AMC Theaters: Risk Death And Disability To Watch Movie Reruns For 15 Cents!
from the hard-pass dept
Even before COVID-19, the brick and mortar movie industry was already struggling to adapt in the face of technological evolution. Now with a pandemic demolishing theater attendance, companies like AMC Theaters face an accelerated timeline as they attempt to cling to outdated constructs like movie release windows, sticky floors, and seventeen dollar popcorn, which were already showing their age in the 4K streaming era.
Theater chains haven’t exactly been handling this pandemic thing all that well. When Comcast Universal began sending its movies straight to home streaming (you know, given that people don’t want to die), AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron threw an apoplectic fit, insisting his chain would never again show a Comcast/Universal movie. After apparently realizing he didn’t have any leverage to make those kinds of threats — and negotiating to get an unspecified cut of the proceeds — Aron and AMC agreed to a shorter 17-day release window. Baby steps, I guess.
It should go without saying that the scientific consensus is that the pandemic isn’t going anywhere, and the problems it’s creating are very likely to get worse as it collides with the traditional flu season this fall. Like so many who think they can just bull rush through factual reality and scientific consensus, AMC seems intent on opening a good chunk of its traditional theaters next week, and is hoping to draw crowds by offering 15 cent movie tickets on the first day:
“AMC Entertainment, which owns the chain, said Thursday that it expects to open the doors to more than 100 cinemas ? or about a sixth of its nationwide locations ? on Aug. 20 with throwback pricing for a day. AMC theaters have reopened in numerous international countries but have remained shuttered in the U.S. since March. The chain touted the reopening as ?Movies in 2020 at 1920 Prices.”
There’s innovating, and then there’s just denying the obvious. There’s creative adaptation, and then there’s business decisions that are literally putting people’s lives at risk by encouraging mass public indoor gatherings during an historic pandemic that largely spreads, you know, indoors. Yes, the risk is mitigated somewhat by the fact AMC is requiring people wear masks, but there’s obviously no guarantee your fellow theater patrons are going to comply, or that AMC will spend two hours and potential risk making employees enforce mask use in the dark.
Most of the films they’ll be showing (Grease, Black Panther, and Back to the Future) are already on home video, so I’m not sure how many folks will be willing to risk death and potential lifelong disability to watch reruns. But hey, this being America, I suppose anything is possible. With all sympathy to theater industry employees, it may be time for AMC Theaters to begin considering a much harder pivot into a business sector that doesn’t require denying obvious technological evolution and won’t kill or disable its target audience.
Filed Under: covid-19, movies, pandemic, theaters
Companies: amc theaters
Comments on “AMC Theaters: Risk Death And Disability To Watch Movie Reruns For 15 Cents!”
Adam Aran does not watch movies.
Because he’s clearly blind.
Normally I'm a big screen kinda guy...
But I have ZERO intention of going back to a theatre to see a film until there’s a working vaccine that will help get rid of the COVID problem once and for all. I’ll keep my viewing at home for the time being, and go back to theaters when all is once again (mostly) safe. And I have a feeling even most die-hard theater fans feel the same exact way (and maybe I could have chosen a better phrase there, heh heh)
For a real throwback...
They should be showing 1920s movies at 1920s prices. That should be easy, with copyright on those works having expired long ago, right? 😉
Re: For a real throwback...
Except those movies are on cellulose so the digital theaters can’t show them and the frame rate is different now, so modern film projectors can’t show them. Of source, enterprising souls could do some media-shifting, but that would probably give the transferred film new "rights", so the theaters would have to pay the Danegeld anyway – just to a different set of bandits.
And yes, I do realize this is a serious response to a humorous post.
Re: Re: For a real throwback...
"Except those movies are on cellulose so the digital theaters can’t show them and the frame rate is different now, so modern film projectors can’t show them"
I doubt anyone would be trying to screen the original nitrate prints rather than creating a new digital remaster from the BluRay release, or even just screening the BluRay itself…
Come on Karl,
Surely you’ve heard by now that the Covid19 panic is a democrat hoax. (Whether this means the pandemic or the seriousness of the pandemic is the hoax. Just be assured that whichever you respond to I’ll have my followers turn on you, claiming I actually meant the other…
Signed,
The false Donald Trump.
or should that be:
I’d rather have fake news than a fake president.
or perhaps:
I’d rather have sleepy Joe than dopey Don.
Re: Come on Karl,
I blame the Chinese for letting the hoax escape from a lab and not telling us sooner.
Re: Re: Come on Karl,
I blame Donald Trump for firing the pandemic team that would have enabled the US to be prepared, followed by the constant lies and delays in dealing with the pandemic that have led, in some ways directly, to over 170,000 Americans dying unnecessarily, and some inevitable huge spikes coming very soon from pushing to open back up way too soon.
Whoever you blame for the initial outbreak (and there’s plenty of evidence it didn’t happen the way you claim) it’s still no excuse for the way the US has such a disproportionate number of dead despite having much more time to prepare than some other countries that successfully contained the pandemic.
Re: Re: Re: Come on Karl,
What a tissue of lies. I’m all for holding those responsible and pointing out where things could have been done better, but flat out misrepresenting and exaggerating the facts so you can rant your superiority.
To date, we have not surpassed 170k deaths. Bonus: Do you think that 0 people would have died from this, no matter how good the response was? Floating the number like that as if all could have been prevented, and its the fault of a single man, only proves you are more interested in fantastical hysteria than reality.
China is for certain to blame. IT came from China (not necessarily their fault) but they definitively knew of it before letting the rest of the world know. This is known and proven and is irrefutable. Their delay in being forthcoming is in large part why the planet was caught off guard by this.
The US response has been abysmal, especially in the first few weeks where you had politicians more interested in criticizing opponents and ignoring reality (like saying there’s no reason not to visit places like Chinatown because of unfounded fears, and go about your lives, go about your business, this is not something you can get from casual contact) than they did in taking any early, preventative action. The response team should never have been disbanded. Also it should be noted that Trump tired to shut down air travel from China on Jan 31 and you all called him a racist monster, so he relented, then you BLAMED him for allowing travel in to the USA a few weeks later! But he never should have downplayed that the virus wouldnt be an issue or that it would go away quickly, that was short-sighted ignorance.
Re: Re: Re:2 Come on Karl,
"What a tissue of lies"
I’m using verifiable primary and trustworthy story. Facts don’t change just because whatever propaganda outlet you subscribe to is telling you to ignore reality.
"To date, we have not surpassed 170k deaths"
Current figures I’m seeing say 5,418,071 infections with 170,446 deaths, although different reporting methods mean that some site will lag or account differently.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
But, let’s face it, there’s so many excess deaths not accounted for yet, there will likely be many more..
"Bonus: Do you think that 0 people would have died from this, no matter how good the response was?"
No, but lying about it being a Democratic hoax while refusing to lock down airports coming from known infection hotspots that were already shutting down didn’t help. There are studies that somewhere in the region of 80% of the first wave of deaths could have been avoided if action was taken just 10 days earlier, yet Trump was still pretending it wasn’t real on that day.
"its the fault of a single man"
Not entirely, but the man who fired the people who would have been responsible for taking proactive measures, refused to shut down known routes, pretended it was a hoax and refused to enact the powers that would have allowed PPE for primary care workers, all while publicly telling people to ignore his own experts, should take some blame, at least?. Hillary was grilled for months over 2 deaths at Benghazi and the US started wars over 3000 deaths on 9/11. Why is Trump not responsible for what he’s (not) done, since so many more Americans have died on his watch?
"Also it should be noted that Trump tired to shut down air travel from China on Jan 31 and you all called him a racist monster"
Yes, because at that point the disease was known to be in places outside of China so doing that would do nothing to stem the overall threat. It was already too late for that to work, unless the aim was to try and attack China rather than deal with the pandemic. Italy called a state of emergency on January 31st, the same date as the first confirmed case in Spain (although we now know the actual first cases were much earlier). South Korea was already ramping up its response, as well as some surrounding countries. He was a racist moron because he thought that blocking some flights to China would make a blind bit of difference then.
" so he relented, then you BLAMED him for allowing travel in to the USA a few weeks later"
Because he’s meant to be a leader, but he still thinks he’s a gameshow host. Who cares what if the public called him names. Is the fate of the US dependent on whether or not the leader has thin skin? How many people died because he was scared to lose ratings?
Re: Re: Re:2 Come on Karl,
"To date, we have not surpassed 170k deaths. "
Oh well … thank god for that!
"Do you think that 0 people would have died from this, no matter how good the response was? "
I think I understand the question, although it needs work.
Of course there would be people who succumb to the disease.
In addition, of course less people would succumb to the disease if there had been a plan in place to deal with it, but as we have all read, that was tossed in to the trash … because – why not.
What kind of question is that anyways, you fishing?
"The US response has been abysmal"
Glad you finally said it.
Re: Re: Re:2 Come on Karl,
Trump and his rhetoric have certainly encouraged things like Florida sheriff bans police and staff from wearing masks on the job, which will certainly help the increase in cases in Florida.
Re: Re: Re:3 Come on Karl,
Among other things. Remember the masks optional rally at Tulsa? Supporting Trump’s rhetoric sure worked out for Herman Cain didn’t it
Re: Re: Re:2 Come on Karl,
and its the fault of a single man
So no more "I alone can fix it?"
Re: Re: Re:2 Come on Karl,
"To date, we have not surpassed 170k deaths."
With 4% of the global population you have over 25% of the covid death toll. Proportionally the US should, with a bare minimum of expected response similar to what the rest of the world ran with, have under 30k dead. Instead you’ve got more than five times that, AND a rampant spread which keeps upping the numbers.
This year you guys have had one 9/11 worth of civvie deaths every two days. More dead than you lost soliders in World War 1. Three times as many dead as you lost soldiers in Vietnam.
And no other nation in the world even comes close to your death tolls. To which THIS is your response;
"but flat out misrepresenting and exaggerating the facts so you can rant your superiority."
Bet your cultist ass we own being "superior" when even basic math escapes you to THAT degree.
As for China;
"Their delay in being forthcoming is in large part why the planet was caught off guard by this. "
We’re all mad at China about their coverup. Still, China screwed everyone the same way. The US was one of the last to be affected and ought to have seen how to prevent it by looking at everyone else who got hit first. That you are taking the hit the way you currently are? All on your leadership, by which we mean Trump, who spent all his time telling everyone it was nothing to worry about.
"Also it should be noted that Trump tired to shut down air travel from China on Jan 31 and you all called him a racist monster, so he relented, then you BLAMED him for allowing travel in to the USA a few weeks later!"
No one else had to do that – because everyone else closed ALL air travel until they had a handle on things. Had Trump done the same it would have been no problem – but closing air travel to and from China was meaningless once Covid-19 was outside China. So yes, he was simply catering to his narrative of "blame China and hide".
HOW COME No other leader in the western world has managed to screw up to the point Trump has? Where do you place the blame for the US failing to meet the same pandemic response standard third world hellholes can easily meet?
How come all you people ever have to say is "It couldn’t be helped" when obviously all the rest of the world showed differently?
Re: Re: Re: Come on Karl,
"I blame Donald Trump for firing the pandemic team that would have enabled the US to be prepared, followed by the constant lies and delays in dealing with the pandemic"
I think they are trying to kill us.
What a steal
Risk your life and the lives of everyone around you for only fifteen cents? Whoever said that brick and mortar theaters can’t innovate and provide value to their customers is certainly going to be wiping the egg from their face when presented with this stunning deal.
Re: What a steal
"…is certainly going to be wiping the egg from their face when presented with this stunning deal."
I hate to point it out to you…but there’s a significant proportion of the US citizenry willing and able to risk their lives and the lives of all around them gratis for nothing, so even here you run up against Poe’s Law.
It’s indeed stunningly innovative if they can make people pay for the privilege of doing what they like to do for free.
Sounds like an opportunity for AMC to hook up with Sears, Kmart, JC Penny and other flailing businesses to utilize parking lots and modern technology to push for parking lot drive in’s. Could also contact local businesses and drum up some "safe for drive in" revenue for localities that feed and care for viewers.
You know, like a community… In turn putting money in people’s pockets that would help keep communities afloat during a freaking pandemic.
But hey, look at the control of the board of directors at AMC to understand the deeper relevance and future possibility here.
Cheap Movies
Perhaps we should encourage all the people fighting for the "freedom" to not wear a mask to attend.
Re: Cheap Movies
If they were the only ones that stood to suffer for their stupidity then have at it, the problem is that much like nurgle cultists(anti-vaxers) plague rats(covid maskholes) will be hurting everyone around them thanks to their childish stupidity.
Re: Re: Cheap Movies
The ad hominem is strong with this one.
Re: Re: Re: Cheap Movies
Currently the generally understood meaning of "ad hominem" is using an attack on the character or characteristics of an opponent to undermine their argument. As TOG is not attacking the proponent of the argument or position that he is disputing, there is no "ad hominem" present.
Had TOG attacked PR to dispute PR’s post, that would have been "ad hominem" but instead he attacked the subjects that both were discussing. See the difference?
Re: Re: Re:2 Cheap Movies
You’ll have to excuse Cdaragorn. He was just offended by the term "maskholes". Those snowflake right-wingers really can’t handle criticism in any form.
Re: Re: Re:3 Cheap Movies
Perhaps you can explain what makes you think I’m "right-wing" or how a personal insult qualifies as criticism in any way whatsoever?
Re: Re: Re:2 Cheap Movies
He is using personal insults with the direct intent to say that their opinions/position are incorrect. That is exactly what ad hominem is.
Seriously. How can you see calling someone insults precisely because of what argument they are advocating for as not a personal attack? That’s exactly what it is.
Re: Re: Re:3 'Strike that, flip it and reverse.'
He is using personal insults with the direct intent to say that their opinions/position are incorrect.
So long as you flip that entirely the other way around that is a completely accurate read of my comment, yup.
I’m not saying people in those two groups are idiots and therefore their opinions aren’t worth consideration(that would be an ad hom), I’m saying that the opinions/positions themselves are wrong, fatally flawed, literally dangerously stupid(I could go on) and as a result I openly show my contempt and disgust towards the people who are putting forth those opinions/positions via the labels I used for them.
If someone thought that smashing their hands with a hammer was a smart and healthy thing to do I wouldn’t hesitate to say that they were an idiot for believing that because the idea is an incredibly stupid one, and when you’ve got people holding forth vastly more dangerous and stupid ideas I’m sure as hell not going to give them better treatment.
Re: Re: Re:3 Cheap Movies
"personal insults with the direct intent to say that their opinions/position are incorrect"
Correct or incorrect, is that really what drives the so called insult?
What makes an attack personal? Using their name?
Re: Re: Re:3 Cheap Movies
He is using personal insults with the direct intent to say that their opinions/position are incorrect.
I see nothing wrong with calling someone with dipshit beliefs a dipshit. If they find it personally insulting to be referred to as stupid, perhaps they should stop earning the title by doing stupid things.
Re: Re: Re:3 Cheap Movies
You are reading into his post something that is not actually there. To me it reads much more like he is insulting people because he thinks their views and beliefs are silly and is not arguing against them.
In other words, in trying to defend your incorrect accusation of the ad hominem fallacy you are using the strawman fallacy.
Congratulations Cdaragorn, you have earned a double logic fail!
Re: Re: Re:3 Cheap Movies
"He is using personal insults with the direct intent to say that their opinions/position are incorrect. That is exactly what ad hominem is."
Exactly like you can’t describe people whose personal beliefs include white supremacy racists without it being an ad hominem, you mean?
I, for one, would consider a "personal" insult to be one which needs to be levied at a person, not at a group of people with beliefs who do make them fit the dictionary-definition of the applied epithet.
Calling an anti-vaxxer a nurgle cultist or an anti-masker a plague rat or "maskhole" isn’t a personal offense. Calling an individual an anti-vaxxer in the first place might be, unless said person has already identified themselves as such.
Watching old movies is a thing.
Here in the UK we have events where movies are shown outdoors at location such as in the grounds of Stately homes. People turn up and have a picnic on the grass.
They are not even the latest releases and even been out on video release, but these events are hugely popular.
Movie makers and cinema chains have a lot to learn.
Re: Watching old movies is a thing.
I think there was a Techdirt piece a while ago about movie theatres not realising that they should be selling the experience, not necessarily the movie (and making sure the experience is actually worthwhile).
Re: Re: Watching old movies is a thing.
That’s what Alamo Drafthouse did before the pandemic. If there’s any among the many, many reason’s why I want the pandemic to end, it’s to go back to the Alamo should they still be in business when this pandemic is over!
Market Adjustment
While I don’t think that this price decrease will work, because it’s too little, too late, I do have to commend AMC for at least realizing that they have a problem. If you’re selling something that fewer people want, then you need to lower the price. We saw this years back with the music industry as the landscape changed due to the internet. They should have lowered their prices in response to the reality, but did not, and instead allowed other outfits like Spotify and Apple music to steal the market.
Consumers have been upgrading their home theater equipment over the years, and so now it’s become a preference over theaters, especially with the pandemic. But at least AMC got the message before they crash and burn, instead of after.
Re: Market Adjustment
This ^
I have no intention of ever again setting foot in a stinky, dirty movie theater full of assholes on cellphones coughing on the backs of the heads of those sitting in front of them. Not at any price.
At home I can pause the film to go to the bathroom or get more snacks and drinks, both of which cost significantly less than in a theater. The movie itself costs less than a pair of theater tickets and we can watch it again whenever we want for free. We can invite others over at no additional cost. And our house isn’t layered with years of spittle and spilled soft drinks.
Theaters no longer have any appeal whatsoever.
I can see that there’s going to be a large pool of contenders for the Darwin award this year. Unfortunately, they’re likely to take a large chunk of the population with them as collateral.
Even Better!
I can stay at home and watch the latest movies from the comfort of my couch for free with my choice of food and beverage. You can’t beat THAT kind of deal and as a bonus I am not putting myself and others at risk of infection!
WOWIE!
"Most of the films they’ll be showing (Grease, Black Panther, and Back to the Future) are already on home video"
That doesn’t really matter necessarily, since there’s always a market for theatrical screening of movies you already own. A few of my better festival screening experiences have been movies I’ve seen at minimum 20 times before the screening (The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, American Werewolf In London were all great experiences) and people in my (admittedly not mainstream) circle will happily pay for the experience of a favourite movie on the big screen under normal circumstances.
They’re certainly more likely to get people to come by screening popular classics than whatever random indie movie happens to be released in a certain week (although I certainly wish they’d use this opportunity to promote some new voices). The one from that list that concerns me slightly is Grease, though – yeah the movie that’s popular as a singalong experience probably isn’t the best choice right now.
The problem ultimately is the business model. They’re built on getting as many people inside as possible to watch a new release before dropping that release for the next batch as quickly as possible. With no major new releases and a pandemic that’s keeping people out of that kind of experience, their best bet is probably to screen releases where they get to licence the screening as cheaply as possible and hope they make up the shortfall in concessions. Whether this results in a reasonably safe socially distant experience or another plague spreader that gets them shut down again immediately remains to be seen (though, we could likely guess at this point).
For those of you who are dying to go see a movie …
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You’re risk of death is greater driving to the theater than it is from covid… You guys are cowards.
Re: Re:
Liar, see, where for the last year they have statistics for, 2018, there were 36,560 as opposed to 170,000 and counting this year from Covid 19.
Re: Re: Re:
Also, while we know the exact figure for traffic fatalities, it’s suggested that the actual figure for COVID deaths is 20-30℅ higher than reported. Unless you really think that the massive spike in excess deaths (many of which have been attributed to "pneumonia", usually in States with incentives to tow the Trump line) is just a coincidence.
Oh, and it should be fun to see where the trend goes in relation to the infection rates that magically happened to be lower once the figures were ordered to be sent to the white house before the CDC gets them
Re: Re:
your/you’re … is it really that difficult?
(The chances of dying in a vehicle crash? One in 103)[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/opioids-car-crash-guns.html]
The chances of death by covid due to movie theater attendance is hampered by a lack of data but it is most likely rather high considering the type of person to do that will probably also not wear a mask.
Also, I do not think you know what a coward is.
Re: Re: Re:
"your/you’re … is it really that difficult?"
For people dumb enough to think this is a hoax or minor issue? Probably…
i haven’t gone to the movies since January and have no intention of ever going again. I have bought amazon firestick and now watching movies and tv shows with Theater Plus (https://firestickmaster.com/theater-plus-firestick/)
Amc theatears and Amc plus is Similar. I am little bit confused. https://activatetricks.com/amcplus-com-activate/
AMC Theaters
What is the best AMC Theaters movies and shows. I am already subscribe this channel on my Roku device. Also I am using NBC channel on my other Apple device.
https://www.activate-guide.com/start-watchown-tv-activate/
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