Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
About a week ago, AMC Entertainment offered viewers the opportunity to get a refund for their ticket if they saw, but didn’t like Cinderella Man directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti. This was a rare thing, which AMC started with a money-back guarantee with 1988’s Mystic Pizza.
AMC wanted Cinderella Man to be a bigger success in terms of box office gross. This promotion was directed towards the July 4 weekend, but it didn’t seem to help the film earn more money. From July 1-4, the film only earned $3,052,415, compared to $3,446,235 during the June 24-26 weekend. It’s a small drop, but considering last weekend was a three day weekend – super important July 4 summer weekend. It was a huge disappointment.
What is encouraging is that AMC has stated that only a “handful of viewers asked for a refund.” Link here. AMC didn’t give exact numbers, but I’m surprised that a lot of people haven’t taken more advantage of this offer. If the AMC theatre near my house still played the film, I would have been more inclined to see the film. Even if people liked the film and still asked for their money back, that is more people who are likely to buy it on DVD or rent it. It’s still $$$.
Frankly, I hope more theatres do this. I really wish AMC had done this when I spent $9.50 to watch Sorority Boys (2002).
