The show must go on.
Most AMC Theatres are remaining open despite calls for the public to practice in social distancing and avoid crowded venues. But with the recent advent of reserved seating, the large theater chain is able to force social distancing within its cinemas.
AMC announced that starting Saturday, all cinemas nationwide will be capped at 50% capacity. The chain also said that in auditoriums with more than 500 seats, seating will be capped at 250.
In states with more restrictive bans on large gatherings, AMC said it would abide by state law. For instance, in Ohio, no auditorium can hold more than 100 people at a given time. Many other cities and states have implemented similar bans.
AMC Theatres' CEO said that it wants to offer the public a "clean, healthy, entertaining environment."
"The health and safety of our guests and theater teams are of the utmost importance to AMC," CEO Adam Aron said. "Therefore, AMC is proactively taking action to cut in half the number of tickets that we will make available at all our U.S. theaters. With this action, we are facilitating the ‘social distance’ between guests who still want to see movies on a big screen.”