AMC Theaters Are Now Letting People Buy Movie Tickets With Crypto

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 12 November 2021, 10:11 pm

AMC Theaters has now officially launched crypto payments for buying movie tickets online.

(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)
HARWOOD HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 04: An AMC Theatres logo hangs on the front of one of the company's movie theaters shuttered by the coronavirus COVID-19 on December 04, 2020 in Harwood Heights, Illinois. In what could be another blow to the theater industry, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 films will stream on HBO Max during the same time the films will be playing in theaters.

According to The Verge, AMC is now offering movie tickets for cryptocurrency payments. They're accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin for a start.

Aside from the crypto options, you can also now buy movie tickets online from AMC Theaters using your Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Paypal account.

Company CEO Adam Aron tweeted the official announcement himself:

Big newsflash! As promised, many new ways NOW to pay online at AMC. We proudly now accept: drumroll, please… Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin. Also Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal. Incredibly, they already account for 14% of our total online transactions! Dogecoin next. pic.twitter.com/a7pqYBm7HB
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) November 12, 2021

If it still needs to be clarified, you cannot use any of the accepted cryptocurrencies mentioned above for buying tickets in person. Aron made it clear that AMC Theaters is only accepting crypto payments online.

CoinDesk has also reported that apparently, the company is expecting to allow Dogecoin payments for tickets next.

his is after AMC Theaters started accepting the popular meme-based crypto (who's gained notoriety thanks to support from Elon Musk) for payments on gift cards, which was due to a partnership they signed with BitPay last month.

(Photo : Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Representation of Bitcoin and Dogecoin cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration photo taken in Sulkowice, Poland on August 10, 2021.

Another potential crypto to be added by AMC is Shiba Inu. The company has claimed that they're "exploring" the idea of adding SHIB. And if things fall through, it will be the second meme-based cryptocurrency they're going to support after Dogecoin.

All 593 AMC Theaters locations will be accepting the tickets people paid for in crypto from here on out, or until major circumstances prompt a change in the future.

Why Is AMC Theaters Entering The Crypto Business?

AMC Theaters first announced their plans to explore crypto payment options back in September. Once again, CEO Adam Aron took to social media to announce that they were considering it back then.

Aron further noted that AMC Theaters has been "intrigued" by the lucrative business potential of cryptocurrency payments. Hence, the decision to allow digital currencies by the company.

Right now, AMC is experiencing a business boom. As per Fox Business, they've tallied third-quarter revenues amounting to $763.2 million, which is up from a mere $119.5 million from the same time period last year.

Entering the cryptocurrency industry can prove to be even more lucrative for AMC Theaters too. This is considering the fact that the adoption of digital currencies is becoming even more widespread, and that movie theaters have started reopening amidst relaxed pandemic restrictions.

(Photo : Getty Images )

Just In Time?

Americans have increasingly been investing in crypto recently. It's been reported by Pew Research that around 16% of Americans (as much as 43% of them being young men) have invested in some form of cryptocurrency this year.

In a way, AMC Theaters' decision to accept crypto payments for online ticket sales could be classified as being "just in time."

With more people owning crypto and more theaters reopening, people will likely gravitate towards cashless payment options that aren't traditional like credit/debit cards.

For now, it still remains to be seen if other big-name companies are going to follow AMC Theaters' lead.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce