INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
AMC this morning formally announced that it will close all locations in the United States for between six to 12 weeks, beginning today
The move comes on the heels of a partial shutdown by the largest theater chain in the United States last week and a similar announcement
for competitor Regal last night
Regal announcement was a less specific &until further notice.
AMC currently operates 661 theaters in the States, comprising more than 8,000
The move is major, but not unexpected, as people and companies deal with the realities of living through a pandemic
Movie attendance has already begun dropping shortly as people have begun to practice social distancing
AMC and other events companies have had to grapple with both concerns over employee and attendee safety, as well as an increasing push on
the part of cities and States to close down business and require citizens to stay home in order to curb the spread of COVID-19
As it notes in a press release issued today, more than a states and cities have mandated such closures over the last few days
As part of the closure, the chain will pause payments on its A-List memberships during the months-long shut down
No word yet on whether the massive chain has a plan in place to support employees during the closure
We&ve reached out to the company for additional comment
We are ever so disappointed for our moviegoing guests and for our employee teams that the new CDC guidelines that Americans should not
gather in groups larger than 10 people make it impossible to open our theatres,& CEO Adam Aron said in a release
&Still, the health and wellbeing of AMC guests and employees, and of all Americans, takes precedence above all else
We will continue to monitor this situation very closely and look forward to the day we can again delight moviegoers nationwide by reopening
AMC movie theatres in accordance with guidance from the CDC and local health authorities.
Meantime, the company is encourage housebound
movie buffs to use its on demand service
Recently, NBCUniversal announced plans to offer new releases on-demand
Others will likely follow suit in the wake of these major closures
