Cinema Chain Boss Wants 'Texting-Friendly' Movie Theatres

Ben Arnold

The boss of AMC, which is soon to become the largest cinema chain in the world, has said that he’s keen to introduce ‘texting-friendly’ cinema screens so that young cinema goers can use their phones while watching a film.

In a move that will, at best, likely polarise movie-goers, AMC’s new CEO Adam Aron made the comments in an interview with Variety.

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“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,” he said.

“You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.

“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.

“We need to reshape our product in some concrete ways so that millennials go to movie theatres with the same degree of intensity as baby boomers went to movie theatres throughout their lives.

However, this won’t mean a blanket green light for using mobile phones at the pictures.

Asked whether 'text-friendly’ screens could be the way to go, he said: “That’s one possibility. What may be more likely is we take specific auditoriums and make them more texting friendly.”

Following the acquisition of the Carmike Cinemas in the US, AMC will become the biggest chain of cinemas in the world.

The issue of phone use in cinemas is certainly a hot topic.

In an incident last year, a man who asked a woman at a cinema in Los Angeles to stop texting while the movie was playing was maced at point blank range.

Other cinema chains are fervently against the idea, however.

Tim League, CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse chain, called mobile use 'the scourge of our industry’.

“Over my dead body will I introduce texting into the movie theatre. It’s our job to understand that this is a sacred space and we have to teach manners,” he said.

Image credits: Getty/Thinkstock/Rex Features

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