'Trolls' Triumph Doesn't Change Movie Math
A flap between Universal Pictures and cinema chain AMC can't obscure the reality that they need each other.
Trolls or no trolls, production studios need the box-office power of the movie theater.
Photographer: Universal PicturesCinemas may be closed, but there’s no shortage of drama at the movies right now.
Simmering tensions between movie-theater chains and Universal Studios escalated into an all-out war this week when AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. announced it will no longer show Universal films. AMC is the largest exhibitor in both the U.S. and Europe, and it has more IMAX screens than anyone else. (It’s also controlled by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, owner of Wanda Cinemas.) Even so, AMC isn’t in a position to be cutting off partners that it will need when the Covid-19 crisis is over.