Los Angeles County in California confirmed they met the state’s threshold to reopen movie theaters effective Monday, March 15.
Indoor operations will be allowed at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Reserved seating is a requirement.
AMC Theaters announced tonight that AMC Burbank 16 and AMC Century City 15 will reopen Monday, March 15. The movie chain says it will reopen all its remaining 23 movie theaters beginning on March 19. In addition, the company is preparing to re-open “nearly all” of its 56 California AMC locations on March 19. This is pending local approvals.
“The reopening of movie theatres in Los Angeles County and throughout California is a momentous occasion for AMC Theatres, for our guests, for our associates, for our studio partners, and for the entire theatrical exhibition industry. To put the magnitude of Los Angeles reopening in perspective, as a movie market, the L.A. DMA is about double the size of the New York City market, which just finished last weekend as the No. 1 DMA in our circuit for box office.”
“As we have done at more than 525 locations around the country, AMC will reopen with the highest devotion to the health and safety of our guests and associates through our AMC Safe & Clean policies and protocols, which were developed in consultation with Clorox and with current and former faculty at the prestigious Harvard University School of Public Health. AMC Safe & Clean includes social distancing & automatic seat blocking in each auditorium, mandatory mask wearing, and upgraded air filtration with MERV-13 air filters, as well as many other important health, sanitization and cleanliness efforts.”
Adam Aron, CEO and President of AMC
As Aron notes, AMC successfully re-opened in New York City last weekend, on March 5. Actor Liam Neeson was even on hand at the AMC Lincoln Square 13 theater to personally welcome back fans.
This was made possible due to Los Angeles County entering into the “Red Tier” of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The County still warns residents that the “danger COVID-19 poses to our community has not subsided.” There are still “substantial rates of COVID-19 transmission.”
LA County also reports that vaccinations are occurring “as quickly as supplies allow.” They urge residents to get vaccinated when it is their turn.
Restaurants will also be allowed to offer indoor dining with modifications. For example, max capacity is 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer. There needs to be 8 feet distancing between tables. And one household is allowed per table, up to 6 total people.
Drive-In theaters have already been allowed to reopen in Los Angeles. The drive-in movie operations had to have sufficient infrastructure, staffing and training to meet all physical distancing, face covering and sanitation requirements.
