AMC Theatres
| File:Logo amc theatres.gif | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment (movie theatres) |
| Founded | Kansas City, Missouri, 1920 |
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri |
Key people | Edward Durwood, Founder Peter Brown, CEO |
| Products | AMC Theatres |
| Revenue | $1.8 billion (FY 2004) |
Number of employees | 15,600 |
| Website | www.amctheatres.com |
AMC Theatres, or American Multi-Cinema Theatres, is one of the largest chains of movie theatres in the United States. Its theatres often dominate lists of the top 50 most profitable theatres in North America, and it was the only chain out of the 12 largest chains in North America that did not go bankrupt during the 2001-2002 recession.
History
The company was founded in 1920 by former traveling showman Edward Durwood with one single-screen movie theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. At a time when vaudeville was on its last legs, Durwood correctly grasped that motion pictures were the future of the entertainment industry. His small chain of single-screen theatres was moderately successful. Durwood's son, Stanley, subsequently attended Harvard University and served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
In 1960, Stan Durwood took control of his father's company, renamed it American Multi-Cinema, and began to apply the insights of management science to revolutionize the movie theatre industry[1]. As he later explained to Variety, "We needed to define what our company was doing in the (exhibition) business. My dad wasn't that organized."[2]
AMC opened the first multiplex (a two-screen facility) in 1963 in Kansas City, then followed that with a four-screen theatre in 1966 and a six-screen theatre in 1969. AMC also pioneered the first American megaplex when it opened AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas in 1995, though the first megaplex in the world had been built by European chain Kinepolis in 1988.
AMC has also been a major innovator in terms of raising industry standards for customer comfort; it was the first chain to install cup holders in armrests and to construct theatres with stadium-style seating, where the seat rows have a steep vertical offset so that each person is less likely to block the view of the person behind them. Unfortunately, stadium-style seating has made AMC into a popular target for ADA lawsuits by disability rights activists.
The new company AMC Entertainment Inc. was announced on June 21, 2005 with their plans to merge with New York-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment formerly owned by the consortium of Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors. AMC also operates in Canada, ranked third behind Cineplex Galaxy LP and Famous Players.
The merged company will have ownership of about 450 theatres in 30 states and 13 countries.
Durwood's invention of the multiplex and the megaplex
Both the multiplex and the megaplex arose from Stan Durwood's realization that he could run multiple theatres with the same staff required for one, through the simple expedient of carefully staggering the start times.
This insight arises from the fact that the real-time labor demands of a movie theatre are not constant. Rather, they come in bursts at the start and end of the movie. At the start, a lot of workers have to sell tickets, process tickets at an access point, sell food at concessions (a theatre's primary profit center), make sure the theatre is not overcrowded, and actually start the movie. While the movie plays, a couple of workers are needed for security and access control, while the others are relatively idle. At the end of the movie, a few workers are needed to prepare the theatre for the next showing.
When the start times for movie showings in several physically connected auditoriums are staggered correctly, one team can continually keep all of them operational with minimal downtime.
Controversy
Their merger with Loews Cineplex will make AMC the second largest theater chain in the United States, which gives them a large degree of authority in deciding which movies are theatrically available to the general public. Before the merger is even complete, this has led to controversy regarding their decision not to distibute the film The Aristocrats, a documentary film about "the world's dirtiest joke" as told by numerous comedians [3]. AMC contends that their decision is a business decision [4], but Jillette has charged that the rejection was due to content. He has taken a Stoic stance towards the episode, stating "At least it's showing that words have power" [5]. AMC had earlier agreed to distribute the film in Chicago and Atlanta, but backed out on this obligation after seeing the film.
References
- "AMC, Loews Cineplex Plan to Merge". Forbes. June 22.
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^ Anonymous. "Durwood legacy packs 'em in." Variety, 16 March 1998, p. 42.
^ La Franco, Robert. "Coming soon: a megaplex near you." Forbes, 12 August 1996, p. 133.