Yesterday, MoviePass, a company that sells subscriptions that let customers see one movie per day in most theaters across the country, gained a lot of publicity by announcing that it was lowering the price of subscriptions to $10 per month. Someone wasn’t really a fan of this move, though: the country’s largest cinema chain, AMC. [More]
movie theaters
Law Professor Files Discrimination Complaint Over Women-Only ‘Wonder Woman’ Showing
By 6.2.17
Alamo Drafthouse, a small movie theater chain known for its anti-texting stance and general coolness, scheduled a special women-only showing of the summer superhero film Wonder Woman. This seemed like a fun one-off idea, but the idea has met some resistance, particularly online. Now a law professor who specializes in employment discrimination and sexual orientation law is filing a complaint with the city, claiming that the showing may be violating the city’s own laws. [More]
To Compete With Your Living Room, AMC Will Offer Full Meals At 400 Theaters
By 4.10.17
Theaters know that you can stay home and watch movies on your huge 4K TV from the comfort of your couch while eating whatever you want. To entice moviegoers to pay top-dollar to get this same experience, just surrounded by a few hundred other people, AMC is revamping hundreds of theaters to serve full-fledged meals. [More]
Fandango Launching Online Store To Peddle Movie Merchandise Along With Tickets
By 3.16.17
Because going to the movies isn’t expensive enough, Comcast-owned ticket-selling siteFandango is launching an online store, dubbed FanShip, to sell you merchandise related to the films you go to see. [More]
Because Kids Aren’t Rambunctious Enough, Movie Theaters Now Have Jungle Gyms
By 3.8.17
For the average moviegoing adult, the thought of children climbing all over the seats and bouncing around the theater shrieking with delight during the film does not sound like the ideal movie-watching experience. But if you’re a kid who can’t seem to sit still for 90 minutes straight, it probably sounds awesome. [More]
AMC Theaters Retiring Carmike Name, Launching New Cinema Brands
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Seven months after buying Carmike Cinemas, AMC Entertainment Holdings — itself controlled by China’s Wanda Group — says it has a lot going on: It will be retiring the Carmike name and introducing a few new theater brands, including a “dine-in” themed chain. The company’s top boss also says AMC is considering proposals from Hollywood studios that would allow movie lovers to watch new releases at home sooner. [More]
Regal Can’t Stop Studios From Letting Upscale iPic Theater Show New Movies
By 10.11.16
If you’re a movie studio, you want as many people as possible to pay to see your films. If you’re a movie theater chain, you don’t want competing theaters to showing the same movies you’ve got, especially if that competitor has luxury features you don’t offer. But is it legal to use your leverage as the nation’s biggest theater chain to stop movie studios from licensing their films to the newer, fancier kid on the block? [More]
Netflix CEO: Movie Theaters Are “Strangling The Movie Business”
By 10.7.16
It’s no surprise that Netflix would disagree with the traditional release schedule movie theaters stick to — premiering new movies in theaters and delaying their release to TV or on-demand services months later — and today the company’s CEO Reed Hastings took that a step further, saying theater chains are discouraging innovation in the industry. [More]
Woman Accused Of Punching Guy Who Thanked Her For Talking During The Movie
By 8.11.16
Sarcasm may be one of the easiest weapons to deploy when you’re annoyed with someone, but it sure didn’t work out so well for a man who thanked his fellow moviegoer for talking during the entire film. [More]
AMC Theaters Makes “Best & Final” Offer Of $1.2B For Carmike
By 7.25.16 — Updated: 3.1.17
Four months after AMC Theaters offered $1.1 billion to buy fellow theater chain Carmike Cinemas, the two companies have finally come together on a sweetened deal to appease shareholders. [More]
Movie Theater Sorry For Playing R-Rated ‘Sausage Party’ Trailer Before ‘Finding Dory’
By 6.29.16
A movie theater in California issued an apology this week for making the mistake of playing a trailer for Sausage Party (R-rated, expletive-laden dark comedy featuring self-aware food facing imminent, violent death by human) to a bunch of people there to see Finding Dory (under-the-sea, feel-good family flick). Oops. [More]
AMC: Just Kidding About That Whole Texting In Theaters Thing
By 4.15.16
Remember earlier this week, when new AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said he was open to allowing texting during movies in some way? Yeah, that’s not gonna happen, the company announced Friday. [More]
Movie Theater Owners Brush Off Idea Of $50 Opening-Day Home Video Releases
By 3.16.16
Last week, we told you about Screening Room, the streaming video startup from Napster co-founder and guy-who-was-played-by-Justin-Timberlake-in-that-Facebook-movie Sean Parker that hopes to sell home video access to new movies the same they hit theaters. Even though the Screening Room model reportedly includes plans to share the wealth with theater owners, an industry lobbying group is shrugging off the idea. [More]
Napster & Facebook’s Sean Parker Thinks You’ll Pay $50 To Watch New Movies At Home
By 3.10.16
The latest effort to convince studios they can simultaneously release major new titles theatrically and on home video comes from Napster co-founder and old-school Facebook-backer Sean Parker, who believes that the $50 price point isn’t too high for people looking to watch a blockbuster at home instead of trekking to the theater. [More]
10 States Investigating Movie Theater Chains Over Antitrust Violations
By 12.17.15
You know how it’s almost impossible to ever see one of those big blockbuster films showing at the little movie theater down the street? That issue is largely the result of exclusive agreements between large theater chains and film studios that effectively prevent independent rivals from showing certain films. While these deals might be great for the bigger companies, they aren’t so awesome for consumers. And so, 10 state attorneys general are looking into whether or not the contracts used by Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment, and Cinemark constitute antitrust violations. [More]
Guy Arrested For Dumping Soda On Fellow Moviegoer Who Asked Him To Be Quiet
By 10.5.15
Though you might be tempted to lash out at someone asking you to quiet down in a movie theater, dumping soda on a fellow patron could get you arrested for battery. One theatergoer in Florida paid for his alleged movie rage with a trip to the county jail, after dumping a cup of soda on a fellow patron during a horror flick. [More]
Regal Cinemas May Now Check Theatergoers’ Bags Upon Entry
By 8.20.15
You might already be used to having your backpack or purse searched upon entering concerts or sporting events, but now there’s one more venue that may take a look inside your belongings: Regal Cinemas announced it may search guests’ bags upon entry to any of its locations across the country. [More]
FDA Giving Businesses Another Year To Comply With Rules Requiring Calorie Counts On Menus
By 7.9.15
Restaurants and other businesses that were living under a deadline to include calorie counts on menus and displays will get a bit of wiggle room to comply with the rule passed by the Food and Drug Administration last fall. The agency now says food purveyors will have another year to get their acts together, extending the previous deadline from Dec. 1, 2015 to Dec. 1, 2016. [More]
