AMC bans Universal movies from their cinemas



In April 2020, AMC Theaters announced it was barring Universal films from its screens entirely after “unacceptable” comments were made from NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell on The theater chain was livid with the studio following the massive success of mh:greatestmovies: Trolls World Tour. The movie debuted straight to Video on Demand, completely foregoing its original theatrical release because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The move was a boondoggle for Universal. The film earned more money for the studio than the original Trolls. In response, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said even when theaters reopened the studio would likely release new films simultaneously on both big screens and On-Demand, And that made AMC executives lose their minds. They put out a very angry statement about how Universal was unilaterally destroying their partnership. If their films were also going to debut on VOD, they weren’t welcome at AMC at all. But now, before theaters have even reopened in the United States of America.

However, in July 2020, AMC and Universal announced they had come to a deal to shorten the minimum theatrical window to 17 days (down from the usual 90), and that AMC would receive an undisclosed share of subsequent PVOD sales.