AMC Theatres Plans To Start Accepting Bitcoin

AMC Theatres plans to begin accepting Bitcoin payments for both tickets and concessions ordered online by the end of the year. AMC Entertainment chairman and CEO Adam Aron made the announcement during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Monday. He also announced that the company is working on technology that will allow AMC Theatres to accept both Apple Pay and Google Pay for online purchases in 2022. AMC Theatres will be the first major chain to accept the cryptocurrency as payment.

According to Deadline, Aron said that many of AMC’s new retail investors are highly enthusiastic about cryptocurrency. The original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has been rising in value this year, hitting an all-time high of almost $64,000 per coin earlier this year (Bitcoin was sitting at $45,800 at the time of this writing).

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, have been getting quite a bit of attention as of late. Earlier this year Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency, announced that Tesla would suspend Bitcoin purchases for their vehicles in response to concerns about the negative environmental impact of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. However, there remains a lot of interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies generally so AMC’s announcement about accepting Bitcoin by the end of the year will likely be a welcome one with cryptocurrency fans.

In addition to the Bitcoin announcement, AMC also announced that they had reached a formal agreement with Warner Bros. for an exclusive, but shorter theatrical release window for the studio’s 2022 film slate. The agreement will see Warner Bros. films have a 45-day big screen window with AMC Theatres. Currently, Warner Bros. 2021 film slate is premiering simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max due to the pandemic.

“It’s especially gratifying that Warner Bros is yet again embracing a theatrical window,” Aron said. “For us at AMC, it’s especially pleasing to be working so harmoniously with Warner Bros. once again.”

Aron added, “We’re in active dialog with every major studio on this topic. We’re hearing considerable support that an exclusive theatrical window is an important way to build a successful movie franchise.”

What do you think about AMC’s announcement that it plans to start accepting payment in Bitcoin by the end of 2021? Let us know in the comments.

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