US theatre chain AMC marks its reopening by offering movie tickets priced at 15 cents

AMC Theatres, the nation’s largest movie theatre chain, will reopen in the US on 20 August with retro ticket prices of 15 cents per movie.

AMC Entertainment, which owns the chain, said Thursday that it expects to open the doors to more than 100 cinemas — or about a sixth of its nationwide locations — on 20 August with throwback pricing for a day.

AMC theatres have reopened in numerous international countries but have remained shuttered in the US since March. The chain touted the reopening as “Movies in 2020 at 1920 Prices.”

Here is the campaign

Celebrate a century of movies at AMC with 15¢ tickets to any movie on Thursday, August 20! Hurry – get your tickets online now before they sell out! https://t.co/FyQXj4G9qb pic.twitter.com/1TQcT2iU35

— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) August 13, 2020

After several false starts due to a summer rise in coronavirus cases throughout much of the US, widespread moviegoing is currently set to resume in late August. Regal Cinemas, the second largest chain, is to reopen some US locations on 21 August.

During its opening-day promotion, AMC will show catalog films, including Ghostbusters, Black Panther, Back to the Future and Grease. Those older films will continue to play afterward for $5.

AMC confirmed that Disney’s much-delayed New Mutants will debut in theatres 28 August , with Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to follow 3 September. Warner Bros. is planning to release Tenet a week earlier internationally, including in Canada. A handful of smaller new releases are also planned for late August, including Unhinged, a thriller from Solstice Studios with Russell Crowe; and Armando Iannucci’s Personal History of David Copperfield, from Disney’s Fox Searchlight.

AMC said Thursday is expects about two thirds of its theatres will be open in time for Tenet. Several states, including California and New York, are yet to allow movie theatres to reopen.

AMC and other chains have said they will operate at reduced capacity to facilitate social distancing, along with increased theatre cleaning and required mask wearing.

Variety writes that AMC will implement a seat blocking technology that will seal out one seat on either side of the one reserved. The auditoriums will now only accommodate 30 percent of its original capacity.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)