People walk past an AMC theatre in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., February 25, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Hollywood’s blockbuster slate is heating up, and AMC Entertainment is increasing the number of its premium screens to meet demand.
The world’s largest cinema chain is adding 40 Dolby Cinema theaters to its U.S.-based AMC locations through the end of 2027. It marks a 25% increase in the number of the branded premium screens, bringing the company’s total number to more than 200.
“Premium moviegoing is defining the modern box office,” said Kevin Yeaman, president and CEO of Dolby Laboratories. “In expanding our longstanding partnership with AMC, we look forward to providing even more audiences with access to the most immersive film experiences that you can only get at Dolby Cinema.”
The announcement comes just days after AMC revealed a partnership with CJ 4DPLEX to add 65 Screen X auditoriums and 40 4DX theaters to its theaters around the globe.
Premium large format screens, often referred to as PLFs, are elevated viewing experiences that come with a higher ticket price. The physical screens are often bigger than traditional movie screens or have auditoriums that feature higher-quality sound systems or seating options.
Dolby Cinemas are specially designed auditoriums with plush, reclining seats and a combination of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, which deliver crisp visuals and immersive sound. Screen X theaters feature a 270-degree panoramic screen that extends the movie image onto the side walls using multi-projection technology, and 4DX is a premium experience that features gyroscopic seats and practical effects like fog, water and wind that play in time with the movie.
The films that benefit the most from PLF ticket sales have been Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, as audiences want to see explosive action movies and dazzling spectacles in the most state-of-the-art locations. It’s why films like Universal’s “Oppenheimer,” Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” and Warner Bros.′ “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two” captured a significant portion of the PLF box office during their runs.
The 2025 and 2026 box offices are packed with blockbuster features from major franchises like Avatar, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC comics and Mission Impossible.
“The expansion of this partnership is a powerful demonstration of AMC’s ongoing commitment to deliver this premium experience — sought out by filmmakers, studio partners, and our guests — to even more of our theaters and AMC moviegoers around the United States,” Adam Aron, AMC’s CEO, said in a statement Monday about the Dolby expansion.
As of 2024, there were more than 950 theaters in North America that had PLF screens, a 33.7% jump from just five years ago, according to data from Comscore. These screens accounted for 9.1% of the domestic box office, around $600 million in 2024.
Premium ticket prices average just under $17 apiece, according to movie data firm EntTelligence, an 8% increase since 2021, when the company first started reporting these figures.
PLF receipts still represent a small portion of the overall box office, with most audiences seeing films on traditional digital screens. However, the PLF box office has grown 33% in just five years.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
