will keep it stable through at least 2021 — is rolling the dice and going ahead with plans to reopen 100 theaters on August 20, with hundreds more set to reopen in the weeks to follow, per Deadline.

What’s especially interesting is that, on August 20 only, AMC will be offering tickets for a mere 15 cents, meant to reflect what it charged when the first AMC theater opened in 1920. “AMC is celebrating its history with a throwback to the year it all started,” reads a statement.

Some potential problems suggest themselves. Charging 15 cents for a ticket probably will inspire more people than you’d otherwise think would return to a theater to consider it…but isn’t that something they should be trying to avoid? Crowds, indoor spaces, prolonged periods sitting and breathing and getting up to use the bathroom…these are all no-nos. At least don’t share your popcorn.

Granted, AMC is going to have extra safety measures in place. Both staff and visitors will be required to wear masks, areas with high traffic will be regularly cleaned and disinfected, air filters will be installed where possible, and seating capacity will be limited. Is 15 cents a good enough deal to risk infection? You decide.

As for what movies returnees can see, AMC is running older films like Back to the Future, Beauty and the Beast, Black Panther, Ghostbusters, Goonies, Jumanji: The Next Level, Sonic the Hedgehog and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Then there’s The New Mutants opening on August 28 and Christopher Nolan’s spy thriller Tenet coming on September 3.

Not Mulan, though. That ship has sailed:

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h/t SyFy Wire