One Way AMC Might Deal With Movie Theater Texting
Quick, name the reason that you stopped going to the movie theaters. Cost of a ticket? Likely. Lack of good choices? Very possible. The annoying people all around you? Bingo. Patrons in movie theaters have become increasingly disruptive, from talking to texting during movie screenings. But one major theater chain believes it might have the answer.
CinemaCon has been going on in Las Vegas, where top movie theater executives are weighing in about the state of the industry. In a conversation with Variety, AMC Entertainment head Adam Aron addressed the possibility of allowing audience members to text during screenings. They way that Aron explained it:
It’s a start. And a very real possibility. A few years back, movie theaters floated the possibility of hosting screenings where patrons could tetxx messages at each other that would appear ON the screen. Horrifying, I know, but some people might enjoy that… and movie theaters need to create new reasons for people to come to movie theaters.
The idea of allowing people to text in a theater only sounds inexcusable if you don’t warn people heading INTO the multiplex what they are getting into. If a separate screening is designated solely as a text-friendly screening, then the people in there won’t be disrupted. They’ll be on board. In theory. Right?
Or, we might be seeing more PSAs like this:
Social media, and the rise of technology, continues to be a nightmare for the theater industry. Cellphones are an issues, as are social-media platforms like SnapChat and Periscope. But if the movie theater chains start to change the way theaters operate in order to accommodate the way audiences want to see movies in 2016 (and beyond), will you continue to support them? Or will these initiatives only work to keep you at home? Weigh in below.
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Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.