There are two AMC theaters in the county, one in Hamilton and the other in West Chester Twp. Jennifer MacDonald, manager at the Hamilton cinema, said AMC has been reopening in waves and it started showing movies again Sept. 3. AMC West Chester 18 has also been open for about three weeks.
Lister said staff has sanitized all parts of the building preparing to open and will remain vigilant, using the Cinema Safe Program cleaning guidelines protocols that are “more strict” than most general health regulations.
“We brought in an electrostatic fogger that has a 100% sanitation rate so it kills all germs, bacteria and viruses,” Lister said. “We sprayed every seat, and every theater and every surface of the building, every table, every escalator handle, every elevator button, every door handle, every everything.”
He said because of social distancing guidelines — surrounding seats are blocked off when tickets are purchased — it will be operating at 35% capacity. Lister said everyone must be masked unless they are actively eating and drinking and they have taken out self-serve drink fountains.
MacDonald said they have also followed stringent cleaning protocols and roped off rows at her theater because they don’t have electronic ticket booking. They change their gloves between each transaction, and sanitizing wipes are available.
The return to business has been very slow, she said.
“We’re not doing good, I think we had six people yesterday,” she said, adding getting people to wear masks is difficult. “Everybody has to wear a mask no matter what, it’s AMC policy so you can’t say, ‘I have a doctor’s note.' Oh, they don’t like it, they don’t."
Justin Foster, a manager at the West Chester theater, said business has also been slower than normal.
“It’s been going pretty good, kind of slow but it’s been good,” Foster said. “It’s been down from what it normally is but it’ll take a little bit for it to come back.”
John Taylor, general manager at Liberty Center said it’s good for the community to have another entertainment option.
“They’re a main part of the property, they’re one of the keys to the property as far as driving traffic, as far as bringing people in to eat at a restaurant or shop at the stores,” Taylor said. “So we’re thrilled to have them back open.”
The theater’s parent company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but Lister said that will give it an opportunity to restructure their debt.
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