Amherst Cinema increases capacity to 50 percent

July 19, 2021 | Nasya Blackshear
nblackshear@thereminder.com

Amherst Cinema
Reminder Publishing photo by Nasya Blackshear

AMHERST – Amherst Cinema is taking an exciting next step in its reopening plan. Starting July 2, the historic theater increased its audience capacity to 50 percent.

“For more than nine months, we’ve operated at single-digit audience capacities. As the nation and state reopen, we are moving forward, too, with great optimism, continued commitment to safety, and an exciting summer lineup,” said Executive Director Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer.

The cinema first reopened its doors on Oct. 30, 2020; they started hosting private theater rentals for viewers before opening to the public March 12 with small group ticketed screenings that allowed up to five viewers. This came exactly a year after closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the theater originally closed, they had hopes of reopening on April 16, 2020, but as the severity of the pandemic became clearer, they knew that wouldn’t be feasible.

Though they couldn’t host films in person, this didn’t stop them from finding ways to entertain the community. They began an At-Home-Cinema Selection program, recommending films through their weekly e-newsletters to engage with movie lovers, before launching a Virtual Cinema program that let you watch new releases from your home screen.

Now, with the commonwealth lifting restrictions on movie houses, Amherst Cinema is ready to welcome back moviegoers at a limited, but significantly larger capacity than before.

Viewers can expect the full movie theater experience with a reopened box office for walk-up sales, a full concessions menu including beer and wine offerings, along with comfortable new seating.

Their showings promise to be a variety of first-run features and past releases including Questlove’s Sundance-winning music documentary “Summer of Soul,” which opened July 2, Josh Ruben’s “Werewolves Within,” and magical adventure “The Green Knight,” opening July 30, starring Dev Patel.

Two of their fan favorite series will also make a comeback. The Big Screen Classics series includes titles like: “The Big Lebowski,” Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and the summer must “JAWS.” Their Sound and Vision series will feature the Newport concert film “Jazz on a Summer’s Day,” an electronic music doc “Sisters with Transistors,” and Old-Time/ Bluegrass doc “Fiddlin.”

Amherst Cinema will still be in accordance with CDC guidelines. Face masks will be voluntary for fully vaccinated guests and required for all others, however, all guests may remove their masks while eating or drinking in their seat.

The theater will also offer Masked Mornings on Saturday and Sundays. During these first screenings of the day, face coverings are required for all guests, audience capacity will be modified to 25 percent, and there will be no concessions sold. For those cinephiles who aren’t quite ready for the in-person experience, the cinema will continue to offer their Virtual Cinema program.  

“There is nothing like being in a dark theater, experiencing a film together on the big screen, and our return promises something for everyone,” Eisenhauer said.

Audiences can purchase tickets online at https://amherstcinema.org/ or at the cinema’s box office.

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