AMC Theatres has been in the news quite a bit over the past couple of years. Not only is it the largest cinema chain in the world, which also makes it the most affected by the pandemic and its shutdown of Hollywood, but AMC has also made headlines because of how it is one of the recent “meme stocks” that have been inflated greatly due to investors banding together on social media. So, with a great influx of money, it appears AMC is ready to use its meme stock status to help save its day-to-day business with a new ad campaign featuring one of the biggest stars on the planet, Nicole Kidman.
The new ad was directed by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth and Tim Cronenweth and written by Academy Award nominee Billy Ray. The latter of which is best known for his work on films such as “Captain Phillips,” “Richard Jewell,” and “Overlord.” But really, it’s clear the star power that AMC is hoping to capitalize on is in front of the camera, as the ad focuses on Nicole Kidman as she talks about the joys and wonder people feel when they see a film on the big screen. We’ve already seen folks like Vin Diesel attempt to do something similar earlier this year, which wasn’t met with much praise and was ridiculed quite a bit.
“As we have said repeatedly of late, thanks to the billions of dollars we have raised this year, AMC is strong, and it is time for AMC to play on offense again,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a statement (via Variety). The report claims that AMC is spending upwards of $25 million on the ad campaign to help bring people back to cinemas.
Of course, it’s difficult to know what the general public feels when it comes to going back to movie theaters. On the one hand, you have disappointments such as “The Suicide Squad,” which also was released on HBO Max. But then you have massive hits like last week’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which shows that people will go back to cinemas…if the product is good enough.
So, will Nicole Kidman save cinemas? Will AMC’s newfound meme-stock cash lead to a big future? Only time will tell. And clearly, this fall is of the utmost importance for AMC and for cinemas, in general.
You can watch the new ad below:
For context, here’s what Vin Diesel released earlier this year: