AMC movie theaters could soon allow texting during some movies in an effort to attract more millennials to the big screen, the company's chief executive said this week.
"When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life," AMC Entertainment head Adam Aron
told Variety magazine on Wednesday.
"At the same time, though, we're going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn't disturb today's audiences. There's a reason there are ads up there saying turn off your phone, because today's moviegoer doesn't want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on," Aron continued.
AMC Entertainment last month announced that it intends to purchase Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion, a move that would make it the largest U.S. theater chain in the country,
according to CNBC. As the theater chain continues to grow, Aron has worked on expanding food options and improving its loyalty program. Texting in theaters, though, has long been considered socially unacceptable, but Aron said that he is willing to test the waters.
The experiment could work in a number of ways, like having a certain section reserved for texting or even designating certain screenings entirely text friendly.
"We need to reshape our product in some concrete ways so that millennials go to movie theaters with the same degree of intensity as baby boomers went to movie theaters throughout their lives," Aron explained.
Engadget.com wrote that the texting idea could "destroy" the goodwill the movie chain has been able to build up. It said further that the move could be seen as "pandering" to millennials while risking the enjoyment of others in the theater.
"This could be seen as an extension of recreating a home-like experience at a theater, vis a vis said recliner seats," wrote Engadget. "But the difference here is that if you're using your phone while watching a flick at home, you're only affecting yourself and maybe your significant other – not the 100 or more people who paid to get into the theater."
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