Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/10/amc-cinemas-now-offering-private-party-screenings-for-100.html
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“. . . private party screenings for $100” sounds like it belongs in the alex trebek thread.
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I mean, 20 Star Wars nerds at $5 a pop sounds like a good deal.
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Not the worst idea, but still a desperation move. The exhibitors were in deep trouble before Covid, and while some theatres will survive my main thought these days is about how those spaces will be re-purposed or abandoned.
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This sounds more like a “going out of business” sale than a wise fiscal move.
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“Party” is an issue. It is a term that tends to bring out the idiots for spreader events.
They could try selling sub zones of the theatre. 1/4 of the theatre to groups of 5 might work better.
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As a post high-school theater chain employee, I feel no sympathy for AMC, Regal, or any other film distributor. It’s about time the owners got used to “struggle meals” like so many of the rest of us.
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It sounds like a matinee, or a midnight showing. I’ve seen quite a few first run films in theatres with fewer people. (The secret is to find a date where most people would say “It’s a school night”, or “I actually have to work tomorrow”).
First run movies are $149.
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I looked into this a few weeks ago as a date night idea, as my wife has an irrational love for going to the movies.
At least at the theaters I checked, they were only allowing bookings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And the $99 movies were almost all family movies everyone has seen a million times (Shrek, Toy Story, etc.). The only interesting movies were much more expensive (in my area they were like $349).
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I really worry about independent cinemas though. There are a few places I love which date back to the 1910s and 20s, beautiful buildings, which always had an interesting mix of first-run, arthouse, classic, and cult programming. Most of them can still project real celluloid film. And you could order a beer (“I’m not talking about no paper cup, I mean a glass of beer”). If those places don’t recover I will dearly miss them.
If soulless big box megaplexes surrounded by acres of parking disappear forever, I won’t shed a tear.
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Yeah, I have nothing against independent cinemas, or even drive-ins. I’m only talking about the major distribution chains that try to recoup losses from box-office flops with drastically overpriced concessions and underpaid employees.
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AMC also shows “$5 Fan Faves” to individual movie goers willing to risk the excursion. Those films include 1917, Goldfinger, Toy Story, John Wick, John Wick II, John Wick III, Guardians of the Galaxy, Girl;'s Trip, the Santa Clause. A Christmas Story, Aquaman, The Holiday, Elf, Knives Out, Grremlins, Christmas Vacation, the Polar Express, and the Star.
20x 5= $100.
Yers, it’s a very large screen. But most of those films are available on disc for $5, rent for even less, or are “included in your streaming subscription”. It’s hardly a bargain.
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In the 1990s many failed movie theaters became big-box bookstores like Borders. I haven’t seen any Borders around lately – we could use one! Checks Wikipedia page on Borders. Oh.
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I saw a couple like that in the L.A. area, like the Barnes and Noble/Bookstar in Studio City that maintains the theatre marquee. It’s been years since I’ve been there, but somehow it’s still chugging along where other B&Ns have closed.
There have been plans to turn some multiplex auditoriums into lecture halls for new or existing post-secondary schools. Re-purposing theatres as co-working spaces is also something I’ve seen.
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My mind went somewhere else entirely.
Like the street corner outside the theater.
I’ve seen one old movie theater marquee on what is apparently now a parking garage. That made me pretty sad.
Across the street is a 1916 theater which spent a while as a furniture store, but recently was bought, refurbished, and reopened by Alamo Drafthouse. It’s a beautiful building and I hope it bounces back once they can safely reopen.
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