Entertainment

Movie theater giants say requiring New Jersey theaters to remain closed is unconstitutional

Key Points
  • AMC, Cinemark and Regal are among a group that filed a complaint Monday night arguing it is unconstitutional to keep movie theaters in New Jersey closed when similar spaces, such as places of worship, have reopened.
  • The plaintiffs are asking the court to force New Jersey to stop treating movie theaters differently from similar businesses and acknowledge the order deprived movie theaters of just compensation.

In this article

A "Closed" sign is displayed outside an AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. movie theater in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
Cheney Orr | Bloomberg | Getty Images

AMC, Cinemark and Regal are among a group that filed a complaint Monday night arguing it is unconstitutional to keep movie theaters in New Jersey closed when similar spaces, such as places of worship, have reopened, a copy of the complaint shows.

The complaint, first reported on by The Hollywood Reporter, argues that New Jersey has allowed some public gathering spaces to reopen but has given no timeline for others, as part of remarks about the state's stage-by-stage reopening plan. The plaintiffs are asking for an order preventing New Jersey from enforcing the rules that treat movie theaters differently from similar businesses and acknowledgment that the state's actions deprived the movie theaters of just compensation.

Groups including the National Association of Theatre Owners were listed on the complaint against New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Judith Persichilli, the New Jersey acting commissioner of health. First Amendment lawyers at Davis Wright Tremaine are overseeing the complaint, according to The Reporter.

Read more about the complaint from The Hollywood Reporter.