AMC Boss Confirms Its Theaters Will Stay Open

The recent announcement that Cineworld, the owner of Regal Theaters, is closing all of its sites in the US and UK, has led to speculation about whether other major theaters chain will follow suit. Now AMC, the world's largest chain, has confirmed that it plans to keep its sites open.

As reported by The Wrap, AMC President and CEO Adam Aron stated that despite the recent delays to movies such as No Time To Die, Black Widow, and Dune, there are sufficient upcoming movie to justify staying open. In a statement, Aron said, "Some of our best partners like Disney, with its much anticipated Soul, and Universal with The Croods: A New Age, have new movies scheduled for theatrical release over the next month and a half. Warner Bros.' Tenet has been stimulating moviegoers and is still leading the box office. And this weekend, The War With Grandpa, a new movie title starring the legendary Robert De Niro, will be prominent all across the US on the big screens of AMC."

Aron went on to explain that the deal it struck with Universal in the summer has ensured the company can stay open, even though rivals such as Cineworld have been forced to close. The deal followed the controversy over Universal's decision to release Troll World Tour straight to on-demand, leading to a brief feud between the studio and AMC.

"We are fully comfortable showing Universal films in our theaters, even as they implement premium video on demand as we have mutually agreed," Aron said. "This is because AMC will share in premium revenues coming from their early availability in the home."

Aron's statements are in stark contrast to those issued by Cineworld boss Mooky Granger about his decision to close theaters. Speaking to Deadline, Granger laid some of the blame at the feet of New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has not allowed theaters to open there. He also stated that the delay to No Time To Die from November to April next year was "the last straw."

Warner's sci-fi epic Dune is the latest high profile movie to shift release date from 2020, and will now release in October 2021 instead of this December. The studio's DC movie Wonder Woman 1984 still remains in its December release slot, but it's very possible this will also be delayed. in addition, DC's The Batman has also moved from October next year all the way to march 2022.

The only big movie to have been released over the past few months is Christopher Nolan's Tenet. The movie has made $307 million worldwide so far and has performed well internationally, but its US gross has been very low, making just $45.1 million to date.