Starting Tuesday, AMC Theatres will begin showing more ads before movies as a new deal takes effect.
The agreement with National CineMedia, a cinema advertising platform, includes placing in-theater ads in the “platinum spot,” the valuable time just before a film begins. AMC’s website now includes a disclaimer reading: “Movies start 25–30 minutes after showtime.”
The deal is expected to boost AMC’s advertising revenue, offering critical support as the company faces its weakest first-quarter earnings since 1996, excluding the pandemic years.
AMC has closed 169 theaters since 2019 to cut costs, but CEO Adam Aron remains optimistic, calling recent poor earnings an “anomaly” and highlighting a strong summer box office.
AMC has reversed its 2019 stance against in-theater ads, now joining Regal and Cinemark in a deal with National CineMedia after previously rejecting it over concerns about audience backlash.
“While AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theaters, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance,” AMC told Bloomberg last month.
Although 2024 ticket sales fell to $8.7 billion, a 3.3 percent decline from last year and 23.5 percent below the pre-pandemic total of $11.3 billion in 2019, the summer box office is beginning to rebound.
Summer 2025 is packed with blockbusters, with F1: The Movie emerging as one of the season’s biggest surprises. Starring Brad Pitt and produced by Apple, the Formula 1 drama roared into theaters with a $144 million global opening. Minecraft: The Movie and Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch were also both runaway hits, each grossing over $900 million worldwide. July promises even more fireworks with Jurassic World: Rebirth and James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman reboot.
This 2025 box office is already nearing $4 billion, an 18 percent increase over the same period last year. AMC hopes the added ad revenue will help keep ticket prices steady and support long-term stability amid the popularity of streaming platforms.
Starting July 9, AMC Stubs members will receive a 50 percent discount on adult evening base ticket prices throughout the entire day on Wednesdays.
“Realistically, we could not afford to have made this change to our ticket pricing strategy until the box office showed true signs of sustained recovery. But in April and now in May, the box office has been booming, and the remainder of 2025 appears poised to continue that upward box office trend,” Aron said.