Dartmouth AMC theater to reopen Aug. 27

Aug 13, 2020

After being closed since March due to the pandemic, the AMC theater at the Dartmouth Mall is set to reopen on August 27 — with some new safety measures in place.

AMC Entertainment, which owns the chain, announced Thursday that it expects to open the doors to more than 100 cinemas — or about a sixth of its nationwide locations — beginning next week.

AMC said after the initial 100 reopenings, another 300 theaters will open in the two weeks that follow with the major movie releases of Disney's "The New Mutants" on August 28 and Warner Bros.' "Tenet" on September 3.

But the movie chain is telling customers to expect some major changes in how its theaters will operate, according to the company’s website.

In the auditorium, masks will be required, but may be removed while eating or drinking.

Auditoriums will also operate at 30 percent capacity, with every other row blocked off and patrons are asked to leave an empty seat between themselves and other guests.

Cash will not be accepted at concessions in order to avoid shared contact between cash and food handling, but will be accepted to purchase tickets. 

The theater will also step up cleaning procedures and add extra time between movies so crews can take extra care disinfecting the auditorium before each show.