BOROUGH OF WEST HOMESTEAD, Pa. ā The doors to the AMC Waterfront 22 were locked. They had been for five months, along with most indoor
The lights started slowing coming back on in
AMC opened some 113 locations across the U.S., advertising retro pricing and retro screenings to entice audiences back to the movies. Regal, the second largest exhibitor, is following suit Friday. It's been a long-time coming for the beleaguered businesses, which had several false starts due to coronavirus spikes.
When the doors at the West Homestead
āMy son and I counted the days until it reopened. We love coming to the movies. Thatās why weāre here,ā said Betty Gallagher. āAnd todayās 15 cents, so that was another incentive.ā
The ā1920s pricingā was a main draw for most of those early customers. One 58-year-old man, Jerome Heslin, said he hadnāt been to a
āItās a nice thing to do,ā Heslin said.
After opening day, the back-
For others, it was something to do with their children. Leslie Lopez came out with her 5-year-old daughter to see the live-action āBeauty and the Beast,ā as did Lindsey Adams with her 3-year-old, bedecked in Belleās golden ball gown.
Neither were concerned about COVID-19.
āWe have our masks on and our hand sanitizer and weāre taking our precautions,ā Adams said. āWeāre sure the
There was a bit of a learning curve for some patrons when it came to the new safety and social distancing protocols. Some wandered in with masks down by their chins (an employee quickly approached them to ask that they cover their faces). Others were surprised that concessions were cash only. And at least one family was extremely disappointed to find out that the movie they wanted to see was already sold out.
But others had already mastered the art of ordering concessions online, like Eileen Nucci and her husband, who simply told the employees their name and were handed their food and cups in a paper shopping bag.
āIt was easy,ā Nucci said. āWeāre just happy to be here.ā
They werenāt alone. Even without a new movie in the bunch, within 30 minutes, 17 of the 20 showtimes had sold out and all that remained were a few tickets for āThe Goonies,ā āJumanji: The Next Levelā and the Christian film āI Still Believe.ā Tickets for āThe Empire Strikes Backā and āBack to the Futureā had already been gone for days.
A sellout, however, isnāt exactly what it used to be. AMC is only selling to 30% capacity, which in this location meant about 25 people per screen. Each film only gets two screenings a day to give employees ample time to clean. And showtimes are also being staggered to help prevent too many people from congregating in the lobby.
New movies are soon to follow, though, which the
At least one patron was a little reticent to come back.
āI wasnāt sure if I wanted to, but then I saw they were playing āThe Empire Strikes Back,ā one of my all-time
Itād been a few years since heād seen the āStar Warsā film on the big screen. He even wore his Luke and Vader lightsaber fight t-shirt for the occasion.
But heās not entirely sure yet if heāll be rushing to the
āIt all depends on how I feel after today,ā Parks said. āIf this is a little too much, maybe not, but as of right now itās not too bad.ā
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
