AMC will have about 420 of their 600 locations open this weekend and it's perfect timing because TENET is set to go wide in the U.S. in markets that have allowed their theaters to reopen. It's a sizable amount, even with limited capacity but Los Angeles County and New York are still out of play this weekend and they're two of the biggest box office markets in the States. There is some more good news because New Jersey approved their theaters to reopen at limited capacity and they're making a mad dash to make sure it's done before Christopher Nolan's latest mind-bending effort officially goes wide.
The number of open locations for AMC Theatres will be about 70 percent. California was entirely out of play the last few weeks but certain cities are off the watch list and have been approved to begin reopening. This includes San Diego which signals the first will return for moviegoing in California. AMC has set Thursday, September 3, 2020, for those 420 locations to be on the grid and this coincides with TENET'S domestic release after an international debut that pulled in a not too shabby $53 million last weekend. Auditorium capacity at AMC will be limited per local regulations with San Diego running at 25 percent capacity when they open their doors. Adam Aron, CEO, and President of AMC Theatres had this to say about AMC's latest move to open more of their locations:
"The first two weekends of operations have exceeded our expectations in terms of guests returning to the movies and in terms of their feedback about our extensive AMC Safe & Clean policies and procedures. Our comprehensive commitment to operating our theatres safely now includes social distancing through limiting ticket sales and automatic seat blocking, seamless contactless ticketing, greatly enhanced cleaning procedures, the availability of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes throughout our theatres, as well as a mandatory mask policy for all guests and crew members."
Theaters in the U.S. have gradually been reopening, beginning two weeks ago with the wide release of Russell Crowe's UNHINGED. That film opened to a respectable $4 million and that was with a lot of locations still out of play. THE NEW MUTANTS opened to $7 million over this last weekend and the positive result is that it was an uptick from the $4 million launch of UNHINGED. TENET is bound to keep the increases going and I think it will do so in a sizable way but it will be hard to predict how big the opening weekend will be. TENET is more of an event film than the other two movies which mean more crowds and that could sway some moviegoers away but it could also be a coming home party for others that have missed the communal moviegoing experience.
AMC is expecting to announce further openings in California and New Jersey soon and I'm sure they're hoping that Los Angeles becomes a part of that conversation VERY SOON. Aron also offered further assurance to moviegoers who are planning to visit AMC this weekend or in the coming weeks or months:
"We're also closely monitoring local and state guidance, and we are complying with any additional capacity restrictions. In addition, we have invested millions for high tech solutions to sanitization and disinfection including electrostatic sprayers, HEPA vacuums and MERV 13 air filters. Guests returning to AMC can do so knowing that we've been in constant dialogue with top scientists and experts in public and cleaning about how best to reopen our theatres in ways that will be responsible and welcoming."
Warner Bros. is being very strict with their guidelines for the movie theaters that are showing TENET and they also have limited the number of drive-ins that will be able to play it, despite the drive-in scene being the one thing that has kept the box office alive during the pandemic. The promising debut overseas for TENET last week does bode well for its domestic launch but international territories are a bit ahead of us in terms of safely running their theaters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regal Cinemas will also have a lot of its screens open this weekend for TENET on top of the 70% AMC presence so this weekend box office will be one to watch and discuss when it's all said and done.
Will YOU be seeing TENET this weekend? Is YOUR local AMC open?