#Movie theater chains are dropping their mask requirements

Fully vaccinated movie theater goers can leave their mask at home — or use it to wipe the popcorn butter off their hands.

Major chains AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark have announced they are dropping their mask requirements for vaccinated customers, two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaxxed folks can ditch face coverings in indoor settings.

“In accordance with CDC guidelines, masks are not required for guests who are fully vaccinated,” AMC said on its website.

“If you are not fully vaccinated, we ask that you continue to wear a mask throughout the theater unless actively enjoying food or drinks.”

But all three have acknowledged that these rules are subject to local and state mandates, which may differ from the CDC regulations.

Employees will still wear masks.

This will be good news for cinema buffs, who have seemingly been eager to return to the theater.

Over the weekend, “A Quiet Place II” starring Emily Blunt and directed by John Krasinski notched $48.4 million at the box office, which is the highest of any film released during the pandemic.

Prior to that, movie theater reopenings in cities including New York were met with dismal showings.

In March, on the weekend when theaters opened in NYC, gross sales in North America totaled about $24 million, bolstered by new releases like Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” and Lionsgate’s “Chaos Walking.”

That was the best showing since the coronavirus crisis shuttered theaters, but it was only about $4 million more than the prior weekend, which logged nearly $21 million in sales.

On the same weekend a year prior, box offices brought in over $101 million.