AMC Theatres "Has No Bigger Friend Than Disney" Even After 'Mulan' Decision, According To CEO

When Disney announced plans to take it’s $200 million “Mulan” remake and send it straight to Disney+ streaming service with an additional $30 fee, people were shocked. Did this mean Disney was ready to move away from theatrical distribution for its film lineup? Will cinemas recover from this sort of change in how things were done? Well, some exhibitors were upset over the idea, but according to the CEO of AMC Theatres (the largest chain in the world), Disney is still a valued partner and there’s no ill will. Wait, huh?

Speaking to investors on a recent earnings call (via Deadline), AMC CEO Adam Aron spoke about the recent announcement that Disney is moving “Mulan” to its own streaming service. And instead of being upset about losing millions and millions of dollars because its studio partner isn’t waiting around for theaters to reopen, Aron expressed the opposite feelings.

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“You might think I’m disappointed that ‘Mulan’ is moving, but AMC has no bigger friend than Disney,” said Aron. “They provided us with more content last year than any other studio in the world. As both companies do businesses, we will thrive.”

He added, “Disney just announced earnings. Just like AMC, they’re under duress. They are under pressure too and at some point need to monetize their slate. We’ll benefit from Disney titles with or without Mulan. We understand what they did.”

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The CEO said the announcement by Disney “reaffirms” the cinema chain’s decision to do the controversial deal with Universal, allowing for films to head to PVOD after 17 days. The theater executive is sure that Disney would have maybe thought twice about taking “Mulan” straight to Disney+ if the company was able to do a theatrical release that coincides with the digital.

“I’d like to give them an opportunity to do an ‘and’ and not an ‘or,’” he explained. “We’d make far more money on ‘Mulan’ if it was released to our theaters then to PVOD, especially if we got a cut than if ‘Mulan’ went to straight to the home and us not benefiting from it. Some of our competitors are anxious about this change. Change is difficult for some to cope with.”

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The “cut” of the PVOD that he speaks about is in relation to the deal struck with Universal last week. In addition to continuing to play the films at AMC locations after they arrive on PVOD, the cinema chain will also receive an unknown “cut” of the revenue received on the PVOD rentals. This allows for AMC to benefit, even in a much smaller way, if the studio decides to expand to PVOD in a shortened amount of time.

Obviously, with what Disney decided to do with “Mulan,” AMC (and every other North American theater) are completely removed from the financial gain, with Disney+ revenues from the rentals being 100% recouped by the studio. And clearly, AMC knows that the cinema chain would be out of its mind to test Disney’s will at this point. The success of the yearly box office is contingent on how many Disney films are released, with the year’s biggest features regularly coming from Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Disney. Basically, the cinema chain knows who is drawing people to theaters.

So, while other chains and theater owners might be upset over the decision to forgo theaters with “Mulan,” at least the AMC CEO knows that it’s probably best to sit back and let this one happen, hoping that in the future, Disney will include AMC in the decision-making process.