Well, that certainly didn’t take long. AMC Theatres and most of the theatrical chains were playing a disingenuous game of “hey, don’t look at me, we just play movies, talk to your Governors” bullshit with the whole COVID-19, theatrical re-openings and face-masks conversation (if a business can refuse you with “no shoes, no shirt” policy, they sure as hell can do a similar mask one during a pandemic if they choose). But dominoes started to fall quickly today. After a tone-deaf interview where the CEO of AMC Theatres said he didn’t want to politicize face-masks, Alamo Drafthouse dropped the hammer on the company, unveiling a mandatory face-mask policy when their theatres re-open and a damning statement about stating the obvious: wearing a mask is a safety measure, not a political one (sorry Trumpthink). Caving to the pressure and the obvious social media backlash—many users claiming they would boycott AMC if a compulsory mask policy wasn’t in place—Regal Cinemas are now following suit with the same rule.
“Our current mask policy requires both employees and guests to wear masks at all Regal theaters,” a company spokesperson told Variety (a similar message was posted on the Regal Cinemas’ website shortly thereafter. “Our ultimate goal is to create a safe environment for our guests and employees. This is a change to our previous policy on masks based on feedback received from our customers.”
READ MORE: AMC Calls Facemasks A “Political Controversy” & Won’t Require Them For Cinema Reopening
Regal is one of the nation’s largest cinema chains and they play on reopening venues on July 10 at 50% reduced capacity (though only if mandated by the state or count) with social distancing guidelines. For seating in the theater, Regal says their reservation system will “maintain two empty seats between groups (1 seat at recliner locations) to maintain proper social distancing throughout the movie.”
More details of their mask-mandatory guidelines can be read here.