The economic effects of the global coronavirus pandemic are far-reaching and possibly long-lasting, especially for the film and entertainment industry. With billions in losses and looming bankruptcies, it comes as no surprise that movie theaters have now started to sue local governments because of pandemic-induced closures.
The Hollywood Reporter says that huge theater chains Regal, Cinemark, AMC, and other theater chains have banded together to file a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey. The group is led by the National Theater Owners of New Jersey.
The lawsuit claims the continued closure of movie theaters in New Jersey is unlawful and unconstitutional since the state has already allowed the reopening of a number of public venues, such as places of worship. The continued closure allegedly violates the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
As Forbes notes, a number of states have already greenlit the opening of movie theaters, so long as recommended health protocols are in place. This includes social distancing, the wearing of face masks, and limited capacity.
Even with the green light given to them, even movie theaters are moving around their reopening dates as Hollywood shuffles the release of its blockbusters in response to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.
For instance, AMC Theaters has moved its reopening date in response to Disney moving the release date of Mulan to Aug. 21. Mulan was originally going to premiere on Mar. 27 before it was rescheduled to July 24. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which was initially going to premiere on July 17, was moved to Aug. 12.
AMC Theaters reopening has been moved to July 30 from the original July 15 date. All 600 of AMC’s theaters have been closed since Mar. 17 due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Reopening as soon as possible is also important to these theater chains, as some of them are on the brink of bankruptcy. AMC Theaters reported a loss of $2 billion, a staggering amount that raised bankruptcy concerns.
Whenever these movie chains reopen, it will be happening in a world still dealing with the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic does not show any signs of slowing down, with the July 7 update from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention putting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States at 2,932,596 people and deaths at 130,133.
Worldwide, there are now 11,500,302 people confirmed to have COVID-19 according to the July 7 situation report by the World Health Organization. There are now 535,759 people who have died from the disease.