AMC Delays Reopening Theaters to Late July

Shift follows changes in release dates for Disney’s ‘Mulan’ and Warner Bros.’ ‘Tenet’

AMC Entertainment Holdings, the country’s largest theater chain, is postponing plans to reopen its U.S. locations by about two weeks, to July 30, following date changes for the upcoming releases of two major films.

Amid slower-than-expected progress reopening the U.S. economy, Walt Disney Co. recently said it is pushing back its live-action remake of “Mulan,” and AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros. has said science-fiction thriller “Tenet” would also come out later than previously planned.

U.S. theaters closed and Hollywood studios halted the release of major motion pictures in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

AMC says it will open 450 U.S. locations on July 30 and then another 150 the following week. Less than two weeks ago, the company announced plans to open those locations July 15 and July 24, respectively.

“Tenet,” from director Christopher Nolan, is currently set to debut on Aug. 12, after two postponements. Disney’s “Mulan” remake is to premiere in theaters Aug. 21.

Smaller, independent theaters have reopened in some states, showing older films to a limited number of moviegoers. But the three biggest chains—AMC, Cineworld Group PLC’s Regal Entertainment Group and Cinemark Holdings Inc.—have decided to stay closed until they have new movies to show.

Theater chains and Hollywood studios alike have been forced to update their plans more than once as efforts to reopen public spaces in the U.S.—part of a broader effort to restart the economy—have faltered amid accelerating coronavirus cases.

AMC also said that it expects to have at least some theaters opened in all of the 14 countries where it operates by July 30.