Regal Cinemas joins AMC Theaters, will no longer show Universal movies like Fast and Furious and Jurassic World

(Image credit: Universal)

Update: Cineworld – the company behind Regal theaters – has announced they are joining AMC Theatres in refusing to air any Universal movies, according to a recent Variety report. “Universal’s move is completely inappropriate and certainly has nothing to do with good faith business practice, partnership and transparency,” Cineworld said.

The announcement was made not long after AMC CEO Adam Aron announced Universal's conduct was "disappointing" and left AMC "with no choice" following comments on Trolls World Tour's video on demand (VOD) success. 

Original Story: You may not be able to see the next Fast and Furious movie in a cinema owned by AMC Theaters – the umbrella group that runs numerous showrooms in the US and owns the UK chain Odeon. That's because AMC has decided to ban all Universal-produced movies from their cinemas following comments made by the CEO for NBCUniversal, Jeff Shell.

Following the success of Trolls World Tour, which was released on VOD after cinemas closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shell said we should expect Universal "to release movies on both formats". While Shell did not lay out Universal's strategy for release windows concerning VOD and cinema, the comments sparked an immediate backlash from AMC, with the theater chain's chair-CEO Adam Aron calling them "unacceptable". 

"It is disappointing to us, but Jeff’s comments as to Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice,” Aron wrote in a statement. “Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theaters in the United States, Europe or the Middle East.

"This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theaters reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat."

Universal's biggest franchises include the Fast and Furious movies, the James Bond movies (internationally but not North America), Jurassic Park, Universal's monster movies, and any upcoming Lego movies.

Aron went on to clarify that any filmmaking studio who decides to change the current status quo regarding release windows would face a similar response. This would not affect Disney and Warner Bros – releasing Artemis Fowl and Sccob on VOD in the coming months – as the two studios have yet to commit to VOD releases when cinemas reopen. 

Universal was quick to respond to AMC's drastic stance, a spokesman saying: "We absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and have made no statement to the contrary. As we stated earlier, going forward, we expect to release future films directly to theaters, as well as on PVOD (premiere video on demand) when that distribution outlet makes sense. We look forward to having additional private conversations with our exhibition partners but are disappointed by this seemingly coordinated attempt from AMC and NATO to confuse our position and our actions."

While AMC remains adamant about not showing Universal movies, time will tell whether they can stick to their guns when cinemas reopen. Reports have already signalled that the public will be less willing to venture to cinemas for quite some time – potentially even until a vaccine for COVID-19 is discovered – and AMC may need all the blockbusters they can show to survive less ticket sales.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

Latest in Movies
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Clown in a Cornfield
First reactions to new clown horror movie say the slasher is giving Terrifier a run for its money
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn on set of Joker 2
Lady Gaga jokingly celebrates Joker 2 reception and Razzie nominations: "Joke's on them. I love winning things"
Latest in News
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Minecraft Diamond Armor
Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most"
Death Stranding 2 kiss
Hideo Kojima says "it was very difficult to direct" Death Stranding 2's big kiss scene, but Norman Reedus thinks "it was niiice" locking lips with Léa Seydoux
Ms. Marvel alongside the mutants of Age of Apocalypse
30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history