In the wake of making some controversial statements to Variety yesterday about AMC not mandating face masks in areas that aren’t requiring it during the COVID-19 pandemic, CEO Adam Aron has changed his opinion hearing the social media backlash and is now requiring patrons to wear masks.
“At AMC, we have been consulting with top scientists and health experts to create a broad, sweeping, far-reaching health
and safety effort to make AMC Theatres safe for our guests and associates when our theatres reopen in July. Among many
elements of that comprehensive plan was a requirement for our associates all to wear masks nationwide, as well as a
requirement for our guests all to wear masks in the many parts of the country that will require it. In those areas of the
country where masks will not be required, we nonetheless planned to strongly encourage mask usage by guests, and fully
expected that the vast majority would do so. That policy on guest mask usage, which is directly comparable with our major
competitors and many other highly regarded retailers, was announced yesterday afternoon.
This announcement prompted an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response
that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks. At AMC Theatres, we think it is absolutely crucial that we listen
to our guests. Accordingly, and with the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing
our guest mask policy. As we reopen theatres, we now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks as they
enter and enjoy movies at our theatres. The speed with which AMC moved to revise our mask policies is a reflection of
our commitment to the safety and health of our guests.”
We will constantly monitor the scientific community’s latest thinking as to the efficacy of mask usage. We also will be
looking at the varying health conditions in specific localities around our theatres all across the country. This will help us
to determine what our mask policy will be as we go forward, as well as to make any other needed changes to this policy.
Guests coming to our theatres may bring their own masks of course, but for those who do not have one, masks will be
available at our theatre box offices at a nominal $1.00 price. Those who are unwilling to wear a mask will not be admitted
or allowed to stay.
We also want to take this opportunity to express our great appreciation to our many guests who took the time to
communicate their views. We will continue to listen and continue to monitor the changing nature of the coronavirus,