AMC Theatres Winds Down On Demand Streaming Service, Referring Users To Fandango’s Vudu But Retaining Stake In Movie Revenue There

AMC Theatres, which launched an on-demand streaming service just ahead of the Covid pandemic in October 2019, is winding down the service and referring users to Fandango’s platform Vudu.

The two companies said a new partnership takes effect today. AMC Theatres On Demand users can transfer their account to Vudu, where they can continue to rent and buy films or watch titles already in their library.

Vudu offers more than 200,000 new release and catalog movies and TV shows, including the largest collection of 4K UHD titles and thousands of free titles. No subscription is required on the transactional service.

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Founded in 2004, Vudu was acquired by Walmart in 2010. The retail giant sold it to Fandango in 2020.

The new partnership enables Vudu and Fandango to benefit from the exposure gained by releases from AMC’s industry-leading chain of theaters. AMC, in turn, will retain a stake in the films’ proceeds on streaming, only without the overhead expense of operating a streaming outlet.

The deal comes as AMC continues to face significant financial challenges and the box office shows signs of life but not yet a full return to pre-pandemic levels. In the most recent quarter, AMC said its losses narrowed and revenue climbed, but the company still has significant debt and its once-high-flying stock has returned to earth. The exhibition sector has seen a number of implosions, including a just-completed Chapter 11 bankruptcy process for AMC rival Cineworld, owner of Regal Cinemas.

In announcing the team-up, executives cited the longstanding relationship between the companies. Fandango began as a ticketing service before branching into streaming and original programming.

“AMC Theatres has been a valued exhibition partner of Fandango’s for more than two decades, and we’re thrilled to now offer our Vudu streaming service to AMC Theatres On Demand consumers,” said Cameron Douglas, VP of home entertainment at Fandango. “As consumers’ appetite for top-notch entertainment continues to grow, as well as their desire to watch the best movies both on the big screen and at home, this incredible collaboration with AMC Theatres will ensure that fans get seamless access to the premium content they love and crave.”

Nikkole Denson-Randolph, SVP, Content Strategy & Inclusive Programming, noted that AMC was the first U.S. exhibitor to mount an effort to handle releases of films both in theaters and online. “We at AMC take pride in having served our guests through a multitude of platforms during the pandemic,” she added, calling Vudu “a trusted partner” to handle the streaming part of film releases.

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