Movie theaters sue New Jersey for not yet letting them reopen

The nation's largest movie theater chains, looking to reopen later this month, are taking New Jersey to court.

AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark Theatres are among the movie theater companies that have filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's governor for not yet giving them the green light to reopen, Variety reports. The companies argue they should be allowed to resume operations at a reduced capacity in the same way churches have been permitted to reopen in the state.

"By this complaint, plaintiffs challenge defendants' unconstitutional and unlawful distinctions in allowing certain places of public assembly to reopen, while requiring movie theaters to remain closed," the lawsuit says, going on to claim that the "government-mandated total closure of movie theaters is neither fair nor reasonable" and "is instead a violation of plaintiffs' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, equal protection of the laws, due process under the law, and is a taking of property without just compensation," per The Hollywood Reporter. The lawsuit is being led by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

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New Jersey hasn't yet given a date for when movie theaters can reopen, although the major chains have announced plans to begin doing so around the country in a matter of weeks while operating at reduced capacities and requiring masks. The initial plan for the big theaters was to be widely back up and running in time for the first two major blockbusters of the summer, Tenet and Mulan, in July. But theater chains delayed their reopening plans after both of those films pushed their release dates into August amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in some states. After its latest release date delay, Tenet is scheduled to unofficially kick off an abbreviated summer movie season on Aug. 12 — at least, for now.