AMC Theatresis rethinking one of its most controversial recent moves. Just weeks after adding more ad time to its preshows in a deal with National CineMedia (NCM), the country’s largest theater chain has confirmed plans to shorten the overall runtime before movies start — a shift that could take effect before the end of 2025, to therelief of moviegoers and viewers alike.
The reversal comes after a summer of tension betweenAMCand the major studios, who were quick to voice their displeasure when the chain’s extended preshow began cutting into trailer viewership. While rival chains Regal and Cinemark had already been running NCM’s “platinum spot” ads without losing market share,AMC’s approachdrew extra scrutiny thanks to a prominently displayed warning on its ticketing site: “Please allow 25-30 extra minutes for trailers and additional content before the movie starts.” Some studio executives took that as a direct invitation for audiences to skip trailers altogether — a marketing tool Hollywood considers vital to driving future ticket sales.
The concerns weren’t unfounded. Internal studio research found that for one recent wide release in Southern California, only about 80% of the audience was seated in time to catch trailers, with many arriving less than five minutes before the feature began. The reserved seating trend has only made late arrivals more common.
What Did AMC Say About This?
On Monday’s Q2 earnings call,AMC CEOAdam Aronconfirmed the change was coming. “We think we can shave four or five minutes out of it,” Aron said, clarifying that the NCM ad slot isn’t going anywhere. “We always knew that when we did the NCM deal, that we would probably have to shorten at the same time we’re lengthening, so that those two changes to vectors offset each other and balance each other out.”
AMC’s own internal analysisfound its preshows were running longer than competitors’, including one extra trailer worth roughly 2½ minutes. The chain is now looking to remove that trailer slot, trim 2-3 minutes from internal promos like “Silence Your Cellphones” and “Silence Is Golden,” and cut 15 seconds from a one-minute IMAX preview.
“Some consumers love the trailer packages because they get to see what’s coming, and we know our studio partners love the trailer packages because the best form of advertising that they’ll find anywhere is putting their movie product right in front of faces,” Aron noted. “But we also know that some of our other consumers think the package has gone too long, and we’re trying to find a happy medium.”
AMC struck its NCM deal earlier this year when box office numbers were sluggish, believing it was leaving “tens of millions” in potential ad revenue untapped. Now, it’s attempting to balance those financial gains with an experience that keeps both Hollywood and moviegoers in their seats — hopefully, this time, before the lights go down.
