AMC Entertainment will resume operations at a dozen theaters in New York State October 23 in accordance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent, welcome reopening announcement over the weekend that, however, still excluded New York City and a handful of other counties.
NY is “vital to the theatrical exhibition industry,” the world’s largest chain said Monday.
With the reopening of New York, AMC will be operational in 44 of the 45 states where it has theatres. The New York locations opening are in Long Island – which is part of the New York City DMA – and upstate.
“The reopening of movie theatres around the country is essential to the theatrical industry and the entire entertainment ecosystem. It has become clear that movie studios are not willing to release blockbuster product until key major markets are open,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron. “Therefore, it is a monumental step in the right direction for our entire industry that theatres are starting to open across the state of New York. We thank Governor Cuomo and local leaders in our New York communities for allowing guests to return to AMC at several locations throughout the state. We continue to work closely with state and local authorities about the reopening of New York City, which we now hope with increasing confidence is not far away.”
“We continue to see state and local governments all across the United States recognize the strong steps we have taken through AMC Safe & Clean to ensure that we are reopening responsibly and with a focus on the health and safety of our guests and associates,” he said, noting that positive feedback from guests indicates protocols and policies “are working exactly as intended.”
Titles across its chain will include Tenet, The War with Grandpa , Honest Thief and 2 Hearts — in theatres now – and upcoming The Empty Man, Come Play, Let Him Go, Freaky, The Croods: A New Age, Happiest Season and local language films in countries outside the U.S.
The movie theater business has been pounded by COVID and AMC worse than some due to its high debt. The company said last week it might not have enough cash to go beyond the end of the year unless things changed — the at that point still shuttered New York market being one of the issues.