Audio Video News

Movie theaters have not been spared by the economic turmoil wrought by the closing of businesses on an unprecedented scale as COVID-19 coronavirus spreads across the U.S.

Some 40,000 screens went dark when AMC closed of all of its theaters in the U.S for six to 12 weeks and Regal followed suit, closing its theaters indefinitely. Adding to the tumult, Hollywood movie production has all but ground to a halt with major studios pushing spring releases to the fall.

In the wake of the public entertainment shutdown, Fandango’s online ticketing operation announced that full refunds for tickets purchased for shows at closed theaters are being automatically processed and advised patrons to contact the company if refunds aren’t received in two weeks.

Fandango also extended the expiration date of VIP+ Rewards that expired on or after March 1 and said reward credits can be applied to its FandangoNOW streaming service without a subscription.

The company also used the opportunity to plug its Rotten Tomatoes site, noting that “they are preparing binge-worthy streaming guides, based on Tomatometer scores.” The site has created 10 guides since the beginning of March. You can check them out at rottentomatoes.com.