Theaters reopen, some with tickets as low as 15 cents
When Lisa Courts learned that AMC Theatres would be reopening several of its central Ohio cinemas on Thursday afternoon, the nursing home aide made sure she had the day off to catch a flick.
She headed to Lennox 24 on her own to see an afternoon showing of “Jumanji: The Next Level,” which was originally released in December.
More than five months ago, this would be a regular outing for Courts, 49, who was accustomed to seeing about four movies a month.
But days after she saw “The Invisible Man” with her 17-year-old son in
March, movies theaters joined the legion of businesses forced to shut down amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus.
“I love the movies,” said Courts, a Gahanna resident. “I go all the time, so I’m happy to be back.”
In central Ohio, Lennox 24, Dublin Village 18 and Easton Town Center 30 were part of a wave of more than 100 AMC cinemas that reopened Thursday. To mark the occasion and its centennial anniversary, AMC — the world’s largest movie theater chain — sold tickets for the 1920s price of 15 cents.
Audiences didn’t have any new releases to see, but central Ohio moviegoers still flocked to sold-out showings of older films, including “Black Panther” (2018) and “Sonic the Hedgehog” (released in February), as well as classics such as “Back to the Future” (1985) and “Grease” (1978).
“We are thrilled to once again open our doors to American moviegoers who are looking for an opportunity to get out of their houses and apartments and escape into the magic of the movies,” AMC Theatres CEO and President Adam Aron said in a written statement.
AMC officials were not made immediately available to The Dispatch for comment.
On Thursday afternoon, young couples, families with children and senior citizens steadily entered the theater for matinee showings at Lennox.
Southeast side husband and wife Joe Price and Kari Arrowood couldn’t pass up the chance to bring their three children — ages 8, 10 and 12 — to Lennox for a double feature of “Star Wars: Episode V ‒ The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Ghostbusters” (1984.)
“’Empire Strikes Back’ and ’Ghostbusters’ are really sentimental movies to me, so to take my kids to see them on a big screen is something else,” Price, 33, said.
For Arrowood, 32, the movie outing was a chance to get the family out of the house for a few hours.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve taken the kids to do anything,” she said.
AMC is not the first theater chain to have recently implemented phased-in openings. Cinemark’s Polaris 18 began screening movies Aug. 14, with its Carriage Place and Stoneridge Plaza locations following suit on Thursday. The chain has reduced “welcome back” pricing — $5 for adults and $3 for children and senior citizens — and is offering private screenings for up to 20 guests starting at $99.
Marcus Theatres is opening two-thirds of its 91 theaters in three phases through Aug. 28, including the Crossroads and Pickerington cinemas in central Ohio.
Indoor theater screenings — considered more of a risk than outdoor activities — are resuming even as coronavirus cases remain prevalent across the country.
In response, AMC is requiring everyone to wear masks under its “Safe & Clean” initiative — face coverings are available to purchase at theaters for $1 — and theater capacity is capped at 30%. The chain also upgraded ventilation systems.
Cinemark and Marcus are both implementing similar health and safety measures, including reduced seating capacity, staggered showtimes and the requirement that customers and employees wear masks.
Guests at Lennox who spoke to The Dispatch all said they felt comfortable with the precautions.
Now that theater chains are reopening in phases, new feature films are trickling in as well.
“Unhinged,” starring Russell Crowe, hit the big screen Friday, and other big films such as Disney’s “The New Mutants” will open in theaters within the next few weeks, once AMC opens another 300 locations, including its Columbus 10 and Grove City 14 theaters. AMC expects to open approximately twothirds of its more than 600 U.S. theater locations in time for the Sept. 3 release of Christopher Nolan’s thriller “Tenet.”
Many of the upcoming releases already are on the radar of Justin Schnurbusch, who traveled to Lennox from his home in Circleville on Thursday to see “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
“I’m pretty excited,” the 33-year-old said. “It’s just not really the same watching a movie at home — there are certain movies where on the big screen it’s better.” elagatta@dispatch.com @Ericlagatta