AMC Goes Arthouse

I reported earlier that theaters have been trying to find new ways to attract audiences. Multiplex chain AMC has decided to boost movie attendance by shifting its programming in some markets. The AMC Select program, starting this weekend, will devote 72 screens in 39 markets to arthouse/indy features and documentaries.

The upcoming movies listed for the AMC Select program are big-name, well-known films such as An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine, and A Prairie Home Companion. No foreign-language or micro-budget films were listed. AMC isn't taking any real risks with this venture or giving screens to films that might not have theatrical play otherwise. These are all films you might see in a Landmark-owned theater. The article also doesn't mention which cities AMC will target with this new program -- are they the same cities that already have Landmark or other arthouse theaters, or is AMC planning to bring these indy films to new cities? Will the AMC Select program really lure more people into theaters, or simply draw them away from competing theaters?