AMC theaters are shaking things up with their usual patterns. On top of the usual advertisements for upcoming movies, they’ll be following the footsteps of their competitors, and will begin playing regular commercials along with the trailers. 

Movie trailers have been a staple of the theaters for many years. A means of advertising upcoming films for the studios, trailers have been used as one of the first lines of marketing for a plethora of movies, including many recent blockbusters. 

Two of the top theaters in the nation, Cinemark and Regal, went for a deal in 2019 that shifted the focus of their advertisements away from movies, and into commercials more akin to what one would see on their TV sets at home. Hollywood Reporter notes that an agreement signed with National CineMedia allowed them to infuse up to five minutes of commercials into their advertising lineup. 

Originally, AMC dug their heels in when it came to the idea, refusing the concept of merging commercials and trailers. But after it continued for half a decade, with no impact to the attendance that they could discover, they decided to change their tune. 

“The new deal between AMC and NCM allows both companies to drive new revenues to offset the impact of being hit by the shutdown of cinemas due to the COVID pandemic, followed by an at times faltering Hollywood industry recovery since the reopening of theaters and advertising being affected by macro-economic headwinds,” AMC themselves said to Hollywood Reporter. 

For more updates, stay with us here.