Struggling AMC Chain Launches Private Theatre Rentals Program

Authored by variety.com and submitted by chanma50

AMC Entertainment, which recently reported a $905.8 million quarterly loss, is launching a Private Theatre Rentals program in hopes of reversing its declining revenues.

The program was unveiled Tuesday, four weeks after the initial beta launch of the product resulted in 110,000 inquiries around the country. The company said the number of contacts about a private rental in a four-week period was achieved without any significant marketing or press announcement, and is more than four times higher than the total amount of AMC’s private theatre rentals in all of 2019.

Customers can rent out a showing at any of AMC’s 600 screening rooms nationwide for as low as $99 for as many as 20 patrons. Recent releases such as “Tenet,” “The War With Grandpa” and “Freaky” are available starting at $149. Consistent with AMC’s policy, outside food and drink may not be brought into the screening.

AMC said all showtimes at all locations stringently enforce the AMC Safe & Clean policies and protocols, including mandatory mask wearing and appropriate social distancing within the auditorium. The total allowed guest count may be less than 20 to comply with state and local directives.

Elizabeth Frank, executive give president of worldwide programming and chief content officer, said: “The results and feedback from our guests about AMC Safe & Clean have been overwhelmingly positive, and Private Theatre Rentals at AMC provides an additional layer of safety and security to those moviegoers who are looking to see movies with just their family members and friends. It’s unprecedented for AMC to receive 110,000 contacts in four weeks about a private theatre rental, based only on word of mouth and organic publicity, and we are excited about and appreciative of the interest this has sparked among AMC guests.”

AMC reported on Nov. 2 a 90.9% drop in revenues during the most recent earnings period at $119.5 million. On the same day, it filed to sell stock to Citigroup Global Markets and Goldman Sachs to raise $47.7 million in cash to stay open and warned on Oct. 20 that it might have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it could not obtain additional sources of liquidity.

ethestiel on November 10th, 2020 at 14:16 UTC »

I’ve done this three times already for the price of a regular ticket. Nobody goes to the movies at my local AMCs, so I saw Tenet twice and New Mutants in completely empty theaters.

dumpyduluth on November 10th, 2020 at 14:11 UTC »

Id pay to have screenings in the dolby atmos theater. I missed out on seeing Blade Runner 2049 on it and it still kinda pisses me off

Mu-Relay on November 10th, 2020 at 13:09 UTC »

I honestly do feel bad for all the theater chains. They're stuck in (arguably) the worst business position of any company during the outbreak of an airborne virus: a business that relies on packing as many people as possible into a confined space with recirculated air.