AMC Announces Reopening of Theaters at Reduced Capacity

Theater giant takes a monstrous first step in the direction of normalcy

AMC Entertainment Inc. has announced the reopening of 99% of their theaters at a reduced capacity.

Theaters across the country have been at a standstill for over a year, forcing the moviegoing experience to be nothing more than a simple stay-at-home movie night. 

As a result, during the pandemic, AMC has lost an estimated $4.6 billion in 2020 and consistently fought off the threat of bankruptcy. 

Losses like these indicate the decline of theater attendance, which has influenced movie companies like Warner Bros. to shift their attention away from theatre premiers and more toward online streaming services. 

The Warner Bros. decision to debut their movies both in theaters and on HBO Max throughout 2021 prompted rigorous criticism from AMC CEO Adam Aron. 

“Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max start up,” Aron stated in December. “As for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense. We will aggressively pursue economic terms that preserve our business.” 

On March 26, AMC reopened its theatres with the intention of regaining lost profit, expecting that vaccines might help increase theater attendance. Although past theatrical releases suggest otherwise, the recent release of “Godzilla vs. Kong” indicates that the movie theatre industry is making a comeback.

Released on March 31,  “Godzilla vs. Kong” generated a five-day box office of nearly $50 million and a three-day box office of about $32 million, surpassing all other movies’ first-weekend sales since the pandemic started. 

“If you look at our opening performance from Wednesday to Sunday,” Aron said on Fox Business Network, “Our business at AMC was five times, quintuple, what we have done in all the weekends before that in 2021.”

Aron remains optimistic that AMC will see a change forthcoming this year. 

“Americans have a strong affection for AMC,” Aron said in an AMC conference call. “They’ve been going to our movie theaters for years and years or for decades and decades.”

With these new developments, it seems that once again the movie industry is taking another unexpected turn. It’s a question of whether the movie industry will continue to be primarily streaming-based, or will it regain the normality it once had prior to the pandemic? 

“Godzilla vs. Kong” suggests the latter, time will tell as more movies are released this year.