AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron says it isn’t COVID-19, streaming services or collapsing theatrical windows that is the biggest problem facing the cinema exhibition industry.
Rather it’s one very simple, basic and rather obvious issue – the lack of new movies. Speaking on a conference call the other day in the wake of his company’s quarterly earnings call, Aron say the big challenge:
“Above all else, is that movie theater operators need more movies. At this point, there is only one topic that should be… on the tip of all tongues.”
The number of films in the market reportedly remains 20-30% down on pre-pandemic levels, even as progress has been made and box office is on a rebound both domestically and globally.
This weekend’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is expected to be the biggest release of the year after “Top Gun: Maverick”.
AMC is aggressively expanding with an AMC-branded credit card, AMC Popcorn in supermarkets, new laser projectors and large-format screens for its cinemas, and the return of AMC Stubs A*List, which is back up to around two-thirds of a million members.
One thing that’s not surviving is AMC On Demand, Aron cites its low usage as to blame: “We’re going to look to either phase out AMC On Demand or joint venture with another party to offer that same capacity to our guests.”
Source: Deadline
