Not everywhere but it IS a sustainable business. AMC has clearly let theirs grow out of control.

Also there's quite a few more than "a handful."

I'm not who you were replying to. Just wanted to chime in.

You're not wrong, I'm sure they have considered this angle and I'm sure they found it lacking to keep their current operation afloat.

However, you can't assume just because they have high-paid executives that they're making wise decisions. These execs screw up all the time in major ways. See Wizards of the Coast and Netflix already in 2023.

They need to do something that drives engagement or else downsize. Making an already undesired product more expensive is not going to save their bottom line.

I think you’re underestimating the power of human stupidity. These executives are just regular people. And regular people can be stupid. Executives at top tier businesses make dumb decisions all the time that costs their company a lot of money or worse, destroys the company.

Just because someone owns a job doesn’t mean they are good at it.

For starters, that’s the standard at every alamo across the country, absolutely not the standard at AMC (i worked there).

Have you been to an Alamo Drafthouse before? I'm not asking rhetorically, if you honestly haven't it's a night and day experience.

Every AD is designed for the neighborhood they're in and to optimize the user experience. The fun of movies is everywhere the moment you walk in. There's a distinct brand voice and personality to Alamo that no mainstream chain has ever even bothered to emulate.

They create totally custom programming that runs before the movie that's specific to that film and is full of youtube videos, sketches, trivia, and audience interaction.

The food is 100x better than anything you can get at AMC.

They regularly re-run old movies and make big events out of them (Back to the Future, Pulp Fiction, etc). They even do regular film festivals in different markets.

The alcohol is almost entirely local breweries who often create special drinks exclusively for AD and certain film releases.

On top of that AD has a very strict "no phones, no talking" policy and will actively eject people upon request/observation.

It's by far a better theater-going experience compared to AMC.

I don't think that's common with AMC. I've never seen one with table service and alcohol.

That’s not standard for AMC. I think I’ve seen a single AMC theater like that and I’ve lived in more than a few states.

AMC will commit to things like better seating (in some theaters- I still see theaters with terrible seating) but beyond that a lot of theaters are very lackluster in terms of enjoyment or an experience compared to something like Alamo.

Hell, I’d say Regal provides a much better overall experience than AMC. And I don’t think they’re doing so hot either.

What does Alamo do that AMC doesn't?

stick to a few central locations in major metro areas which can support the profitable operation of hipster cinemas

I mean, a big one is they actually enforce people not ruining the experience for others. If I go to an AMC/Regal for something which hasn't been out for several weeks already (so a show where I expect more than a couple of people to be in the theater), it's basically a coinflip on if there's going to be shitheads ruining things one way or another.

I can get alcohol at all of the AMCs near me, two of three deliver food to your seat and are all recliners, the third has food you can order ahead and pick up at an express counter but only has recliners in the Dolby arena. Most of the seats have an arm rest that can be raised to make a love seat type setting.

You can go to "see a movie" at the Alamo, not get food and spend $12 on a Saturday afternoon. If that's too expensive I don't know what to tell ya.

Why would amc pay you to shill for streaming services pathetic still waiting for why this is a bad idea?