AMC Theaters will be remaining open, despite the 2nd largest theater chain in the US, Regal, shutting down indefinitely. AMC is the largest theater chain in the world, followed by Regal. The decision to stay open comes amid uncertainty in the moviegoing business. Studios have all but vacated their 2020 release schedules leaving only one major release set to hit screens through the end of the year. Wonder Woman: 1984 is still coming to theaters on Christmas day.
This month has seen theaters move all of their releases from the 2020 calendar year after being potentially spooked by Tenet's box office performance. The exodus began when Disney once again moved Black Widow, pushing it back to May 2021. MGM quickly followed suit, pushing No Time to Die back to Easter weekend 2021. Dune was also moved from its December 18th release date to October 1, 2021, prompting a major shift to Warner Bros. entire DCEU slate.
According to Deadline, all these delays aren't scaring AMC, though. The #1 exhibitor plans to stay open despite the lack of films to show. With more than 80% of its US locations open and even more internationally, the chain hopes to retain some of its business. They are also actively trying to begin opening theaters in the New York and Los Angeles markets, the US's two largest theater markets. There have been talks about raising their prices to cover coronavirus expenses, but nothing has been officially announced.
The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. It's no secret that theaters have been struggling because of the coronavirus shutdowns. The summer months, usually some of the busiest of the year, saw theaters closed for the entire season. There were hopes that with Tenet's release at the beginning of September, moviegoers would flock back to theaters, but that has not proven to be the case. With health experts saying it won't be safe to return to theaters normally until a year after a vaccine, who knows when people will be willing to return to the movies in the way they used to.
With AMC keeping its doors open, it also begs the question, what movies will they be showing? While specialty box office has been performing well for smaller films, theaters can not survive off of that money alone. There's always the chance for nostalgia showings. This weekend saw Halloween classic Hocus Pocus gross nearly $2 million. Still, this isn't necessarily enough to keep theaters afloat either.
With only one major release hitting screens for the next few months, AMC will have to develop some creative ways to get people into seats. It's not impossible, but we know that no matter what they do, barring some miracle, they won't be able to attract pre-coronavirus crowds without blockbusters and with health restrictions in place. Many areas even still have restrictions on concessions in place, usually theater's largest area for profit potential. As the landscape changes daily, theaters are having to adapt to it. With AMC staying open, all eyes will be on how exactly they'll be adapting to each new development.
Source: Deadline
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