Movies Theaters Welcome Back Customers With Coronavirus Precautions
BOSTON (CBS) – The nation's largest theater chain is welcoming back guests with big changes and small prices. Thursday will be showtime for nine AMC theaters around Boston. Soon, Regal and Showcase cinemas will open.
As you can imagine, it won't be quite like it used to be.
"We've worked really hard to create a program called Be Showcase Safe," said Mark Malinowski of Showcase Cinemas. "Which takes every aspect of movie-going and every touchpoint and we really envisioned the whole experience keeping health and safety in mind."
For example, at Showcase, all moviegoers must wear masks and there's no snack bar , for now. And tickets? You have to buy online, and you'll be assigned a seat 6 feet away from strangers.
AMC says it is capping auditoriums at 40% capacity, and requiring all guests to wear masks. The company said it also upgraded ventilation systems at a number of their theaters, more than 100 of which opened across the country on Thursday.
"I realize what we've been taking for granted," said Malinowski," with not having the opportunity to see a movie on the big screen these last few months."
AMC is offering 15-cent movies for its reopening. Most of them - classics Grease, The Goonies, Back to the Future, and Black Panther - have sold out at the Boston Common location.
The 15-cent Thursday tickets are 1920s pricing in honor of AMC's 100th anniversary.
AMC Theaters reopening on August 20 in the Boston area include:
- AMC Assembly Row 12
- AMC South Bay Center 12
- AMC Framingham 16
- AMC Tyngsboro 12
- AMC Braintree 10
- AMC Burlington 10
- AMC Boston Common 19
- AMC Methuen 20
- AMC Liberty Tree Mall 20