IMAX - Will $3 Movies on Saturday Help or Hurt AMC?
It's not just fans of John Hughes films, New Wave music, and Members Only jackets who are living in the 80s. Multiplex operators are seeing a dramatic slowdown in audience counts as the summer season fades away, and they're not afraid to team up and whip out a pricing gun promotion. The nonprofit Cinema Foundation is launching National Cinema Day this weekend, offering movie tickets for just $3 apiece. The move takes exhibitors back to prices they last charged in the 1980s. All the major theater chains, including AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) , Cineworld 's (OTC: CNWGY) (OTC: CNNW.F) Regal, and Cinemark (NYSE: CNK) , will be participating. Even a few of the highbrow indie film houses are playing along.
You would think that a one-day deal that discounts screenings by roughly 70% would be swept under a slow weekday rug, but that's not the case. National Cinema Day will take place on Sept. 3, a Saturday during a holiday weekend, no less. We're also not just talking about standard showings during historically discounted matinee hours. AMC and its peers are making all hours and all formats available. So yes, for just $3 you can grab a ticket for an Imax (NYSE: IMAX) , Dolby (NYSE: DLB) , or 3-D show that typically costs $15 to $20 on Saturday night.
It sounds great for the consumer. Three bucks for a first-run film on the silver screen in a premium format? That sounds great in this iffy economic climate. It could still backfire on the theater chains.
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Will $3 Movies on Saturday Help or Hurt AMC?