Scottsdale movie theater reopens while others plan return, mull options
Jun 10, 2020, 1:00 PM | Updated: 1:20 pm
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
PHOENIX — A Scottsdale movie theater reopened Wednesday while others across metro Phoenix are mulling their options during the coronavirus outbreak.
Roadhouse Cinemas’ only Valley location, near Pima and Indian Bend roads, opened its doors for the first time since mid-March.
The theater’s reopening came with several new policies, including limited seating, limited food options and increased sanitation efforts.
Meanwhile, AMC said Wednesday that it currently expects to have all of its theaters worldwide open in July.
AMC has lost nearly $2.2 billion in its first quarter as it struggled with the closure of all of its movie theaters amid the virus outbreak.
The chain has 11 locations across the Phoenix area.
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Flix Brewhouse, which has a Chandler location, said it intends to reopen prior to the July 17 premiere of “Tenet.”
Scottsdale-based Harkins Theaters has said it has no immediate plans to reopen its locations.
Harkins spokeswoman Jessica Reeves confirmed in an email to KTAR News 92.3 FM in May — after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey gave the green light for theaters to begin opening again — that the chain was expecting to reopen during the summer.
The franchisee of the Phoenix area’s three Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters in May filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the impact of closures mandated in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
No plans about the future of the metro Phoenix locations have been announced.
“We’ve been privileged to have spent the past four years sharing the films we love with our friends in the Phoenix region, and we hope that taking these steps will put us on track to open in the future,” Craig Paschich, whose company owns the Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert branches of the Texas-based theater chain, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
