AMC said the latest guidelines made movie
theater operations “essentially impossible.” It
said it would close all locations in the U.S. for at
least six to 12 weeks. Regal, the second largest
chain, said that its theaters would close until
further notice.
The Walt Disney Co. also indefinitely postponed
“Black Widow,” which had been set to open May
- Marvel movies have for years been the regular
kickoff to the summer movie going season.
The company also put off the releases of “David
Copperfield (May 8) and “The Woman in the
Window” (May 15).
With movie theaters locked down for the
foreseeable future, some studios took the
extraordinary step of funneling new or recently
released films onto home viewing platforms.
Universal Pictures said it will make its current
and upcoming films available for on-demand
rental, becoming the first major studio to break
the traditional theatrical window of 90 days due
to the pandemic.
The studio said it will put movies currently in
theaters — “Invisible Man,” “The Hunt,” “Emma”—
up for rental this weekend. It also said that “Trolls
World Tour,” one of the only major releases left
on the April calendar, will debut in theaters and
on-demand services simultaneously. A 48-hour
rental will cost $19.99.
Most of Europe’s cinemas have already shut
down, as have those in China, India and
elsewhere. North America’s shutdown came
gradually. Last weekend, the mayors of New York
and Los Angeles ordered their cities’ theaters
closed. Governments in Massachusetts and
Quebec also closed theaters.