Photo Credit: HipHopDX
Chance the Rapper has partnered with AMC as the exclusive premier partner for his upcoming concert film.
The film doesn’t have a firm release date, but AMC is locked in as the nationwide distribution partner. ‘Magnificent Coloring World’ will screen in AMC theaters nationwide and will mark Chance the Rapper’s big-screen debut. It celebrates the five-year anniversary of his mixtape, Coloring Book.
He became the first independent artist to win a Grammy for that mixtape. The film’s upcoming release marks the first project from Chance to be released through AMC, the largest theater chain in the United States.
“As the first individual music artist to distribute a concert film at AMC, Chance continues to break new ground in entertainment, and we are thrilled to bring this incredible event to the big screen at AMC communities around the country,” says Nikkole Denson-Randolph, SVP of Content Strategy & Inclusive Programming at AMC Theatres. “Chance’s love of not only film but the communal magic of the cinemas and the shared experience of seeing a film together makes this collaboration even more special.”
“Never seen before. Not the tour. Not really even a concert. A movie,” Chance the Rapper writes about the film on Instagram. A small teaser trailer was released alongside the press release. AMC Theaters is an interesting partner as musicians and artists seek new outlets during the pandemic.
All AMC theaters require patrons to wear masks at all times and adhere to social distancing. Health experts predict 185 million people in the United States will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 2021. AMC reported a loss of $567 million in Q1 2021 – and $4.5 billion losses for all of 2020.
Movie theaters are suffering just as much as the live concert industry as the pandemic wears on. Many movie studios are holding back releases of major blockbusters, hoping for the pandemic to ease. Others are shortening or eliminating the period between when new releases are available on streaming services.
The result is AMC theaters has thousands of screens across the United States that are going under-utilized. Will exclusive premiers of concert films draw in the massive fans of rap personalities like Chance the Rapper?
Travis Scott’s Astronomical tour in Fortnite drew massive crowds, but no one had to leave home. “It’s too early to suggest that’s going to be the new theater experience, but I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see it at least attempted,” Neil Begley, a senior industry analyst says of theaters diversifying their screen offerings. Pretty soon, theaters may be a place to rent for video game nights, or to see Bon Jovi live.