AMC Theatres is decreasing viewing capacity as government measures to stem the coronavirus outbreak call for heightened sanitary procedures.
AMC’s auditoriums, beginning on Saturday, will reduce regular theater capacity by 50 percent in order to increase the level of “social distancing” while viewers watch a film, according to Deadline.
The company is the first major movie theater chain to address the ever-growing coronavirus situation in the U.S.
Adam Aron, the CEO and President of AMC Theatres, said health and safety is the highest priority for the company and is closely monitoring Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
“AMC is proactively taking action to cut in half the number of tickets that we will make available at all our U.S. theaters,” he said. “With this action, we are facilitating the ‘social distance’ between guests who still want to see movies on a big screen.”
AMC is also taking precautionary sanitary measures and cleaning auditoriums between each showtime. Employees have been instructed to clean kiosks, countertops, restroom areas, and many other high-touch areas.
The film industry, among others, has taken a hit during the outbreak of the coronavirus, delaying blockbuster releases such as “A Quiet Place Part II,” “Mulan,” and “F9.”
Production for Marvel’s upcoming “Shang-Chi” temporarily suspended production, as the film’s director Destin Daniel Cretton awaits results for COVID-19 testing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.