Rockaway's AMC Theatre Reopens Thursday

ROCKAWAY, NJ - Six months, a pair of legal judgments and one pandemic later, theaters are being allowed to open again in New Jersey. And on Thursday, AMC Theatre in Rockaway will do just that.

Las week Governor Phil Murphy announced that movie theaters and indoor performance venues can resume on Friday as long as capacity is capped at 25 percent, or 150 people.

He said groups can sit together but others must be 6 feet apart. Masks must be worn at all times but they can be pulled down for eating popcorn and other theater food.

As is the case with every other business reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, there will be expanded health and safety measures implemented at every AMC theater.

In a video statement from AMC President and CEO Adam Aron, he explains that their reopening strategy was conducted after consulting with faculty from the Harvard University School of Public Health.

Billed as AMC Safe & Clean, the expanded protocols include mandatory masks throughout the theater, social distancing standards and decreased capacity in auditoriums.

Health checks will also be instituted for employees, who will have their temperature taken before the start of their shift.

The Safe & Clean protocol, additionally, is a brand partnership with the cleaning products company Clorox.

The latest schedule, which will include a mix of new and classic movies, will be posted to the theater chain's website.

The road back to opening has not been an easy one as a federal judge had ruled that movie theaters need to remain closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. AMC Theaters and several other plaintiffs said in their lawsuit, filed July 6, that the closure of cinemas in the Garden State — while churches and other venues have been permitted to reopen to the public — was a violation of the businesses right to due process and equal protection. The suit named New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

"In closing indoor movie theater operations, (the state is) promoting the significant governmental interest of protecting public health by keeping closed areas that present heightened risks for COVID-19 transmission," U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti wrote in his opinion last month.

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