LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world’s largest film operator, will begin reopening its Los Angeles offices from two theaters Monday, the company said in a statement Friday.
Los Angeles County cinemas, the home of Hollywood and the largest film market in the United States, have been closed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local authorities allowed them to resume operations from Monday if they limited attendance to 25% of capacity.
AMC said it would return to the business starting with Burbank and Century City cinemas. The company plans to begin opening the rest of its theaters in the Los Angeles area and anywhere else in California starting March 19th.
Los Angeles is AMC’s largest market by number of theaters. The company has 56 locations in California, including 25 in Los Angeles County.
Film chains and independent cinemas were devastated by the prolonged closures and expect the public to return in the spring and summer as coronavirus vaccines are further distributed.
Report by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Edited by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis