Several days ago, AMC Theaters announced that despite some US states preparing to lift lockdown measures,the theater chain won’t be openinguntil the release of major films such as Christopher Nolan’s time-bending flick calledTenet. However, AMC Theatres also announced that it will no longer show any movie produced by Universal once its cinemas reopen.
The reason why AMC is boycotting Universal Pictures is because of the studio’s decision to release some of its films early, such asTrolls World Tour, via video on demand (VOD) rather than wait to show them in cinemas once stay-at-home orders are lifted. In its statement, sent from AMC to Universal, AMC said that “Therefore, effective immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.”
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Not long after,Universal Pictures responded to AMC’s lettersaying that its decision to release some of its movies via VOD to “deliver entertainment to people who are sheltering at home, while movie theaters and other forms of outside entertainment are unavailable.” After AMC’s decision to boycott Universal Pictures, Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Entertainment also joined AMC to ban Universal movies.
Of course, Universal Pictures is one of the biggest film studios in the world and is behind some of the biggest movie franchises such asFast and FuriousandJurassic World.Given the massive amounts of profits most Universal movies bring to theaters, it is currently unclear how the boycott will affect AMC Theaters in the long run, especially since the company has beenexploring the option to file for bankruptcy.
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