What you need to know
- The new service has the backing of Hollywood's largest studios.
- The price for film rentals and purchases are in line with other services like iTunes.
- Thousands of titles are available at launch.
AMC Entertainment will introduce an online video store today, Oct. 15. The service, AMC Theaters On Demand, was first announced by Adam Aron, AMC's president and chief executive officer, according to The New York Times.
Featuring about 2,000 films for sale or rent at launch, the new service will compete with Apple iTunes, Amazon, and other video-on-demand retailers. Hollywood's five largest film studios are already on board, including Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Sony, and Paramount.
Ron Sanders, president of worldwide distribution and home entertainment at Warner notes:
For us, it's all upside. Most of our other big digital partners are focused on multiple categories — music, books. The great thing about AMC is that movies are the whole focus.
Movies, like at other outlets, will cost around $3 to $5.99 to rent and $9.99 to $19.99 to buy.
Studios still make billions on DVD sales. However, most of the profit now comes from digital downloads and rentals. As Aron explains, "Our theater business is mature. There is a high-growth opportunity in this digital expansion."
AMC Entertainment is the largest multiplex operator in the world and the first major exhibitor in the United States to offer a video-on-demand service. Aron says the project has been in development for more than two years. It was initially supposed to launch in the summer. However, it was put off to "fine-tune the technology and online store design," according to the article.
It hasn't yet been announced when AMC Theaters On Demand will launch.
