Malco Theatres reopening 3 Arkansas locations this week

Memphis-based Malco Theatres will reopen five locations on Friday (June 26), including three of its 10 Arkansas theaters.

Jonesboro Towne Cinema in Jonesboro, Rogers Towne Cinema Grill in Rogers and Razorback Cinema Grill & IMAX in Fayetteville will take the total number of reopened Malco locations to eleven.

All locations have been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reopened several theaters last week.

Malco said it plans to show a variety of classic movies including “The Goonies,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Grease,” “Jaws,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Madagascar” and “Back to the Future,” along with a mix of pre-pandemic releases such as “Trolls: World Tour,” “I Still Believe” and “The Invisible Man.”

Steve Carrell’s new film “Irresistible” opens in select locations June 26, followed by Russell Crowe’s new film “Unhinged” on July 10, Disney’s “Mulan” on July 24 and Christopher Nolen’s “Tenet” on July 31.

Malco plans to open additional locations as part of Phase 3 in early July and the goal is for all of its locations to be operational by July 24.

Malco’s reopening protocols can be viewed here. They include extra time between screenings for deeper cleaning of auditoriums, and social distancing of at least six feet between groups of viewers within an auditorium, including every other row being empty in traditional seating arrangements.

Wearing a face mask inside Malco theaters is optional, although the company says it will mandate face coverings where required. That will be the case in Fayetteville, which passed a law on June 16 that requires everyone to wear face masks inside public places in the city. It went into effect immediately, meant to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

AMC Theaters, the nation’s largest theater chain, will require customers to wear masks when it begins reopening in mid-July. Customers who don’t wear masks won’t be admitted or allowed to stay.

Malco Theatres operates more than 370 screens at 35 locations across the Mid-South, as well as bowling and family entertainment centers in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Online advance tickets for June 26 through July 4 will be available starting Wednesday (June 24) via Malco.com, the Malco app, Fandango and Atom Tickets.