The worst days of the pandemic look like they’re finally over for the movie theater industry, with AMC Theatres, the nation’s largest chain, announcing that 98 percent of its U.S. movie theaters will be open today, March 18th, as more than 40 locations in California are reopening. AMC is expected to have even more of its remaining theaters open by next weekend, up to 99 percent.
Movie theaters have slowly been reopening over the past few months as allowed under state and local guidelines, with required limited capacity and safely protocols, like mandatory mask wearing. As AMC Entertainment President and CEO Adam Aron looked ahead last week from what he called the “most challenging” situation in the company’s 100-year history, he called Covid vaccinations “the real salvation.”
