Alamo Drafthouse Announces It Will Require Facemasks When It Reopens

Alamo Drafthouse is yet another chain that will require its patrons to wear masks upon reopening in a post-coronavirus world. Joining the likes of AMC Theatres and Cinemark, Alamo shared a statement on its social channels Friday afternoon that detailed its plans to make consumers wear masks at all locations once they reopen. Earlier in the day, both AMC and Cinemark backtracked their current regulations and put masks requirements in place after substantial fan backlash. Earlier in the week, both chains said they wouldn’t require masks for movie-goers.

“When we open, the safety of our teammates and guests cannot be compromised. This is not political,” Alamo said in a statement. “We will require that guests wear masks at the theater (except when eating/drinking). Those without masks will be given one.”

AMC, the largest chain in the land, announced earlier this week it wouldn’t require facemasks or covering. Hours and hundreds of thousands of tweets later, the chain reversed course.

“At AMC, we have been consulting with top scientists and health experts to create a broad, sweeping, far-reaching health and safety effort to make AMC Theatres safe for our guests and associates when our theatres reopen in July,” the company said in a statement.

“Among many elements of that comprehensive plan was a requirement for our associates all to wear masks nationwide, as well as a requirement for our guests all to wear masks in the many parts of the country that will require it. In those areas of the country where masks will not be required, we nonetheless planned to strongly encourage mask usage by guests, and fully expected that the vast majority would do so. That policy on guest mask usage, which is directly comparable with our major competitors and many other highly regarded retailers, was announced yesterday afternoon.”

As the statement reads, those without masks will not be allowed access. Should you not have a mask, you’ll be able to buy one at the theatre for $1.

“We will constantly monitor the scientific community’s latest thinking as to the efficacy of mask usage. We also will be looking at the varying health conditions in specific localities around our theatres all across the country,” the company’s statement concludes. “This will help us to determine what our mask policy will be as we go forward, as well as to make any other needed changes to this policy. Guests coming to our theatres may bring their own masks of course, but for those who do not have one, masks will be available at our theatre box offices at a nominal $1.00 price. Those who are unwilling to wear a mask will not be admitted or allowed to stay.”

Cover photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images