Selfishly, movie lovers can’t wait to get back to the movie theater. It’s important to take full advantage of social distancing right now, so we all can do our part to flatten the curve. But we also look forward to the date on our collective timeline when its safe for us to return to movie theaters and enjoy the latest feature films together… and one executive believes that will happen in mid-June.
Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment, spoke with CNBC about the state of his company and the future of moviegoing. And in that interview, he made it clear that he expects theaters to begin returning to normal operating procedures in mid-June. He added:
None of us, in our lives, has lived through something like this before. The summer has always been one of the biggest movie seasons of the year. The summer and Christmas. And I would love to think that America will be enjoying the summer movie season again at AMC Theatres, open and welcoming our customers back.
Adam Aron admits that unfortunately, nobody knows for certain with a situation like coronavirus, and he and his industry are tracking developments as closely as everyone else. But when they closed AMC locations in mid-March, they anticipated staying closed for 6 to 12 weeks, and that would put them in the time frame of mid-June, which he thinks is the right and safe path.
As we know, so many movies that were supposed to open in this frame were delayed. The first to move was James Bond’s latest adventure, No Time to Die. But after that, major films like Black Widow, F9 and Wonder Woman 1984 all shifted their release dates, as studios patiently wait for the virus to subside.
Adam Aron went on to say that he didn’t think patrons would get used to streaming and home entertainment during quarantine efforts, and that audiences would return when theaters opened. He said:
I’ve been reading for years about a perception that there was going to be a switch towards home entertainment. I think if we learned anything in the last two weeks is people just so want to get out of their houses. I think we’re all feeling cooped up and want to get out and have life return to normal.
Do you agree? When theaters are open, and first-run films are back on the screen, will you flock right back? Or will the new norms of social distancing make you hesitant to sit near strangers in a darkened theater to see what happens with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family? Vote in our poll and let us know.
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