AMC is making a bet some people are tired of watching movies on their couch, with the nation’s largest cinema chain now offering to let customers rent out entire theaters for as low as $99.
The “Private Movie Showing” program, as it’s been dubbed, allows up to 20 people to have a theater to themselves for a few hours. Customers can pick from a list of 34 movies, which includes older releases like “Jurassic Park” and new films like “The New Mutants” and Christopher Nolan’s “Tenant.” Older movies start at $99 (excluding tax), and new movies cost $149.
It can get pricier than that, though. Depending on the movie selection and theater location, AMC’s website said it can cost up to $349 to host a private movie party. On top of that, if you’re really looking to hold court, AMC will rent you a microphone to address your friends for $100.
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Customers who want to bring their own food will be charged a $250 catering fee — but AMC said it won’t allow food that requires a “heating element.” Customers also won’t be able to bring food that the theater already sells.
AMC is offering the new rental plan in most states, although places like Hawaii and Alaska aren’t included. Potential customers can sign up on AMC’s website, where they’ll be asked to pick a movie, date and time.
The plan, first rolled out on Friday, comes less than a week after AMC warned it could run out of cash by early 2021. AMC sounded the alarm in a Tuesday filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, pointing to low attendance figures for theaters that have managed to reopen amid the pandemic and the drought of major Hollywood films to lure moviegoers into its venues.
AMC isn’t the only chain trying the rental plan out, either. Cinemark, the parent company of Century Theaters and CineArt, is also offering private theater rentals starting at $99. Its slate of movies includes “Ghostbusters,” “Grease,” and “Coco,” among other options. Cinemark has also capped the rentals at 20 people per theater.
Source: TheWrapTheWrap
