Seven Bucks, Oscar Buzz, at Your Local AMC Theater

By Michael Jacobsohn

It’s Oscar Buzz Season. During January, I took advantage of AMC’s Tuesday $7 ticket policy to watch four of the ten films nominated for Best Picture. This bargain reminds me of the 1960s and 1970s when a dollar would get you into a double feature.

Having not visited a first-run multiplex since the pandemic, I was pleasantly surprised by AMC’s spacious theaters and enjoyable audiovisual experience. However, it’s unfortunate that AMC rarely screens documentaries, which I usually prefer to watch in downtown art houses.

The Brutalist
On a cold Tuesday morning, I attended a screening of The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet. The theater was surprisingly two-thirds full, likely with remote workers or job seekers. The film follows László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor rebuilding his life in post-World War II America. The story centers on Tóth’s commission to build a grand edifice in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, for wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee VanBuren (Guy Pearce).

The three-and-a-half-hour film epic focuses on Tóth’s struggle to stay on schedule while defending his vision against detractors. While I managed to stay engaged throughout the lengthy narrative, the disturbing ending left me perplexed and disappointed.

Nickel Boys
On a warmer Tuesday, I watched Nickel Boys, a historical drama directed by RaMell Ross, based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Set in the early 1960s at a Florida adolescent detention center, the film explores the friendship between two Black youths trapped in a cruel, Jim Crow-era institution.

What makes this film compelling is its unique storytelling technique, which interweaves archival footage from the era with the fictional narrative. Initially jarring, this mixture of fiction and documentary ultimately enhances the story’s impact. The film is worth seeing for its unconventional cinematography and ingenious narrative approach.

Wicked and Babygirl
The following Tuesday, I discovered AMC had raised their Tuesday price to $8. I attempted to watch Wicked, but found its pounding lyrics, lavish dance numbers, and predictable narrative unappealing. After 45 minutes, I left and stumbled into a screening of Babygirl, an erotic thriller directed and written by Halina Reijn and starring Nicole Kidman.

Babygirl tells the story of Romy Mathis (Kidman), a powerful CEO who begins an affair with her younger intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). The film explores themes of power dynamics and dominant-submissive relationships in a contemporary setting. While the ending wasn’t what I expected, I commend Kidman’s bravery in supporting such an unconventional script.

At the Box Office
All the Oscar-nominated films are likely to see significant box office success. AMC’s multiplex theaters are screening Oscar contenders around the clock, which primarily benefits the top tier of the film industry.

Unfortunately, truly independent filmmakers remain invisible in this process. The Oscar race completely ignores auteurs who often use their personal funds to tell passionate and compelling stories. If it were up to me, I’d melt the gold-plated bronze statue into a dozen keychains.

Despite these criticisms, I appreciate AMC’s $8 ticket policy, which makes their state-of-the-art theaters more accessible to regular moviegoers. It provides New Yorkers an opportunity to experience what the rest of the country is consuming at multiplex theaters.

Sundance
On another note, the outlook from Sundance this year is grim. Reports indicate that very few distribution deals have been signed. To make matters more complex, the festival will need to relocate from Park City, Utah, in two years. This year alone, Sundance received an astounding 15,775 submissions from 156 countries, including 4,138 feature-length films (1,591 from the U.S. and 2,547 international). Additionally, 11,153 short films were submitted. Out of this massive pool of entries, only 88 feature films and 57 short films were selected for screening.

When I do the math, it seems the festival is serving roughly the top one percent of the movie business. It’s hard to understand how the organizers reconcile this exclusivity with the festival’s stated mission of supporting independent film. Perhaps, when Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, there was a more level playing field. However, over the years, the festival seems to have increasingly catered to established industry players, even if it wasn’t Redford’s initial intent.

The possibility of relocating the festival is currently being discussed. It appears that many Park City residents are no longer enthusiastic about hosting the event. Cincinnati, Ohio, is one potential location under consideration. If chosen, I believe this city would better reflect the essence of our country and, hopefully, allow the festival to return to its roots by being more inclusive of independent U.S. filmmakers

Frankly, there is little difference between Sundance and a commercial theater chain like AMC. The key distinction is that AMC is transparent about its purpose: it’s a profit-driven corporation screening mainstream films in state-of-the-art theaters. Sundance, on the other hand, claims to champion independent cinema but fails to live up to this promise. As the statistics above demonstrate, its support for alternative filmmakers is minimal at best. If you’re looking for a better experience, I recommend taking advantage of AMC’s $8 ticket prices and enjoying a more welcoming atmosphere than what Sundance offers. 

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Michael Jacobsohn is an independent New York filmmaker. His recently completed a documentary on the Cornelia Street Cafe, which will premiere in the first week of April at the New Plaza Cinema. He also curates a bi-monthly screening of short films by New York filmmakers at New Plaza Cinema.