AMC Theaters Will No Longer Be Showing Movies From Universal Pictures. Here’s Why.
Well guys, AMC theaters has just released a statement and I’m sad to say that going to the movies may never be the same after this quarantine is lifted.
It’s no doubt that watching a movie from the comfort of your own home is super satisfying… mostly because we don’t have to wear pants…
However, we also count on movie theaters to show the movies we love up on the big screen! But according to AMC, one franchise in particular is currently cut out and who knows for how long.
Universal Pictures is being completely shut out by AMC, therefore all movies owned by the film company will not be released at AMC Theatre locations.
This means, Trolls World Tour, Fast and the Furious, Jurassic World, Despicable Me/Minion’, The Invisible Man and many more movies will have to say goodbye for now.
The decision made by AMC Theaters was reportedly after Jeff Shell, CEO of NBC Universal, had an interview with the Wall Street Journal addressing the success of Trolls World Tour.
In short, here’s what Adam Aron, President and CEO of AMC Theaters had to say, addressed to Donna Langley, Chair of Universal Studios:
For 100 years, AMC Theatres has served as a strategically critical and highly profitable distribution platform for movie makers, and for all that time the exclusivity of the theatrical release has been fundamental. When a movie is “Only in Theaters,” consumers perceive it to be higher quality entertainment. Countless filmmakers and moviegoers believe that their creative works are best enjoyed by consumers on the big screen. And we all know that those theatrical releases indeed boost publicity, positive word-of-mouth, critical acclaim and downstream revenues.
Adam Aron, President and CEO of AMC Theatres
He then continued…
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jeff Shell is quoted as saying that:
“The results for ‘Trolls World Tour’ have exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the viability of PVOD,” Mr. Shell said. “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”
This radical change by Universal to the business model that currently exists between our two companies represents nothing but downside for us and is categorically unacceptable to AMC Entertainment, the worlds largest collection of movie theatres.
Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.
Adam Aron, President and CEO of AMC Theatres
Universal’s response is as follows via a spokesperson for the company:
“Our goal in releasing Trolls: World Tour on PVOD was to deliver entertainment to people who are sheltering at home, while movie theatres and other forms of outside entertainment are unavailable. Based on the enthusiastic response to the film, we believe we made the right move. In fact, given the choice of not releasing Trolls: World Tour, which would not only have prevented consumers from experiencing the movie but also negatively impacted our partners and employees, the decision was clear. Our desire has always been to efficiently deliver entertainment to as wide an audience as possible. We absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and have made no statement to the contrary. As we stated earlier, going forward, we expect to release future films directly to theatres, as well as on PVOD when that distribution outlet makes sense. We look forward to having additional private conversations with our exhibition partners but are disappointed by this seemingly coordinated attempt from AMC and NATO to confuse our position and our actions, said Universal Pictures via spokesperson.”
Universal Pictures
It looks as if time will only tell with what will happen in the near future and regarding the relationship between AMC Theatres and Universal Pictures.
