AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc said on Thursday it expects all its international theatres to resume operations in the next two to three weeks, while two-thirds or more of its US theatres are set to reopen later this month.
Movie theatres across the world were shuttered since mid-March when several countries imposed strict lockdowns and social distancing measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We already have resumed operations in more than 130 theatres in all of the countries we serve in Europe and the Middle East. That is more than one-third of our international theatres,” chief executive officer Adam Aron said.
The world’s largest movie theatre chain’s plans come as studios push to make their movies available in living rooms sooner than the typical timeline of roughly 90 days after they debut in cinemas.
Last week, AMC and Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures agreed to a major shift that will allow the studio’s movies to be made available to US audiences at home after just three weekends in cinemas.
Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday its live-action epic “Mulan” will skip most of the world’s movie theatres and go directly to its streaming platform in September, due to uncertainty about when big movie theatre chains will reopen.