AMC Theaters Will Wait For New Movies Before Reopening

While a number of states in the US are preparing to phase out stay-at-home orders and allow nonessential businesses to reopen, AMC Theaters is taking a more cautious approach. The company released a statement Friday indicating they won't be reopening movie theaters until closer to the release of major summer blockbusters like Christopher Nolan's Tenet. Via The Hollywood Reporter, AMC released a statement indicating the company's first priority is the well-being of its employees and customers. Additionally, given the lack of new releases between now and July, the company sees little point in reopening theaters until films like Tenet (scheduled for release on July 17) and Mulan (delayed until July 24) can drive ticket sales. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] AMC's statement reads: "As we plan our reopening, the health and safety of our guests and associates is our absolute highest priority. To be able to open, we also need a line of sight into a regular schedule of new theatrical blockbusters that get people truly excited about returning to their favorite movie theaters. Those blockbusters are scheduled to return this summer, beginning with Warner Brothers’ Tenet and Disney’s Mulan, with many more major titles scheduled immediately thereafter." The statement also indicates some AMC locations may undergo a soft reopening of sorts, with theaters slowly opening in the days and weeks leading up to Tenet's release and relying on "creative programming of immensely popular previously released films." AMC is among many companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After closing more than 600 locations in March, the company furloughed its CEO and other corporate employees. AMC now faces financial uncertainty after its credit rating was downgraded amid fears the company will run out of cash during the closure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/19/tenet-official-trailer"] While the slow phasing out of stay-at-home orders may be the light at the end of the tunnel AMC needs, there's certainly no guarantee the situation won't take a turn for the worse. WB recently confirmed Tenet is still on track for its July 17 release, but at this point it's one of the few summer blockbusters not to be significantly delayed. Some major 2020 releases like Venom: Let There Be Carnage have now been pushed back into 2021. Do you think theaters will be open for business by July? Let us know in the comments below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

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