AMC Theatres announces 50% capacity reduction due to COVID-19 concerns

AMC Theaters, the United States' largest movie theater chain, has announced that they are reducing capacity in their theaters by 50% due to the coronavirus outbreak. It follows what Emagine Entertainment announced earlier this week.

In a release, AMC announced that it is in full support of and in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for social distancing.

Beginning on Saturday and continuing through April 30, AMC is cutting seating capacity in half and capping ticket sales in any auditoriums to 250.

Along with capacity decreases, AMC announced an enhanced theater cleaning protocol.

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Adam Aron, CEO and President, AMC Theatres, said in a statement:

"The health and safety of our guests and theatre teams are of the utmost importance to AMC. Therefore, AMC is proactively taking action to cut in half the number of tickets that we will make available at all our U.S. theatres. With this action, we are facilitating the ‘social distance’ between guests who still want to see movies on a big screen.

"These are uncharted times in the United States. We are very closely monitoring the guidance of the CDC. We are complying with all directives from federal, state and local health and government authorities, and with our unilateral move to reduce capacity and increase social distancing we are going beyond what governments are requiring of us. Founded in 1920, AMC Theatres has a proud history that spans 100 years. As we enter our second century, AMC remains firmly committed to offering a clean, healthy, entertaining environment every time our guests come to movies at our theatres."

You can track the list of other disruptions caused by COVID-19 concerns here.