AMC Theatres (AMEX: AEN), or American Multi-Cinema Theatres, is one of the largest chains of movie theaters in the United States. Its theaters often dominate lists of the top 50 most profitable theaters in North America, and it was the only chain out of the 12 largest chains in North America that did not go bankrupt during the 2001-2002 recession.

History

The company was founded in 1920 by former traveling showman Edward Durwood with one single-screen movie theater in Kansas City, Missouri. At a time when vaudeville was on its last legs, Durwood correctly grasped that motion pictures were the future of the entertainment industry. His small chain of single-screen theaters was moderately successful, and he was able to send his son Stanley to Harvard University.

In 1960, Stan Durwood took control of his father's company, renamed it American Multi-Cinema, and began to apply the insights of management science to revolutionize the movie theatre industry. AMC opened the first multiplex (a two-screen facility) in 1963 in Kansas City, then followed that with a four-screen theater in 1966 and a six-screen theater in 1969. AMC also pioneered the first megaplex when it opened AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas in 1995.

AMC has also been a major innovator in terms of raising industry standards for customer comfort; it was the first chain to install cup holders in armrests and to construct theaters with stadium-style seating (where the seat rows have a steep vertical offset so that each person is less likely to block the view of the person behind them). Unfortunately, stadium-style seating has made AMC into a popular target for ADA lawsuits by disability rights activists.

Durwood's Invention Of The Multiplex And The Megaplex

Both the multiplex and the megaplex arose from Stan Durwood's realization (after he ran some experiments) that he could run multiple theatres with the same staff required for one, through the simple expedient of carefully staggering the start times.

This insight arises from the fact that the real-time labor demands of a movie theater are not constant. Rather, they come in bursts at the start and end of the movie. At the start, a lot of workers have to work hard selling tickets, processing tickets at an access point, selling food at concessions (a theater's primary profit center), making sure the theater is not overcrowded, and actually starting the movie. At the end, slightly less workers are needed to evacuate and clean the theater, and rewind the movie. While the movie plays, a couple of workers are needed for security and access control, but the rest are just standing around.

When the start times for movie showings in several physically connected theatres are staggered correctly, then one team can run around dealing with all these tasks without ever completely slacking off (and from the theater owner's point of view, time is money).

External link

• AMC Theatres