Draft:AMC Theatres
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![]() | It is possible that this company may introduce a new on-screen logo. Details: Writer Billy Ray has confirmed to Vanity Fair that he has written a sequel to "We Make Movies Better". No online footage exists, but some have reported it already playing. Please do not add ending dates to existing logos or attempt to add a new description until a new logo has debuted. Any premature changes should be reverted immediately. |
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Randomkid0627 and TheLogoFan2004
Captures by
RedheadXilamGuy
Editions by
MJ2003 and TheLogoFan2004
Background
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres) is an American movie theater chain, founded in 1920 when Maurice, Edward, and Barney Dubinsky acquired the Regent Theatre in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The chain was renamed to Durwood Theatres after acquiring theaters in Kansas City and nearby areas; in 1969, when the chain began further national expansion, it was renamed to American Multi-Cinema, which would be shortened to AMC in 1979. The chain, headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, is currently the largest global film exhibitor. AMC and competitor Regal Cinemas co-founded and previously owned the movie studio Open Road Films.
1st Opening (May 1980-1983)
Visuals: On a black background, a blue/yellow flash appears. 10 saturated black and white photographs of celebrities, popular in the New Hollywood era, zoom in on a blue circle outline while a white shine is revolving around the circle. After the last one (Charlie Chaplin) appears, the circle turns sideways revealing an outline of a projector. The shine starts to eliminate the outline and creates a red "A" in its signature design. A filmstrip comes from the bottom and goes next to the "A" forming the outline of the "M". The filmstrip gets removed and makes the "M" red. The same happens for the "C" except it comes from the top of the screen. Several white curved-edged rectangles zoom in around "AMC" and centers the logo. Stars appear on the bottom forming "THEATRES". A bright light appears on the "A" and "C". "Our Feature Presentation" fades in one by one with the music. A bright light fades on the "A" and shines along with the "M" and "C". The logo fades to black.
Technique: Cel animation by Barbara Garner, with footage from the Cascom Select Effects Library. The print logo was designed by Cinema Concepts.
Audio: An abridged excerpt of the library music tune "Olympic Champion 1" by Keith Mansfield from 1978.
2nd Opening (1983-1986)
Visuals: A blue beam of light emerges from a black background. From this beam emerges a blue stripe with an outline of the continental United States gliding toward the audience. Then two more stripes emerge, one on top and one on the bottom placed at the center of the first stripe. The stripes then rotate sideways to reveal the AMC logo, and continue rotating after the logo is centered. The stripes then center themselves in the same position as they were originally, then the first stripe lifts upward to reveal the "Feature Presentation" text. The text shines once it's in place, while the stripe moves to the top of the screen. A light shines across the AMC logo as this happens. All three lights then rotate once more, but don't manage to center themselves again before the logo fades out.
Previews Variant: A bright blue light appears with the text "Now Showing or Coming Soon to an AMC Theatre". This would show before the film to advertise 3-4 trailers in the theater.
Technique: Early computer graphics.
Audio: An ominous synth noise, then chimes, then a synth-brass fanfare. An announcer is also present, who recites "AMC welcomes you to the finest in motion picture entertainment. You are about to experience a movie the way it was meant to be seen-and heard. And now, our feature presentation."
3rd Opening (1986-1990)
Visuals: The sequence starts off with live footage of an '80's AMC theater ("AMC" in its same font as the last logo) with a sign saying "AMC 6 Theaters", with cars pulling in the parking lot and people walking in. The camera gets a close up into the logo, then cuts to "AMC" in its font from the last logo on a gold sign. It then cuts to a girl in the lobby, wearing a uniform, speaking into the microphone. It then cuts to a couple across from the girl working. It cuts to the movie ticket printing out and a hand grabbing it. The person hands it over to an usher letting them in. It cuts to them buying some popcorn at a stand inside the theater with another worker talking to them. It cuts back to the two who grab the popcorn bucket. It then cuts to a close up of popcorn popping and popcorn in its bucket. The two then walk away with the popcorn and go inside the cinema. Inside, other people are sitting down from old to young. They then put down their drink and cuts to another couple kissing and a family with a little girl smiling. It then cuts to the screen where "A", "M", and "C" fade in time with the music along with the (R) symbol on the side all in chrome. The logo shines while "There is a difference" in cursive is being written below. The logo fades to black and "Feature Presentation" fades in written in cursive and fades out.
Previews Variant: On a black background, "There is a difference" in cursive fades in one by one. Then, it cuts out and starts zooming out from the back of the "A" from "AMC" flipped. The logo turns 180 degrees in the same "AMC" from an angle and a different chrome color shining. "PREVIEWS" zooms in under the logo and fades to black.
Technique: Live-action and early CGI. The previews only uses CGI.
Audio: A synth orchestra theme.
4th Opening (1990-1991)
Visuals: The sequence starts off by seeing 10 filmreels, 5 on each side rotating. Text flies by the top of the reels. The camera cuts to the top view of the reels: 2 on the top, 3 on the bottom and the other 5 are flipped on the other side. Text reading "There is a difference" goes in between the reels from right to left. As the text disappears, the reels start separating as the "AMC" text in a glass outline appears. The camera turns to face the front of the text while a laser draws the outline in red. When the camera stops turning, "Feature Presentation" flies in from the right while a yellow circle with a trail flies in from the right, going through the text. Other yellow dots, circles, and squiggly lines all fly in. The logo shines for a bit while the star at the bottom right corner spins. The logo fades out.
Previews Variant: The already formed logo fades in with "PREVIEWS" scrolling from the right to left. After that, the logo fades.
Trivia: This was done by Metrolight Studios. The equipment and software employed are a Silicon Graphics IRIS 3130, Silicon Graphics Personal IRIS 4D/25 with Eclipse TG graphics, Alias|Wavefront Advanced Visualizer, and Parallax Matador.
Technique: CGI by Metrolight Studios.
Audio: Another synthesized theme, with a choir at the end.
5th Opening (1991-April 1994)
Visuals: The sequence starts by fading into a shot of a film case with "AMC" with a red outline on top. A label below reads "Feature Pres." while a spotlight shines on it. The camera zooms out while the case spins and shakes. The case pops open while an anthropomorphic figure made of filmstrips (named Clip, who was AMC's mascot from 1991 to 2009) flies out. He flips and lands while he is shaking his head. He waves his film hand at the case as a film reel pops out and bounces with him while he walks on the purple floor. While they are walking, a film reel is shown sideways behind them with the text saying "There is a Difference". Clip jumps and when he lands, he waves his film hand around him leaving a trail of blue light. The camera cuts to the floor turning sideways as he jumps on the film reel and flies away. While that is happening, the AMC logo begins to draw itself in from left to right. A few more circles of yellow and red appear on the bottom right of the screen. A gold rectangle flies in from the bottom with the text "Feature Presentation" on it. The copyright mark appears of at the end of the "C". Clip flies past the logo and through the screen leaving a trail of stars behind.
Previews Variant: The screen pans over the same film case described above. Meanwhile, a rolled label falls down onto the canister. As it lands, the label unrolls itself right below the AMC logo, revealing the word "PREVIEWS".
Trivia:
- Clip was created and designed by Jon Townley, who was, at the time, an art director at Metrolight Studios, before later moving on to Blue Sky Studios. The promotional art of Clip was made by Bill Selby, who used airbrush, acrylics and Pelikan inks to create his finalized design before animation production.
- This opening was parodied in the animated comedy The Critic. In the episode "Dial M for Mother" a film reel character similar in design to Clip is comedically sucked into a film projector with musical cues close to the original animation.
Technique: CGI from Metrolight Studios.
Audio: A bass, which transitions into an orchestral theme as Clip flies on the film reel.
6th Opening (April 8, 1994-1998)
Visuals: The sequence starts off as we see Clip who is much more gold than usual (especially his facial expressions), flying around on the film reel. The building is all golden film reels with filmstrips moving from many film cameras on the sides. There is also film reels moving on the ceiling. In the far distance, "AMC" is shown under spotlights while "THERE IS A DIFFERENCE" is shown underneath while filmstrips pass over it. Clip stops in front of the camera and starts flexing his film arms. He leans on the right side and falls off the film reel as it races to catch him. The camera cuts to a hole where filmstrips circle around and lights are shown. Clip is still falling and the film reel races to catch him. The camera cuts again to the same room in the beginning but zoomed in. The film reel positions itself as Clip falls onto it. He gets up with a sigh of relief. While that is happening, "AMC" in gold lines is drawn in from the bottom behind him. A red outline drops in behind the text and the logo is drawn a thicker red outline. Clip then flies from right to left while "Feature Presentation" pops in one by one. The (C) symbol appears again beside the C. Like the last logo, Clip flies past the logo and through the screen. The logo fades out.
Previews Variant: The sequence starts off by fading into a purple gradient background. A cup of Coca-Cola is shown as the camera pans up, there is that the cup has a straw and the cup is full of the drink. The drink is getting sucked in the straw as the camera pans up to see Clip sitting on the film reel drinking from the straw. He gets surprised and gives a sighed expression. The camera starts to pan up as Clip stands up and flies away, leaving a star trail behind. While that happens, the logo is drawn in like the last logo but it is sped up. Silver lines fill up the logo. Clip flies by the logo from right to left leaving "Previews" behind him. The logo fades out.
Trivia: This is the first trailer to depict Clip with facial features. According to the May / June 1994 issue of AMC's internal magazine "AMC Intermission", the four pre-feature trailers were rolled out on April 8, 1994. The feature presentation snipe is known internally as "Clip II". Additionally, the trailers are mentioned to use six-channel Dolby stereo sound, however, this not true. The audio used is standard Dolby A stereo with Pro-Logic applied, which does not actually use discreet six-channel audio, despite what the internal magazine claims.
Technique: CGI from Metrolight Studios.
Audio: An orchestral theme, ending with the same jingle from the last opening.
Availability: It premiered with AMC showings of Leprechaun 2.
7th Opening (1998-November 2002)
Visuals: The sequence starts by fading in into a theatre with pillars and stars on the side. A ledge extends out showing a music stand with "AMC" in its signature font on the back, music book, baton, and Clip wearing a white bow tie. A spotlight shines on him as he takes a bow. He opens up the book and turns the pages to a song called "There is a difference!". He stretches out his bow tie and taps the baton on the stand. As soon as he starts to conduct the piece, he finds four 8th notes hanging and then all the notes fall down to the bottom of the stand. He scratches his head and blows off the papers of the book. He then waves his baton around shining a blue light and shoots it at the front. The light goes out of the theatre and into the sky. Other colors (purple, orange, and green) are there as well. A big explosion appears forming "AMC" in its signature font with the letters outlined and the inside in silver. "FEATURE PRESENTATION" appears under the logo while the logo is zooming in with stars all around, a la the 4th Star Cinema logo. The logo then fades to black.
Previews Variant: The sequence starts by zooming into the theater without Clip at the stand. The camera zooms through the top and to an AMC sign in the same font as the FP logo but with the copyright symbol. "Previews" in cursive lights up on the sign. The logo cuts to black.
Trivia: The concept art of this animation was created by author and illustrator Miles Hyman. There were three proposed storyboards for Metrolight Studios to animate, the closest being a heavily trimmed down version of the Carnival storyboard.
Variant: An alternate version changes the slogan to "Changing the Way You See Movies".
AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies Variant: In 1998, an anniversary FP logo is used celebrating a century of movies: It starts by showing a picture of "AMC" in its FP form with "Salutes" underneath on a black background. It then cuts to another set of text saying "AFI's 100 YEARS 100 MOVIES" with a red star on the left side of "AFI", tilted. Another set of text fades in on top saying "Celebrating A Century Of American Cinema". It cuts to a clip from Annie (1982) where Mr. Warbucks says: "Let's all go to the movies!" It then fades to footage of the Radio City Music Hall marquee from that same movie. It cuts to an AMC Theatres sign from daytime to nighttime, the outline of "AMC" glows yellow. It then cuts to an updated footage of the 2nd logo without the popcorn popping, then there is a timelapse of people filling up the seats. Then we see shots of an audience, including a group of people, a couple with the husband feeding popcorn to the wife, another couple kissing, and the audience clapping. Then a film starts to play and the audience reacts to it. In order of appearance, the featured films are:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark: A young girl has a shocked face.
- Independence Day: The audience reacts like they are in an earthquake.
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: Luke Skywalker fighting Darth Vader.
- Matinee (1993): A startled Dennis (Jason Lee Soffer) jumps and puts his eyes on his brother, Gene's (Simone Fenton) arm.
- Jurassic Park: The audience jumps.
- E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: E.T.'s finger glows.
- Last Action Hero: Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) smiling.
- Mrs. Doubtfire: The audience laughing.
- A Streetcar Named Desire: Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) yells "STELLAA!!"
- Lost in Yonkers: Bella Kurnitz (Mercedes Ruehl) crying.
- Ghost: A woman crying and blowing a tissue.
- Casablanca: Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) saying "Here's looking at you kid."
- Cinema Paradiso: A man with a shocked face.
- Rocky: The audience (mostly men) clapping and cheering.
After this, it cuts to the last 3 seconds of the FP logo, albeit slowed down.
Technique: CGI from Metrolight Studios.
Audio: First, an orchestra tuning, which is a sample called "Intro Tune" from Peter Siedlaczek's Orchestral Colors, and as the notes drop from the stand, another orchestra theme plays. Composed by Philip Pelletier.
Audio Variant: The AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies variant utilizes Randy Edelman's score from Dragonheart.
8th Opening (November 2002-2009)
Visuals: The sequence starts off by seeing a light turn on inside a purple wall hollowed in a yellow wall. The camera starts to turn left as we see more of the wall yellow and covered with lights. It turns and stops at a bag of AMC popcorn and 2 AMC drinks, all have pictures of Clip on it. A yellow light shines and heads towards the drink in the middle. Suddenly, Clip jumps out of the drink and lands on the left side. Just like the 6th logo, he is much more golden. He shakes himself to get rid of the water on him. He looks at the cup and bangs his film hand on it. Suddenly, a yellow/purple flash appears. "AMC" and "Theaters" appears on a purple background. "Experience the difference" is written below from left to right in cursive. Circles are drawn in along the logo and shines. The logo then disappears via a yellow flash disintegrating through the screen as "Feature Presentation" appears on that same background over a darker, purple, cursive "F" on the background close to the left. The logo then fades out.
Previews Variant: On a purple gradient background, Clip turns around feeling a bubble, levitating on a set of purple, blue, and yellow rings. Clip lets go of the bubble as the rings rise above the bubble, revealing the AMC Theatres logo and "Experience the Difference" below inside the bubble. "Coming Soon" ripples into view above the logo.
Technique: CGI from Metrolight Studios made using Alias Wavefront Maya. The studio would close down a year later.
Audio: There is horns, a triangle sound plays when Clip exits the popcorn bag. Then the music plays along with Clip's actions. When he taps the soft drink, a bombastic orchestra ensues.
9th Opening (Magic Chairs) (2009-November 2013)
Visuals: The sequence starts off with people gathered inside at an AMC theater. The camera focuses on 3 people: On the right is a girl with long blonde hair wearing a light blue shirt, a brown coat, brown pants, and holding an AMC branded drink. In the middle is a dark colored girl with black puffy hair wearing a pink T-shirt, a white shirt, gray pants, and holding an AMC branded bag of popcorn. On the right is a slightly dark boy with black short hair wearing a blue T-shirt, a white hoodie, black pants, and holding a drink and a bag of popcorn, both AMC branded. The camera zooms in on the girl on the left taking a zip from the drink. Vines start growing from behind the seat. The camera cuts to an angle from the girl where the people behind them disappear and trees grow in the back. The ground starts growing grass as vines grow along the seats and grass grows out of them while a firefly flies around her. The screen fades away as the roof unfolds to starry night sky. The camera cuts to the ground where the seats in front of them fold into the ground and grass grows on top. The camera cuts to the front view of the people as flowers of all colors start blooming in front of them. The three people start getting lifted from the ground in their seats by wood. The camera cuts to the girl on the left smiling while fireflies fly around her as she is getting lifted. The camera cuts to the boy on the right smiling and taking a drink while fireflies fly around him. The camera zooms out far to reveal them risen in the air watching over the hills as "AMC" in white appears in the sky over a city with the sun setting. More flowers appear on the bottom right hand corner and move like filmstrips. The logo cuts to black.
Previews Variant: The camera pans down from a starry night sky to reveal the three people from before entering the theatre with "AMC" on top of the marquee, letters spaced out and "Coming soon" written on the marquee. The logo fades out.
Trivia: This is the first AMC opener to not have a "Feature Presentation" descriptor in it. It is also the first modern trailer to not feature Clip.
Technique: CGI made using Autodesk Maya mixed with live action. The CGI was provided by Reel FX Animation Studios' advertising studio Radium (which has since been renamed to match the rest of the studio). The mechanics of the moving seats, which were real, were done by Reel EFX (a separate, coincidentally named company). The live-action footage of the theater (for the previews variant) is filmed outside the Steven J. Ross Theater from Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, where Brownstone Street is located.
Audio: A dreamy chime theme is heard at the beginning, which then rouses into a held wind sound. This is followed by a majestic-sounding fanfare with the sound of whooshes and the roots growing and creaking noises. Sounds of nature then accompany the fanfare along with sparkling. When the AMC logo is shown, the fanfare settles into a dramatic-sounding finish. Frank Salazar was director of the audio, with Frank Pittenger and TJ Callaway also working on it.
10th Opening (Where Movies Live) (2011-Spring 2013)
Visuals: Unknown.
Technique: Computer animation.
Audio: Unknown.
11th Opening (AMC Amazing) (June 2012-November 2013)
Visuals: An assortment of themed circles are shown, among them an AMC logo, then the screen jolts towards the logo. "Keep track of your stuff. Report suspicious characters." appears to the left of the AMC logo, with the bolded text flying to near the fading text. The text jolts off to the left as "EXIT" appears on the circle. "Find the exit that's closest to you." appears to the right. Four angle brackets appear over the circle. The screen zooms to another dot depicting stadium seating. "Watch your step. Walk, don't run." appears in the top left. The text spins away as a smile appears on the circle with "Enjoy the show" to the right and the screen slowly zooms in. A red circle moves away from the screen as the "amc amazing" text attaches itself into position and tilts a little.
Technique: Computer animation.
Audio: Unknown.
12th Opening (November 2013-Fall 2017)
Visuals:
- Action/Sci-Fi (Welcome): An AMC circle logo appears on a white background. It then zooms into the screen flapping, then turns into a parachute that a red dot with glasses and a military hat is clinging onto, with several other parachutes in the background at a nighttime setting over a dark landscape. A small UFO flies past the camera firing lasers which destroy the parachutes. There is more UFOs destroying parachutes in an overhead shot. The screen cuts back to the previous shot where one of the balls stretches in an alarmed manner and is taken by one of the UFOs, with the parachute clinging on to its front. The UFO comes loose and crashes down to the ground, turning upside-down. The scene cuts to an overhead shot where the background disappears, and the red text "amazing" is seen on the side. The UFO turns over, with its bottom side revealed to be the AMC logo. The "amazing" text wipes out, and the logo centers itself in the middle.
- Action/Sci-Fi (Policy Trailer):
- Action/Sci-Fi (Emergency Exit): The UFO re-positions itself and zips to the right. The UFO abducts a cow in a field of them and zips away, and "Keep track of your stuff" appears. An army of helicopters head towards a giant angry robot, which holds one of the helicopters. A ninja dot climbs a helicopter rope and lands on the ground, where it and several other dots in Viking and ninja gear charge at the robot ("Report suspicious characters"). The robot hits some dots with a bomb, then begins to walk around, revealing "Watch your step" on a footprint. The robot walks over "walk" and steps on a Viking dot. In an auditorium with a screen displaying "Front, Left, Behind, Right" and a few helicopters, its doors open and some dots exit an AMC theater. The robot comes across the theater and breaks a hole in it, startling someone at the concession stand, then grabs a popcorn machine and consumes all the popcorn. A helicopter transitions to the AMC logo on a black background.
- Action/Sci-Fi (End Tag): On a brown landscape at night, an aviator dot tries to use its jetpack, but it doesn't work. A helicopter approaches from behind the jetpack's plume and fires two missiles at the dot. It jumps off a red object as the missiles impact the ground, and it flies away. The object is revealed to be the "M" in "AMC Theatres Mobile App", with "download now" below. The App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Marketplace logos are seen below that.
- Comedy (Welcome): An AMC circle logo appears on a white background, then becomes the logo on a car driven by a male and female dot through the woods. A bear dot reveals itself and the two dots swerve away from the bear. When the dots look behind them a couple of seconds later, they find the bear in their car and panic. The car and bear drive away, and the AMC Amazing logo appears in the sky as it fades to black. The AMC logo moves to the center.
- Comedy (Policy Trailer): The AMC logo turns into the female dot walking a phone with a red dog's face on it. After a car passes, the dog starts getting motivated and starts chasing after it. The length of the leash starts to pull the dot after it, and after a couple of seconds, the car drives away. The screen fades to a shot of the dog on the Danny DeVito-like dot's lawn, with abbreviations such as "Lol", "brb" and others on the lawn. After the dog exits the screen, the dot stops reading, notices the abbreviations, and becomes angry. The dog stops for a minute and starts going off track. It notices a big bear dot which it takes a picture of. The bear dot gets satisfied and sniffs it. We then see the bear taking its place as the dog with the leash in its mouth. It then transitions to the AMC logo on a black background.
- Comedy (Emergency Exit): The AMC logo turns into a keychain on the pair's car, driving across a mountain. The male dot bumps the car left, then the female bumps the car right. The car causes a gang to fall off their motorcycles, then they go after them, which the pair notices as they're in a tunnel. The pair and gang exit the tunnel and pass a family of five dots at a bus stop ("Report suspicious characters"). The pair move past a herd of cows at the road, which the gang thrusts into the air in a slow-motion shot ("Keep track of your stuff"). Some of the cows end up on motorcycles and pass by "Watch your step". The road splits into north, west and east directions with a sign displaying "Front, Left, Behind, Right"; three out of five riders take the north path. A cow lands onto a biker's two-seated motorcycle. Five riders drive into the night under "Exit the building", and the camera pans towards the moon, which dissolves to an AMC logo on a black background.
- Comedy (End Tag): On a black-tinted tiled floor, a red dot with a towel wrapped around it walks in from the left. It briefly looks at the viewer then does a double take as it jumps in surprise and runs back to the left, with the towel coming loose from it. The text "You still here?" is revealed from the towel as the dot leans in from off-screen and goes back. The text turns down and reveals "You should join", followed by the AMC Stubs logo. The dot comes back, takes out an oversized toothbrush, and drags the towel offscreen with it. The URL bumps up the AMC Stubs logo as the dot returns with the towel wrapped around it again, walking to the right. It leans, jumps in surprise, and disappears again with it.
- Drama/Romance (Welcome): An AMC logo appears in a circle on a white background, which then transitions into a dot rendition of a bird with a worm in its mouth at night over a hill landscape. It lands in front of another bird, which turns its head away. Heartbroken, the bird hangs its head while the other bird peeks out from behind it. The other bird pokes its behind with its beak and puts the other half of the worm in its mouth, with them eating it until their beaks meet. The AMC Amazing logo is seen in the skies and the background fades to black. The "amazing" text wipes out and the logo centers itself.
- Drama/Romance (Policy Trailer): The AMC logo turns into a clock at a metro station. Birds fly off into the distance. The camera pans down and sees many dots with suits and ties. A dot with glasses and hair walks out of a subway train holding glasses. It looks around aimlessly as one of the female dots walks in from the left. The female dot jumps in surprise and the male dot looks behind him to see her, only for her to get cut off by an arriving subway train. It then looks around some more before it sees the female dot running up behind him. The male dot starts to go towards her, but a nearby subway train opens and a walking phone steps out and cuts the female dot off. The male dot falls down and drops its flowers. A passing dot walks by and stomps its flowers. It gets back up and the female dot reconciles as the camera pans up and stops in front of the clock, which turns into the AMC logo on a black background.
- Drama/Romance (Emergency Exit): The AMC logo turns into one of red balloons held by two male and female dots (One balloon has a bow under the undertie, the other one doesn't). The wind tugs at their balloons and they let them fly into the air. The balloons blow towards a metropolis and the dots follow them ("Keep track of your stuff"). The balloons knock the letters out of their positions as a car drives at the camera. One of the balloons blows at the front door of an apartment. A dot with a mask appears in the basement window, causing the balloon to fly off again. The screen cuts to a shot of high-rises behind the balloon ("Report suspicious characters") as the letters are blown out of their positions. A spotlight shines on a spy dot with a diamond in its grasp as it sidles to the edge of the building, with the balloon reappearing again and revealing "Watch your step", which is blown away. The balloon flies past a rapidly spinning wind vane ("Front, Left, Behind, Right") as the letters blow away. The balloon flies up an Empire State Building lookalike as the other balloon from before blows in from the opposite side and the balloons wrap around each other. The balloons fly across the Moon as it turns into the AMC logo on a black background.
- Drama/Romance (End Tag): In a prison setting, a sewer lid opens and a chained ball is thrown out. A red dot with a prisoner's hat climbs out, looks around, and runs away before the spotlights can shine on it. A spotlight briefly shines over it, causing the dot to stop and look up as the spotlight comes back and shines on it again. It then hops away on a red object with the spotlight following it, revealing it to be the letter "o" in "go", all part of the text "time to go". The screen cuts to a black screen where the Twitter (@amctheatres), Facebook (/amctheatres), and Instagram (@amctheatres) logos are seen with the dot falling down and tugging against the chained ball to the other side of the screen.
- Horror (Welcome): An AMC circle logo appears on a white background, then cuts to a dot (with a Danny DeVito-like hairstyle and glasses) at a spooky swamp's walkway, infested with mosquitoes. A mosquito lands on the dot before it notices it, then drains the dot of air until it falls flat. The bloated mosquito flies towards the swamp, then sinks itself into the water, transitioning to the AMC Amazing logo. The AMC logo moves to the center.
- Horror (Policy Trailer):
- Horror (Emergency Exit): The AMC logo turns into a female dot at a haunted house. The dot gets distracted by lightning strikes as another dot runs across the stairs. Three chairs and a cushion rumble, then stick to the ceiling alongside "keep track of your stuff". The dot becomes frightened and runs through the house, noticing two twins in a corner at one point (resembling The Shining). The dot stops herself near a TV set, which then displays "Report suspicious characters" and shocks her (resembling The Ring). A cellar door opens and the dot is dragged through it. The dot falls out of the house, and into a cemetery, falling into a pit behind a grave reading "Watch your step". The dot climbs out of the pit, as red skulls emerge from it and graves displaying "Front, Left, Behind, Right". The dot comes across a skull, and runs away from the cemetery into a forest displaying "move far away" (the o being a hanging zombie head). The camera pans towards an AMC logo in the sky as the background fades to black.
- Horror (End Tag): A male dot nervously looks around a sewer. Something runs past the dot, causing it to run towards a hole. The dot gets startled by a skull and falls out of the hole, revealed to be the o in "amctheatres.com". The skull growls and then disperses from the o.
- Coming Soon: A hole is drilled around the AMC circle, revealing a spy with a rope who jumps through the hole. A male and female dot kiss each other on a boat on a lake on a moonlit night, and several small heart dots appear. A masked dot at a doorway yields a chainsaw, then is hit with a pie. Having lost its mask, the dot laughs as "coming soon" appears from within its throat. "coming soon" zooms towards the screen and reveals the MPAA "accompany this feature" screen.
- More Trailers: The camera zooms away from the words "see more trailers at amctheatres.com" in space, then they dissolve away and an AMC circle appears.
- RealD 3D: In a mountainous area with the RealD 3D logo carved into a mountain, the angry robot walks towards the screen and bumps into it. The robot grabs some one-lensed RealD 3D glasses from its top compartment, then extends its right claw at the screen. The robot feels content and places its glasses into a recycling bin.
- Pre-Show Coca-Cola Cup Holder: Six dots are gathered at a futuristic platform. Three helicopters carry a large Coca-Cola cup to the platform as it reveals a glowing opening, then the cup is placed into the opening. Four small birds and the angry robot place a lid onto the cup, and the robot is given the duty of inserting a straw into the cup. After completing its job, some birds give the robot a lift. The cup is then drank by the dot that went to the haunted house, in a crowd of other dots at a theater auditorium. The lights dim and the theater's screen displays "It's movie time!" and an AMC Amazing logo in the bottom right.
- Coke Freestyle: Several dots, including the jetpack dot, bounce towards a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine in a field. The jetpack dot pours a grape Sprite Zero from the machine, then becomes supercharged from drinking it and disappears from the field. The dots and a few helicopters crowd towards the machine. A ninja dot chooses an orange Coca-Cola for another ninja dot, who is then teleported to a theater auditorium along with the other dots. The theater's screen displays "It's movie time!" and an AMC Amazing logo in the bottom right. Introduced in Summer 2014.
Technique: All in CGI, designed by "Fletch" at Psyop under the agency Bailey Lauerman.
Audio: It varies:
- Action (Welcome): First, there is a faint whoosh in which its reverb gets louder with a flapping sound. This segues into a dramatic fanfare with bleeping noises and explosions. As the dot is taken away, there is the sound of the UFO powering down, and then a loud crash. A female announcer says, "Disarm your phone, soldier. Arm your senses. Engage. AMC Amazing."
- Action (Emergency Exit): When the UFO flies away, a low synth drone is heard, followed by the sound of the UFO powering on and flying off. During the policy rules segment, this in order is heard: There is the sound of cows mooing, followed by a repeating whirring noise which gets faster and higher in pitch, followed by the sounds of "thunking" and stretching, with the cow giving high mooing noises. This ends with a faint splat, and more whirring noises. As the helicopters fly over, a dramatic fanfare builds up and reaches its peak as rotors can be heard. Metallic noises from the robot are heard when it grabs the helicopter. Whooshes when the ninjas drop down, followed by noises of the Vikings yelling. The sound of a helicopter powering down and crashing. A loud "stomp" and the sounds of weapons clanking/bullet ricochets when the Vikings attack the robot's foot. Then, a mish-mash of sound effects, including yelling, bullet ricochets, and rotors from the helicopter. When the robot gets to the theater, ricochet-like noises can be heard, along with a loud crashing sound. The music stops here. There is the sound of a chute opening, faint sounds of the popcorn falling, and one final sound of the helicopter rotors as one last dramatic note plays. The announcer says "Let's start this mission with a few safety tips. Keep track of your stuff. Report suspicious characters. And in case of angry robots or other emergencies, watch your step, and walk to the nearest exit, which may be in front of you, behind you, or on either side. Then, exit the building, and move far away from the angry robot."
- Comedy (Welcome): It begins with a synth tap. As the screen zooms out from the car, there is the sound of it driving and a person whistling. After this, there is the sound of a shocked bear roaring, combined with a person gasping and another person yelping. There is the thumping noise as it falls out, along with stomping noises. When the bear chases the car, there is the people gasping, screaming and the bear roaring behind them. A country-style tune plays throughout this segment, which later fades out. The announcer says "You won't need a phone where you're going. You are now entering AMC Amazing."
- Comedy (Emergency Exit): The country music resumes, then gets interrupted as the sounds of bickering and the car skidding are heard from inside the car. A voice saying "Whoa!" can be heard. The music turns into a pounding rock theme as the motorcyclists line up and drive away, followed by the sounds of the motorcycles revving. This is combined with the sound of the car. There is the people cheering as they all drive past them. When the car approaches the cows, the tires skid, followed by the cows mooing. There is the cows being bashed. The music lowers in volume when they fly to make room for the announcer. A cow moo can be heard after she speaks. We then just hear the music and the motorcycles driving until the cow lands on one of the motorcycles, where we hear one last moo before the music continues and eventually fades out. The announcer says "Let's get this show on the road... with a few safety tips! Report suspicious characters. Keep track of your stuff. And in case of cow collisions or other emergencies, watch your step and walk to the nearest exit, which may be in front of you, behind you, or on either side. Then exit the building, and keep on moving, baby!"
- Horror (Welcome): A low "thoom" noise is heard. Then, a loud thunderclap interrupts the ambience, followed by an eerie track with the sound of mosquitoes buzzing and the dock creaking. A synth bang followed by slurping sounds and a shrill note is then heard. There is a pop noise and a "slurp" as the dot slumps to the ground, followed by buzzing sounds. Faint "putt-putt" noises can be heard. The announcer says "Honey, I'd beware if I were you. Welcome to the spine-tingling world of AMC Amazing."
- Horror (Emergency Exit): After the AMC Amazing logo wipes away, there is quiet footstep noises, followed by a crack of thunder. The girl gasps as she looks behind. More cracks of thunder are heard with the sounds of the furniture rocking and crashing with the sound of the girl gasping. A low synth drone is heard, followed by the sounds of the girl screaming loudly. A quick whoosh is heard. Another scream from the girl. Static sounds are heard from the TV as another loud crack of thunder is heard. Banging noises are heard as the cellar opens up, and another scream from the girl is heard followed by the door closing. She screams more as thumping is heard. Cracks of thunder. Groans from the zombies are heard as they rise out. There is one last scream from the girl as she runs away, with a shrill track in the background. A whoosh when the camera pans up. The announcer says "There's nothing to be scared of. We just have a few safety tips. Keep track of your stuff. Report suspicious characters. And in case of hauntings or other emergencies, watch your step, and walk to the nearest exit, which may be in front of you, behind you, or on either side. Then exit the building and move far away, cause there may be zombies."
- Coming Soon: Begins with a loud sparking sound and a sonic whoosh. A buzzing noise as the dot leaps at the camera. A stock sound of an owl along with faint sounds of the water, as well as a harp arpeggio with the sound of kissing. The sound of balls filling, which is jarringly interrupted with a dramatic note with the sound of a woman screaming and chainsaw buzzing. The chaos is interrupted with a pie splat. After this, the sound of the plate falling and a woman laughing. Final whooshes close out the trailer. The announcer says "Coming soon to AMC."
- The "Coca-Cola" variant has an orchestral fanfare with a choir in the background, accompanied by the sounds of the helicopters. There is a whirring noise, then a "slam" as the Coca-Cola cup is inserted. There is more sounds of the helicopters as the lid is placed on, followed by sounds of pushing clouds. A spinning noise is heard as the robot spins the straw, followed by a "thoop" kind of sound as it is inserted. The fanfare rises into a triumphant state as the robot is carried off, followed by one last sound of the helicopter rotors. We then hear sounds of the audience in the theater, paired with a sip and an "ahh" from the girl. The fanfare concludes as the camera cuts to the theater screen.
13th Opening (2015-Fall 2017)
Visuals: These openings go over the same theater etiquette points as the previous two openings ("keep track of your stuff", "report suspicious characters", locate exits), but trade elaborate scenarios for items related to a theme.
- Adventure: The AMC logo fades in with a blue spotlight shining on it. The camera moves past the logo towards "keep track on your stuff", showing a golden pharaoh head idol (a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark) on the left, and a bag of sand that activates the text rumbling. An assortment of letters are near a red centurion helmet (similar to Magneto's helmet from X-Men) and form "report suspicious characters". The words "front, behind, left, right" (which is made of technology parts) fly through a blue hyperspace tunnel and land left of a futuristic door, which opens itself to reveal a bright room with moving lines throughout, likely someone about to beam aboard (referencing Star Trek). The camera zooms into the door, then "walk", "move", "far" and "away" are revealed by spotlights. To the left, behind some leaves are "coming soon" and a cup of water which get shaken twice (a reference to Jurassic World). The camera moves away and transitions to the MPAA "accompany this feature" screen.
- Family: The AMC logo appears again with the scene changing to a fuzzy carpet with Reese's Pieces-like candies scattered around (a reference to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial), and "keep track of your stuff" hovering over it. A magenta-tinted spotlight hovers over it, sucking up the candies and the text. The camera zooms through it, revealing the text "report suspicious characters" (with the letters from "characters" twirling into their positions) is seen over a tiled floor as a Willy Wonka-style purple hat with a "10/6" tag (likely the Mad Hatter's hat from Alice in Wonderland) flies in and places itself at the end of "suspicious" and "characters". The dot of the first "i" in "suspicious" then comes off, releasing steam and a loud whistle. The camera pans to the right, which reveals a cartoonish hotel door with a stone bat on the top, a red carpet, and a sale sign with "NO HUMANS" scribbled on it, all on a stone floor (a subtle reference to Hotel Transylvania). A white suitcase with a red handle rolls in from the darkness and stops next to the door while bats fly out from it. The camera zooms into the door, revealing the text "walk", hovering over a red wood floor and lit by a spotlight, with the camera moving up to reveal the text "move", "far", and "away" being lit in sync with the announcer. The camera pans through them and reveals the text "coming soon" hovering around a green crystal ball (similar to Elphaba's crystal ball from The Wizard of Oz) on a stone floor. The camera zooms into the ball, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Horror: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing a platform with blood stains all over it, the text "keep track of your stuff", and a white doll (resembling Annabelle from The Conjuring Universe) with red ponytail hair, an orange flower on the heart, red lips, sharp teeth, and glowing cat eyes. The doll cracks its head, then lunges towards the screen, blacking it out. The screen rotates around the text "report suspicious characters" with lights circling around (similar to the deadlights from It), which then fade away. A static TV can be seen on the side as a hand appears and rocks it for a second (a reference to Poltergeist). The logo zooms past the TV to see a door with a white glow behind it, and the text "front, behind, left, right" beside it. The door opens, revealing the floor to be a wooden textured one. There is the text "walk", with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". The logo zooms past the text and go up to an egg sitting on a chamber which opens (a reference to Alien), with the text "coming soon" glowing blue for a moment. The logo zooms into the glowing portion of the egg, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Comedy: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing the "keep track of your stuff" text hovering over a green floor (presumably a pool/casino game table) with a shot glass (with what appears to be beer) sitting there. Playing cards, from off-screen, are tossed under the table, residing underneath the text, while casino chips shortly fall afterwards onto them. We flip over to where the text is now next to a red-trimmed phone in which the shot glass rolls into (with tiny beer puddles barely seen next to it). The phone buzzes, as text saying "WHERE'S DOUG?!?!" is typed on-screen from a pop-up table. The logo zooms underneath the text and see a darkly-lit room with a checker-boarded floor. The text "report suspicious characters" in a neon green color waves around (similar to a ghost). A knock-off version of the ghost trap from Ghostbusters (with a blue-yellow palette instead of a gray-yellow one) is tossed in from off-screen, opens up, and sucks the text in, with red and blue streaks also being pulled in the process. But the text is instead stripped from it's neon green color, with it turning into the campaign's signature red. Two buttons on the ghost trap light up. The camera then zooms past it, with the text "right" spinning next to a brown-colored speaker with a plastic cup (and one laying down on the bottom) on a mat sitting on a rugged floor. The camera zooms out, revealing the text "front, behind" and "left," all next to the right and in a stacked alignment, via a blue light switching on. Everything thumps to the beat of the music, with a door sitting on the left. The door opens, revealing a light (ala the Virtual Studios logo) in which the camera zooms into. Over a maroon-colored polished plaid floor, the "walk" text is seen, with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". We fly by the text to a parallel glowing light, which is the edges of a bowling lane. A carrot orange bowling ball rolls down the lane while the background illuminates to reveal a retro-style space background with yellow, red, blue, orange, and purple abstract stars eventually filling the screen (a reference to The Big Lebowski). The camera zooms up to the text "coming soon", with the two words stacked on top of each other. The words are dislodged from their positions and fly off, while two more large stars flip on-screen (one with yellow edges and a dark green interior, and another with orange edges and a green interior). One of them engulfs the screen, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Superhero: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing a navy-colored backpack sitting against a bedroom window, with a city skyline and police lights flashing outside. The backpack contains a camera, an AMC logo badge, an spiderweb badge, and a Spider-Man-like suit hanging from it. The screen briefly flashes gold twice (referring to Spider-Man's Spider-Sense), before a web sling attaches to the backpack and pulls it away. All the while the "keep track of your stuff" text hovers beside it. Two ropes reach down, and the camera zooms through the window and pans down the city to reveal the text "report suspicious characters" hovering over a wooden table with "GCPD" (standing for "Gotham City Police Department", a reference to Batman) and "EVIDENCE" inside black and red rectangles on a document folder. A name tag and a fan are seen on both sides of the folder, as it opens to reveal three photos (2 on the left containing a drawing of what appears to be the Joker combined with Harley Quinn, with "HA HA HA HA HA HA" written around it, with the other containing what appears to be a baseball bat with "LIGHT" written vertically on a stone background), with a little post-it note with a picture of the left photo stuck on it. The right photo flaps a little bit before the fan turns and blows away the text. A silver-colored safe emerges from the darkness as two blue lasers reveal the text "front, behind, left, right" (darkened at first, but gaining their signature red a second later). The two lasers move to the right and criss-cross each other, forming an "X" light (a reference to X-Men). The two lasers combine horizontally and two red lasers zap themselves onto the safe, opening it and the screen on the right saying "access granted" in green. The safe emits a light which the screen zooms into, revealing the "walk" text, with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". After the camera pans by it, the screen zooms through an open manhole on a brick floor, and the lime-colored ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spilled on the very bottom from two broken parts of the T.C.R.I. (Techno Cosmic Research Institute) canister. A pizza box is seen as well. The "coming soon" text is messily arranged on top of the ooze, which brightens a couple seconds later to segue into the MPAA band screen.
- Romance: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing a dimly lit dark blue background with bubbles flying past the screen until the camera gets to a seabed with the text "keep track of your stuff" (which is rather rusty) hovering over it. Then, a locket with a sapphire heart floats down and settles on the bed (similar to the one from Titanic). The camera pans up and we see a masquerade mask with a maroon, bubbly crown, and red feather pieces (likely a reference to Fifty Shades of Grey) laying on a polished wood floor. The camera turns and reveals the text "report suspicious", followed by "characters" zooming in under it. The mask falls and resides on the text. A spotlight can be seen for a brief moment before the camera swiftly pans to the right to reveal the text "front, left" and "behind, right" wobbling next to a stone doorstep with vines around its holding frame with light beaming above a wooden door. One of the doors opens, with petals being thrown out of it. The camera then zooms into the other half of the door, which also opens. Over a maroon-colored polished plaid floor, the "walk" text is seen, with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". The text "coming soon", over a polished wood floor, is seen over a white rose laid over a green letter with "To My Love" in a red script font. As it zooms closer, the letter has a gold rim with vertical oblongs overlapping each other. The text dissolves and the oblongs move down, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Action: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing a brown steering wheel with a skull at the center and a chain going off-screen on a sandy floor (a reference to Mad Max). The rusty text "keep track of your stuff" hovers over it. A wind briefly shakes the letters, moves the wheel, and launching it into the air, breaking off the text. The screen pans backward to reveal a briefcase full of money, passports and keycards (it looks more like play money). The case also has two pockets containing a passport, a notebook with "project debriefing report" written on the front, and $100 bills with a rubber band stuck to it. There is also a red watch counting down (a reference to the James Bond films) sitting on the front, as the same notebook and a red handbook is tossed in the briefcase. All of this has the text "report suspicious characters" hovering up on the top flap. The watch reaches "00" and starts flickering, as the case closes, locks, and the camera pans over it. The screen pans to a stony Coliseum-like structure (a reference to The Maze Runner) with vines wrapped around the steps and a wooden door, with both halves parting. The camera zooms through it and pans to the right past a wall with arrows scraped on it and the people's names (Thomas, Matt, Rob, etc.) engraved. We briefly pass by leaves and the text "front, behind, left, right" is revealed in front of a mossy stone wall with an arrow pointing left engraved on it. A pitch-black door slides open, with orange-tinted light being emitted from it. The camera moves through the light, revealing the text "walk" is seen, with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". The camera zooms past "away", revealing the text "coming soon" hovering over a road. Two cars with their headlights on drift at the camera (a reference to Fast and Furious), and in a slow-motion shot, breaking the text. The other car drifts too far and one of its lime-colored stripes engulf the camera, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Drama: The AMC logo appears and pans down, revealing the text "keep track of your stuff" with a thin rope tangling it. A volleyball with a red handprint face (resembling Wilson from Cast Away) is pushed off by the upper text and falls into the water, with it being carried away by a wave. The camera zooms past it and reveals the text "report suspicious" with shadows of the word "people" sneaking across a dimly lit floor. When every letter is in the middle, the screen abruptly brightens, revealing that they are in front of a prisoner scale (a reference to The Usual Suspects). The letters then push themselves on the wall, with the "l" twitching a little before straightening itself. Lights flash by the bottom of the screen. The camera pans away and gets to a door with the stacked text "front, behind, left, right" next to a gray cartoonish door with "DETECTIVE" on the window. A red stool with white feet and a gray bust (a reference to The Maltese Falcon) is seen next to that. A figure with a bowler hat shows up at the door. After a few seconds, the door opens, emitting a large light that the camera zooms into. The text "walk" is seen, with lights turning on behind it to reveal "move", "far", and "away". The camera pans through it, and we see a beige-colored string dimly lit, with a sparking light revealing it to be a fuse, illuminating the text "coming soon" (a reference to Mission: Impossible). The fuse curls a little bit before going through the first "o" in "soon". The camera quickly zooms up to it, where a large explosion fills the screen and segues the trailer into the MPAA band screen.
- Fantasy: The AMC logo appears and we pan down to a ground where a wand is assembling the text "keep track of your stuff". Next to it is a suitcase with the sticker of the initials "NS" (Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and two New York-related stickers on it that starts to jump up and down before the wand locks it. The screen then pans to a submerged pirate ship sail with the text "report suspicious characters" that's sinking with a rum bottle attached (referencing Pirates of the Caribbean). When the ship is fully submerged in the water we pan to a mirror and a hat rack, with the text "front, behind, left, right," moving like a ticking clock (most likely referencing Alice Through the Looking Glass) in the reflection of the hat rack, a purple hat (likely the Mad Hatter's hat) lands on it. The screen pans into the mirror, and we see the text "move, "far" and "away". The camera then pans to the rose behind glass from Beauty and the Beast (we can even hear the Beast roaring offscreen) with the text "coming soon" (which is made in stone) behind it. Green magic emanating inside the glass where the rose is and zoom into it, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
- Animation: The AMC logo appears and we pan down to an ocean floor from the inside of a sea anemone (referencing Finding Nemo and its sequel Finding Dory) while a blue tang is swimming outside (Dory from the aforementioned movies) with the text "keep track of your stuff", which is covered with seaweed and moss. The camera then zooms out of the anemone to the "report suspicious characters" text, which is made of technology parts, and below that is a test table with a banana on it (a reference to the Despicable Me movies), and the banana shrinks and then starts to grow large while we hear the Minions (likely it's Stuart, Bob and Kevin from the aforementioned movies) offscreen. When the banana fills the screen the screen zooms out and reveal a cantina made entirely of LEGO bricks (referencing The LEGO Movie) and the text "front, behind, left, right" appears forming on the studded floor like the letters are made of LEGO bricks. On the right, a wall and a door assembles and the screen zooms right into it. The text "walk" is seen, with lights turning on to reveal "move", "far" and "away". The camera then pans through a wooden floor to reveal a crook, a cowboy boot with "Bonnie" written on it, a green dinosaur and a cardboard box that says "army base" on it with green army men toys on it (all references to the Toy Story movies, with allusions to the characters Bo Peep, Woody, Rex and the Green Army Men). Over one of the army men with a pair of binoculars, wen see the camouflage-styled text "coming soon" as two paratroopers descend into frame. The screen then zooms into the binoculars of the army man, segueing the trailer into the MPAA band screen.
- Sci-Fi: The AMC logo appears and we pan down to tiled floor that has the text "keep track of your stuff" with a portable cassette player with a cassette tape inside it that says "Amazing Mix Vol. 2" with a pair of headphones attached to it, and a troll doll (all references to Guardians of the Galaxy) which start to float upwards. The camera then zooms out to an alien jungle ground bioluminescent environment (Pandora from Avatar) with the text "report suspicious characters" when the foot of a giant mech stomps in and the letters shake. The same "front, behind, left, right" sequence from the adventure variant is showing, and then the text "walk" is seen with lights turning on to reveal "move", "far" and "away". The camera then pans through what resembles the Death Star control room from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and we see a droid similar to an MSE-6 droid (or Mouse Droid) come in. The screen pans to the console on the left is the text "coming soon" and on the right is a monitor that looks like it's about to fire the Death Star's main laser. The logo zooms into the monitor right when it's about to fire, segueing into the MPAA band screen.
Technique: CGI by Intake Studios.
Audio: At the beginning of every trailer for the AMC logo, is the sound of a light being turned on and the faint sound of buzzing. A whoosh is heard when the camera pans down from the logo, and more whooshes are heard whenever the camera zooms through, past, or away from something in the trailers.
- Adventure: The first policy rule has a tense orchestral theme with the sounds of bats squeaking. After the camera flips, a faint sound of the plate sliding and a rumbling noise as the text shakes. A loud gunshot followed by bricks breaking is heard when the smoke appears on screen. The second policy rule has high ringing noises syncing with a centurion helmet. The third policy rule has loud whooshes with the sounds of doors opening. The music then calms into a mysterious-sounding theme with subtle "thoom" sounds for the "coming soon" segment. The trailer ends with the sounds of leaves rustling. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we begin our adventure, let's talk safety. Keep an eye on any ancient artifacts, or valuables you may have brought with you. And if you spot any villainous characters with suspicious agendas, report them to our crew. In case of an alien encounter or any other emergency, be sure to search this vessel for the closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. Now that that's covered, let's find out what's escaping soon to an AMC near you."
- Family: On the first policy rule, we first hear a held string note, followed by a whimsical tune made from flutes and chimes. There is the sound of whirring combined with the candy clacking. The second policy rule has the sounds of sonic whooshing with a ticking beat in the background (it sounds like a clock) followed by a pop and a high whistle. The third policy rule has a whimsical orchestral theme with high squeaking noises for the sign and the sounds of bats squealing. The trailer ends with a mystical-sounding tune with triangle dings and a harp glissando. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before our family fun begins, let's talk safety. Keep track of all your stuff, and any candy-loving companions you may have brought with you. And if you happen to see any suspiciously strange characters with mad agendas, report them to our crew. In case of a spooky sighting or any other emergency, you'll want to check out quickly, so find your closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. Now that that's covered, let's see what the future holds for you at AMC."
- Horror: During the first policy rule, there is an eerie-sounding theme with bending strings, with the faint sound of a girl laughing. During the second rule, tense piano taps are heard with the sound of static, along with the sound of glass breaking and the TV rocking. The third policy rule has a held string note with faint piano taps. The fourth policy rule has a rather calm-sounding score as the tense piano taps return when the camera zooms past them. The held strings come back as we get to the Alien egg, ending with an abrupt two-note piano finish as the camera zooms into the egg. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before this frightening feature begins, let's talk safety. Keep track of all your possessions, or any "possessed" objects you may have brought with you. And if you happen to see any evil spirits with suspicious agendas, report them to our crew. In case of a haunting, or any other type of emergency, you'll want to find the closest door to safety. Watch your step, as you walk out of the theater, and move far away. Now that that's covered, let's find out what's hatching soon at an AMC near you."
- Comedy: For the first policy rule, there is a reversed guitar strum which rises in volume before segueing to a hard rock theme with the sound of a girl laughing, as well as the cards falling and the chips clacking. After the text flips over, there is a "clink", followed by the phone buzzing and ringing. During the second policy rule, there is a faint scream, followed by the sounds of the ghost trap and zapping noises. During the third policy rule, the music turns into a hard jamming tune with an audience cheering. The sound of the door opening is heard. During the "coming soon" segment, there is the sound of the bowling ball rolling down the lane, which then ends the trailer with the sounds of the pins being knocked down, followed by a reversed whoosh. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we start the shenanigans, let's talk safety. Be sure to keep track of your stuff. And any best "friends" you may have brought with you. And if you happen to see any slimy characters with questionable agendas, report them to our crew. This party's just gettin' started! But in case of an emergency, scope out the closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater, and move far away. Now let's be like the dude, and abide, as we find out what's rolling in to an AMC near you."
- Superhero: Throughout the pre-show, a dramatic, heroic fanfare plays in the background, with choirs joining in and getting more dramatic until the near end. During the first policy rule, police sirens and a reversed ringing noise are heard as the haze is on-screen, followed by a loud whoosh as the screen zooms through the window. During the second policy rule, there is the sounds of pages flipping. For the third policy rule, laser zaps and phaser-like sounds are heard both for the "X" lasers and when the safe opens. Closing out the trailer are faint sounds of dripping and phaser sounds with a hip-hop theme which sounds like one of the beats from the theme song of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we begin our heroic adventure, let's talk safety. Trust your super-senses...and keep track of your valuables at all times. If you witness any shady characters with strange agendas, report them to our crew. In case of a mutant takeover or other emergency, use your superpowers to scan the area for the closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. And now, hang on to your shells, as we find out what's oozing into an AMC near you.
- Romance: During the first policy rule, there is a light woodwind fanfare which sounds like a vaguely-sounding version of "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion (from Titanic). The second policy rule has a somber-sounding string score with faint thumps and a quiet "thunk" when the mask settles on the text. A bell tune with the sounds of clapping and the door creaking is heard for the third policy rule. Closing out the trailer is a calm, light piano tune for the "coming soon" segment. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we begin this love story, let's talk safety. Keep an eye on your most precious valuables. Don't let them 'slip' through your fingers. And if you happen to see any suspicious characters with masked agendas, report them to our crew. Just in case you come down with cold feet or if there's any other emergency, you'll want to find the nearest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. Now that that's covered, let's find out what's set to make a lasting impression at AMC."
- Action: For the first policy rule, there is a loud, pounding rock theme with an engine starting and sounds of the chain rattling. As the sound of a car speeding dies down, there is an adrenaline theme with the sounds of the watch beeping and the suitcase closing. This theme continues as the sound of a door being slammed open is heard, followed by the sound of the door sliding open as the theme calms to an angelic choir. Closing out the trailer is the sounds of a racecar speeding and its tires screeching with a dubstep theme ending with a bell toll. The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we start this action sequence, let's talk safety. Keep track of any crucial contraptions you may have brought with you. Don't let anything get left in the dust. If you identify any shadowy characters with top-secret agendas, report them to our crew. In case of an emergency, find an easy way out by locating the exit closest to you, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. And now, let's shift into high gear and find out what's speeding into an AMC near you."
- Drama: The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before the plot thickens, let's talk safety. Keep an eye on any valuables or anything of sentimental value that you may have brought with you. If you happen to see any unusual characters with suspicious agendas, report them to our crew. Pay attention to the clues. In the event of an emergency, investigate the closest exit and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. Now that that's covered, let's find out what's soon to cause sparks at an AMC near you."
- Fantasy: The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before the movie magic begins, let's talk safety. Keep track of any creatures or other belongings you may have brought with you. Don't let anything escape. If you spot any suspicious scoundrels with plan of muting, report them to our crew. If the clock should strike the darkest hour and an emergency should occur, travel through the closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. And now, it's time to reveal what's soon to enchant an AMC near you."
- Animation: The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we begin our animated tale, let's talk safety. Don't let anything valuable wander off, keep track of your stuff, and your friend. If you notice any meddling minions, with oddball agendas, report them to our crew. In case of emergency, follow these instructions. Find the exit built closest to you. Watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far away. Attention soldiers, it's time to scope out what's landing soon at an AMC near you."
- Sci-Fi: The female announcer says "Welcome to AMC. Before we launch this intergalactic saga, let's talk safety. Be sure to guard the belongings, that are most important to you in the galaxy. If you notice any careless humans with suspicious agendas, report them to our crew. In case of an alarming encounter, or any other emergency, beam yourself to the closest exit, and watch your step as you walk out of the theater and move far, far away. And now, it's time to reveal our ultimate plans, commencing soon at an AMC near you."
14th Opening (Fall 2017-March 2024)
Visuals:
- Previews (2017-19): The camera moves to the top of a mountain with a transmitter site on it at night, with a city and another hill in the distance. Several red, cyan, white and gold lines move over the mountain and across the city, then come together to form a ring with the AMC wordmark in the center. The lines moves past several messages above the city: "KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR VAULABLES", "REPORT SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR" (the streak dodges some purple spikes), "BEHIND", "LEFT", "RIGHT", FRONT", and "WALK TO SAFETY". The lines then shoot out of the city, and above the Earth, where a large array of streaks make Europe and the United States glow. A bright flash as the screen zooms towards the U.S. transitions to a man and women entering an AMC theater. As the man and an employee confirm their ticket using an app on their smartphones, the lines go through the employee's phone. Another woman orders a cherry Coca-Cola through a Coca-Cola machine, and the lines circle around a Coca-Cola glass as it is poured. The woman heads to a bar along with another woman and man, and the lines move around a drink a man pours for another woman, which she then holds. The woman and man who entered the theater earlier are now in an auditorium. The woman presses a button on her recliner, which the lines enter, and they both enjoy the show. A digital projector lights up, then emits a ray of light from its' lens. The lines move to the right of a red circle with an AMC wordmark on it, then zoom past the screen to the right. The lines streak past "COMING" and "SOON" as both words fall apart and the background turns green, and some letters form an MPAA "Accompany This Feature" message. www.filmratings.com and www.mpaa.org appear below.
- Feature Presentation (2017-19): The lines move around an several seats in an auditorium; they turn glitchy with expressions appearing, then become noisy before revealing "DON'T RUIN THE MOVIE" and "THANK YOU" as the screen hides behind a railing. At a concession bar, the AMC Stubs logo zooms to the center of the screen, and the service's perks are displayed below, one at a time, at an increasingly fast pace. An array of lines curve around the logo, then a Coca-Cola machine screen is shown. The lines circle around the "pour below" button, then as the button glows they zoom into the screen. Inside the lines are videos of a man and woman embracing each other, a man eating popcorn getting startled and spilling it, a black man drinking Coca-Cola and glancing at a woman, and lastly someone placing a Coca-Cola glass in a cupholder. Above the glass, the lines curve around to the left, revealing "ENJOY THE SHOW". Some glowing rings reveal the AMC circle logo, with the lines moving away in the distance.
- Previews (2019-2024): After the AMC ring is formed, two pairs of spotlights reveal "CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF MOVIES" / "1920 - 2020" below the wordmark. Later, as the streaks light up the Northern Hemisphere, a giant silver star appears and zooms towards the screen. In a red void, several positive reviews for AMC's A-List and a "#1" made of glowing particles appear, then the #1 zooms through the screen to reveal the AMC Stubs A-List logo. Beyond the reviews and logo are "See Up To 3 Movies Every Week", logos for AMC's premium formats (Dolby Cinema at AMC, IMAX at AMC, RealD 3D, Prime at AMC) with "ALL FORMATS INCLUDED" and fine print below, "FREE Size Upgrades On Popcorn & Fountain Drinks" between top-view images of popcorn and Coca-Cola, and "$5 Reward For Every $50 Spent". A smartphone on the right moves to the left, revealing "FREE Online Movie Reservations". The fine print, words and smartphone disperse as the screen exits the red void into a green environment. The lines again zoom past "COMING and "SOON", and the MPA symbol appears in the background as letters form the "Accompany This Feature" message. www.motionpictures.org and www.filmratings.com on the left and a MPA logo on the right appear below.
- Feature Presentation (2019-2024): The lines move through the mountains towards the city. The screen moves across the city from a view facing down, then the screen turns red as the AMC A-List Stubs logo and a message telling viewers to join A-List and receive credit for the following movie appear. The AMC Stubs sequence follows, and the longer revised list of perks ends with "JOIN US AFTER THE MOVIE AT AMCSTUBS.COM". A flash transitions to the "don't ruin the movie" sequence, followed by the Coca-Cola machine and the lines with videos inside them, where the man spilling his popcorn is cut off. Several lines surround the Coca-Cola glass, then the screen moves above the Earth as several lights glow and the lines move to the right. Above the earth is a large "100" reflecting the glowing U.S. from the "Previews" opening. A light flashes in the top right and the lines reveal "1920-2020 | CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF MOVIES AT AMC" below the 100. The screen zooms through the 100 and space to reveal "ENJOY THE SHOW" on a black background.
Variants:
- In AMC Classic locations, the 2017-19 previews bumper displayed an AMC Classic logo towards the end instead of AMC's circle logo.
- In AMC locations carrying Screenvision's Front + Center pre-show, the 2019-24 previews bumper is split in two halves. The second half begins with a giant silver star in the center of a black background zooming towards the screen, leading to the AMC Stubs sequence.
Technique: CGI and live action.
Audio: Unknown.
15th Opening (We Make Movies Better) (2021-)
Visuals: Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, reciting a speech about visiting an AMC theater, walks through a rain puddle at night reflecting an AMC theater, then takes off her rain coat once she makes it there. She walks towards the theater, and enters a bright gray hallway with numbered auditorium entrances. Kidman enters one of the auditoriums and walks up the left stairs to the top row of seats, then the screen fades to black. A projector exposes Kidman to clips from Jurassic World and Wonder Woman (2017), then she sits down in a lower-row seat and watches clips from La La Land and Creed, as shown from various angles. Kidman says the last part of her speech to the camera. The "AMC THEATRES" logo glows over an iris-like background, and the slogan "WE MAKE MOVIES BETTER" fades in below.
Trivia:
- This ad campaign would later be used by AMC's subsidiaries, Odeon, UCI, Cinesa, Filmstaden and Finnkino.
- The advertising agency behind this opening is Barkley. It was directed by Jeff Cronenweth, cinematographer of Fight Club and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and scripted by The Hunger Games and Captain Phillips screenwriter Billy Ray.
- Here is an interview Variety had with Billy Ray about the intro. He is shocked that it became anywhere near as popular as it is, and considers "Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this" his favorite line he has ever written.
- This opening's popularity is such that "We Make Movies Better" is one of only three logos to have its own page on TV Tropes, as opposed to being described on the Vanity Plate page. Here is said page. The other two logos with separate pages on TV Tropes are Cinemark Theatres' "Front Row Joe" trailers and Cartoon Network's "CN City" bumpers.
Technique: Live-action, with a CGI logo at the end.
Audio: Throughout the whole trailer, there is a somber, yet powerful-sounding piano/orchestral tune. In the middle of all this, Kidman says "We come to this place for magic. We come to AMC Theaters to laugh, to cry, to care because we need them. All of us. That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim. And we go somewhere we've never been before. Not just entertained, but somehow reborn. Together. Dazzling images on a huge silver screen. Sound that I can feel. Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this. Our heroes feel like the best part of us, and stories feel perfect and powerful. Because here, they are. AMC Theaters. We make movies better."
Legacy: This opening is known for being the subject of countless memes and parodies, where it was parodied on the season 48 premiere of Saturday Night Live, which featured Chloe Fineman as Kidman, as well as a trailer for Saw X where Billy the Puppet (voiced by Tobin Bell) is seen watching scenes from said movie in Kidman's place. The opening was also the subject of multiple audience participation rituals, such as cheering (specifically when Kidman says, "Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this"), saluting, and even reciting the script in time with Kidman.
16th Opening (Enjoy the Magic) (March 8, 2024-)
Visuals:
- Coming Soon: The sequence starts with the creation of a spark. Then it pans to another spark and a cosmic explosion occurs, transitioning to someone writing on sticky notes, zooming to the end of a movie script. It transitions to a clapperboard and light moving out of frame, revealing a soundboard and screens displaying older AMC pre-show videos above it. A lens flare segues thrice to a conductor conducting an orchestra, a zoom away from the Hollywood sign, and a wide shot of the area with fireworks. The screen backs into a building with the AMC wordmark, then the text "THEATRES" shines into view. It zooms out, showing a shining movie projector and a man on the left while "WE MAKE MOVIES BETTER" appears word by word. Another shot of the projector shows it projecting onto an auditorium screen eight images, among them moviegoers feeling delighted around an AMC theatre, an AMC employee, a woman pouring a bucket of popcorn, and viewers stunned by the presentation. The screen backs away from the projector as it continues displaying glowing imagery, and more people enter the auditorium. "REPORT SUSPICIOUS BEHAVOR" slides in as Clip appears briefly on the auditorium screen. "KEEP TRACK OF YOUR VALUABLES" slides to the right of a phone in a cupholder, and "FIND THE EXIT CLOSEST TO YOU" slides to the left of an exit sign. "WATCH YOUR STEP" appears in the center as the screen moves down auditorium steps that glow. A shot of the auditorium panning to the right is stopped by a fierce glow, fading to three receptacles on the way out and "THANK YOU" appearing above them. Another lens flare segues to a pan down a CG current AMC auditorium hallway. The AMC Investors Connect logo shines in and fades out before the camera moves into a poster with the AMC Stubs logo on it. The logo appears over a multicolored crystal-like space and slowly backs away, eventually seeing "HAS OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE" appear under it. The environment turns blue as the logo becomes the AMC Stubs Insider logo with "JOIN FOR FREE" below. The text becomes "EARN POINTS FOR $5 REWARDS" then "SAVE WEEKLY ON DISCOUNT TUESDAYS" with "JOIN TODAY AT AMCSTUBS.COM" below. The space turns orange as "INSIDER" becomes "PREMIERE" and the middle text is "NEVER PAY ONLINE TICKET FEES", then "EARN $5 REWARDS 5X FASTER THAN INSIDERS" as the bottom text disappears. From many stars forming the shape of one, one becomes the star in the AMC Stubs A-List logo as the background becomes red and reflects a phone on the AMC Stubs app. Below the logo is "SEE UP TO 3 MOVIES EVERY WEEK IN ANY FORMAT", logos for AMC's premium formats (including Laser at AMC), and fine print. All of this disperses for "MAKE FREE TICKET RESERVATIONS ONLINE". This screen disintegrates and "COMING SOON" appears over a gray space which also dissolves away; "COMING SOON" slowly fades out.
- Feature Presentation: The scene pans down a detailed space environment towards a nebula shooting out bursts of light. The camera follows one burst high into the sky, then fades to a pan towards the Hollywood sign later at night with more fireworks. A pair of spotlights transition to a space background and the Hollywood sign fades away. "Silence is Golden" in its usual font appears word by word as the screen zooms out, showing the scene on an auditorium screen. "DON'T TEXT" appears over the screen, then the last word changes to "POST" and "TALK" before the text fades out, revealing some people in the auditorium using smartphones which are turned off. The auditorium fades away as the aura of space overtakes the screen. A row of seated people are seen, then the screen zooms towards a black man with popcorn and Coca-Cola can. As the man takes a bite of his popcorn, he is suddenly transported to an alleyway with people dancing, and he drinks a Coca-Cola bottle. A female dancer with sunglasses glances at the man and he finds himself dancing. The female nods at the man, then the screen zooms past her to the man driving in a city in a car with his bottle, being chased by another car driven by the female without sunglasses, who winks. The man finds the woman in an ancient town, and they look towards each other only for the woman to notice his Coke and sip from it. Back in the theater, the man finds a woman to the left sipping from a Coca-Cola cup, and they, along with others in the auditorium, settle down as "ENJOY THE MAGIC" appears above them.
Technique: CGI and live action.
Audio:
- Coming Soon: Over the trailer, a voiceover says "A story. A script. A production. And finally, a movie that takes its place in cinema history. A film that unites us all and brings us here to experience it on a huge silver screen. Welcome to AMC Theatres. We make movies better. Your safety is important, so please report suspicious or disruptive behavior, and keep track of your valuables. Find the exit closest to you and in case of emergency, watch your step as you walk out of the auditorium after the movie. We thank you for throwing away your trash and helping keep our theaters clean. We'd like to take a moment to recognize our investors and to thank our millions of AMC Stubs members. Movies are better with rewards, and AMC Stubs has options for everyone. If you're not a member, join Insider for free to earn points toward $5 rewards and save weekly on Discount Tuesdays. Upgrade to Premiere to skip online ticket fees and earn rewards five times faster, or take your place among the stars on our A-List to see up to 3 movies every week in any format and make free reservations for movies like these, coming soon to an AMC theater near you."
- Feature Presentation: Unknown.
- Draft articles
- Pages with upcoming new onscreen logo
- Pages with missing/incomplete descriptions
- American cinema trailers
- United States
- Cinema trailers
- AMC Theatres
- Logos with film and television footage
- Logos with celebrities
- Logos with library music by Keith Mansfield
- Logos with library music
- Logos with Cascom stock footage
- Animations on Silicon Graphics
- Logos made by Cinema Concepts
- Logos made by Reel FX
- Logos with music by Philip Pelletier