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- AMC, Regal, and Cinemark will no longer require vaccinated patrons to wear masks.
- Unvaccinated audience members will still be required to wear masks.
- The decision comes as the movie business well and truly ramps back up.
After a long and grueling year, nature is finally healing, and as a result, mask mandates imposed by all sorts of businesses are being lifted, with movie theaters being the latest to do away with them.
According to reports, the three biggest movie theater chains in the United States — AMC, Regal, and Cinemark — will no longer require fully vaccinated patrons to wear masks while seated in their theaters.
As for those who aren’t vaccinated: masks will remain “strongly encouraged” as the current rules remain in place in accordance with CDC guidelines, with those people only being allowed to remove their masks to eat or drink. Furthermore, employees of these three movie theater chains will still be required to wear masks.
“Consistent with the latest CDC guidance and following consultation with public health experts, AMC Theatres guests who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear face coverings at AMC locations, unless it is mandated by state or local ordinances,” an AMC representative said in a statement. “Guests who are not fully vaccinated are asked to continue wearing masks. All other aspects of the AMC Safe & Clean policies and procedures, including seat blocking, remain in place at this time.”
This decision from AMC, Regal, and Cinemark comes as the movie theater business restarts in earnest: both Cruella and A Quiet Place Part II hit theaters on Friday, May 28, with A Quiet Place projected to bring in over $57 million over the holiday weekend, which would mark the largest opening weekend of the pandemic, topping the $48.5 million made by Godzilla vs. Kong in its first five days.
June should be another big rebound month for the movie theater industry, as The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, and F9 are all set to hit theaters, followed by Black Widow, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Stillwater, and Jungle Cruise in July.
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