AMC pushes back theater reopenings

AMC announced Thursday it would push back U.S. theater reopenings to mid-to-late August as the nation struggles with rising coronavirus cases.

The world’s largest movie theater company had previously announced a goal to return to some U.S. operations by the end of July.

The company has reopened nearly a third of its international cinemas, mostly in Europe and the Middle East.

AMC, which owns 1,000 cinemas containing 11,000 screens globally, has struggled with reopening in the U.S. due to rising cases and lingering pandemic restrictions in major states such as California and New York.

The company sparked backlash earlier this summer after CEO Adam Aron said it would not require face masks, suggesting such a mandate would be a political issue.

AMC reversed the decision on masks in June following critical pushback, saying it was “absolutely crucial” to listen to the public and theater guests.

“With the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing our guest mask policy,” the company said in a statement. “We now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks as they enter and enjoy movies at our theatres.”