The head of a major US cinema chain has suggested that ‘texting-friendly’ screens could soon become a reality.
Adam Aron, the newly appointed CEO of AMC, has spoken to Variety about a need for the industry to keep up with younger moviegoers.
“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.”
But Aron is also aware that not all audiences want to be in a phone-friendly environment at the cinema. “We’re going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn’t disturb today’s audiences,” he said. “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.”
He went on to detail that this could result in “specific auditoriums” that are made “more texting friendly”.
He later elaborated on his comments in a series of tweets to say it would only become standard if AMC was “TOTALLY confident” that all cinemagoers would be satisfied.
Press reported we considering a test allowing texts in a VERY FEW screens. We know vast majority of audience wants no texting (1 of 2)
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) April 14, 2016
IF ever, we ONLY would pursue in a way we'd be TOTALLY confident ALL our guests will fully enjoy movie going experience at AMC (2 of 2)
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) April 14, 2016
In 2014, some cinemas in China experimented with “bullet screens”, which were introduced to allow audience texts to appear alongside the film. Texting in cinemas is something that not all chains are comfortable with. Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League expressed his distaste for the idea at 2013’s CinemaCon.
“Over my dead body will I introduce texting into the movie theatre,” he said. “It’s our job to understand that this is a sacred space and we have to teach manners.”
