People walk past an AMC theatre in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., February 25, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
AMC Theatres is bringing live concerts to the big screen.
The world’s largest theater company has partnered with Arena One, a live entertainment technology company, to bring real-time concert events to theatrical audiences.
AMC has been at the forefront of theatrical music content in recent years, most notably distributing Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” and Beyonce’s “Renaissance” filmed concerts. The new partnership marks something of a bridge between a scheduled screening and a simulcast event — and offers customers a fresh reason to go out to the movies.
The in-theater concerts will use technology to connect the musical artist with moviegoers, transmitting sound from audiences around the country back to the performer. The stage is engineered with cameras and spatial audio capture to bring performances from the arena to the cinema in real time.
“We built a cinematic stage optimized to translate seamlessly to cinemas, but artists are defining what it becomes,” said Peter Hamilton, CEO of Arena One, in a statement. “They’re not adapting tours; they’re building something new. That’s when a medium sparks reinvention.”
The partnership, which was announced Tuesday during AMC’s quarterly earnings call, will launch in June with artists including Bebe Rexha, Paris Hilton and Maren Morris.
More than 300 AMC locations in 89 markets across the U.S. will be programmed for these concerts. Tickets will range from $40 to $75 depending on the artist and market, the company said.
“Arena One at AMC has the potential to open an entirely new chapter in live entertainment,” Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, said in a statement. “Music fans across the country will be able to come together for the same live concert, at the same time, all with the accessible premium experience of huge screens, powerful sound, and comfortable seats that AMC guests know and expect.”
It’s the latest push from AMC to diversify its theatrical offerings and create premium experiences for cinemagoers as the moviegoing industry continues its recovery from pandemic lulls and the at-home streaming threat.
AMC has already bolstered its number of premium large format screens, including IMAX and Dolby-branded auditoriums, and experiential theaters like 4DX and Screen X.
These innovations in programming come at a time when the domestic box office is still recovering from pandemic-era production shutdowns and dual Hollywood labor strikes which reduced the number of theatrical releases.
While the 2026 slate is one of the strongest offerings since the pandemic, exhibitors are still looking for new ways to drive traffic to their auditoriums and drive revenues.
For the first quarter, AMC reported revenue of $1.05 billion, a 21% jump from the same period a year earlier, but operating costs continued to weigh on the bottom line. The company reported a net loss of $117 million for the three-month period.
However, attendance in the U.S. and international markets were up 14% and almost 13%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. And the average ticket price was up nearly 60 cents in the U.S. to $12.90 apiece.
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