AMC Theatres and Zoom Teaming Up for Strange Collaboration

As if to give us all a brief pause in "WTF, Twitter?!" news, there's a new report stating that AMC Theatres has announced a partnership with Zoom for a new business venture that will supposedly begin in 2023. The proposed plan would see AMC Theatres venues across the US (17 locations to start) working with Zoom to "facilitate conference calls between 'small, medium and large-sized groups in different locations.' Basically, it sounds like AMC is going to rent out theaters as spaces for business meetings and conferences. 

AMC will reportedly provide food and beverage services for these business events, as well as possible special movie-viewing events, and personal concierges to help meet clients' needs. Users will reportedly get to book Zoom rooms online at their preferred theater in three-hour blocks of time for between 75 and 150 seats. Events can be broadcast across multiple markets at once – although costs for the service have not yet been revealed. 

It seems clear the venture is another attempt by AMC to recover, rebuild and re-imagine their business model following the 2020 Pandemic that shut down the theater industry. Regal has been marketing its theaters as venues for special one-time event showings (concerts) or special run features (foreign releases, retro-re-releases, anniversary showings, etc.). This feels like... less than that.  

"One of the lessons learned during the pandemic when so many of us were forced to work remotely was the importance of a reliable, dynamic communications platform," said Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC in a statement. "We also learned that even though we may be spread far apart, the ability to come together in person is as important as ever. That is why I'm so excited about this AMC partnership with Zoom. So many of us know how vital Zoom is in managing our enterprises. Now through this partnership of Zoom and AMC, we have the best of both worlds — the spectacular communications platform of Zoom combined with the comfort, size, scale, and state-of-the-art sight and sound capabilities of AMC's centrally located theatres. This creates an all-new product in major cities across the U.S. for companies and meeting planners."

"AMC has an abundance of attractive theatres at centrally located venues in city after city after city, each with ample seating capacity, especially so during daytime hours on weekdays when most meetings take place," Aron added. "Our state-of-the-art sight and sound technology is widely renowned and has made gathering in movie theatres one of the most popular out-of-home entertainment options in the United States. Zoom Rooms at AMC broadens our scope, as we now can participate as well in the multi-billion market for corporate and other meetings."

The partnership between AMC Theatres and Zoom will begin next year.  

Source: Variety