AMC Theatres Plans to Distribute Small and Mid-Budget Movies Directly to the Big Screen

The useful part

As Nicole Kidman says, we come to this place for magic, and maybe the best magic of all is getting a movie made. The world's largest exhibition company is officially stepping into the distribution business with the creation of Leawood Films. It's a new banner dedicated to getting small and mid-budget movies onto the big screen.

How it works

• This is a new company named after the location of AMC's corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas.
• The whole idea here is for the theater chain to have a distribution arm that bridges the gap between completed independent projects and commercial multiplexes.
• The short of it is: AMC has screens to fill and wants to fill them with movies it has vetted that might come with an inherent audience.
• AMC is Not A Prodco AMC is not turning into a traditional production studio.
• The plan is for the first theatrical slate under the Leawood Films banner to roll out in 2027 or 2028.

What to take from it

It's a disciplined, low risk way for AMC to distribute movies to movie t... Leawood Films operates on a low-risk distribution model. AMC CEO Adam Aron took to Twitter to talk about this plan: "On Monday, AMC made quite a consequential announcement.

Details worth keeping

They are not buying and financing your script. You will not be pitching them on the AMC Origins story movie. It involves acquiring or partnering on projects that are already fully financed or completed, then using AMC's infrastructure to market and promote them across North America (and potentially internationally), bringing them to movie screens.