Methuen movie theater remains closed after rodent issue detected

METHUEN, Mass. — Instead of movie goers, cleaning crews could be seen coming and going from AMC Theater in Methuen on a rainy Tuesday night.

The movie theater has been closed since Thursday, December 5th, after the Methuen Department of Health, Human Services, and Inspections found “enough evidence of pest entry into the building to warrant shutting it down so that repairs could be made,” according to Director of Public Health Caeli Tegan Zampach, MPH.

She said the department received a complaint last week from a woman who reported seeing a rodent inside the movie theater.

According to Zampach, the theater will reopen after another inspection is completed and the results are “satisfactory.” Currently, they are waiting to hear from AMC Theater that they are ready.

Methuen’s AMC has this statement on its website for right now, saying in part, “We apologize for the inconvenience, but this theater is temporarily closed. Please continue to check back here for updates.”

Boston 25 News has reached out to AMC Theatres for comment, but has not heard back.

“We want the problem to be fully addressed now while the theater is empty so then people can feel safe returning,” said Zampach.

She added that rodents can carry disease but transmission to humans is unlikely because it’s spread through their bodily fluids.

On Tuesday, Boston 25 News saw people attempt to go to the movies.

Ivonne Pizzarro was one of them. She typically goes to that AMC Theater every Tuesday.

“I thought that they were just closed, to be honest. Maybe because of the holidays you never know,” Pizarro said.

However, others who work nearby heard rumors about the rodent issue.

“We were all hanging out back here the other day and they were all saying, ‘I heard there’s rats over at AMC’,” said Jaylin Rochleau. “I actually semi-recently went to go see Moana. I didn’t see any rats.”

According to Zampach, there have been no documented shutdowns of this theater in the past several years.

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