AMC Theatres, the biggest movie hall chain in the US, has testified to have witnessed popularity of cryptocurrencies as a payment alternative on its platform. As per Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, crypto transactions made for 35 percent of the total online payments for the company. This data is for the first three months of this year, January to March. The theatre chain allows people to pay for select purchases in crypto assets. These include Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
After struggling with losses caused due to COVID-19 lockdowns, AMC Theatres kickstarted operations around a year ago. In a bid to expand payment options for different customers with different payment preferences, AMC Theatres decided to include cryptocurrencies as a mode to pay for movie tickets and other select services.
Aron, in today’s earnings call announced that the first quarter of this year witnessed a growth in revenue that has touched $785 million (roughly Rs. 6,066 crore) this quarter. The net loss for crypto-friendly AMC Theatres also decreased from $567.2 million (roughly Rs. 4,383 crore) to $337.4 million (roughly Rs. 2,607 crore).
AMC announced 1st quarter 2022 earnings today. Revenues up 5-fold vs. Q1 of 2021. EBITDA loss reduced by 80%. Revenues per patron up 34% over 2019 pre-pandemic. Dr Strange opening was the biggest of 2022, and the 2nd biggest in the last two years! Go see it! Congrats @Disney.
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) May 10, 2022
For AMC, online ticket payments in Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and, Bitcoin Cash are enabled through PayPal, while Shiba Inu payments are routed through BitPay.
The company has been a leader in terms of crypto adoption and accepts Dogecoin as payment for gift cards in partnership with BitPay.
Along with crypto, the movie hall chain is also foraying into NFT projects. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital collectibles built on blockchain networks. They can be inspired by anything, even movie characters and actors, while fans purchase these NFTs as keepsakes.
Last year, the company had opened 86,000 NFTs to the early ticket buyers of the ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ film. These NFTs were built on ‘eco-friendly’ WAX blockchain.
This NFT giveaway proved to be a success for AMC. The film reportedly became the second-biggest one-day move ticket sales in AMC’s history after Avengers: End Game.
