Movie theaters are struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic, and not even news that theaters will officially be open again in New York State can counteract the dearth of moviegoers and a wilted new movie release schedule. Regal Cinemas has already closed its theaters back down, and unless something major changes it seems moviegoers — and major box office smashes — will not return until there’s a coronavirus vaccine. But AMC is doing its best to fill theaters by letting some people live out their pre-coronavirus dreams of renting an entire theater out for yourself.
As CNN pointed out, the theater chain has started letting people reserve an entire screening for themselves starting at less than $100. AMC has a form on its website where you can narrow down what theaters are available, which showings you can snag and how much it will cost for up to 20 guests you know to hold court in an AMC theater where no one else is allowed.
According to the site, the movies available range from new releases like The War With Grandpa, Tenet and The New Mutants but also includes some classic favorites back in theaters in an effort to get people back to the movies and also to, well, fill screens as movies get delayed. So if you ever wanted to see Hocus Pocus on the big screen, now’s your chance. Most theaters have always had deals like this possible for school field trips and birthday parties if you knew who to ask, but $100 to rent out an entire theater is a fairly novel distraction from all the horrors that have made going to the movies feel perilous these days.
While it’s unclear if putting you and 19 of your friends in the same room is a good idea during a pandemic, you could always use the promotion to recapture one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences you could stumble into in the Before Times: getting a screening of a film, and the theater it’s playing in, all to yourself.