Watch Ed Helms, Christina Applegate Thank Fans for Still Going to Movie Theaters (Videos)

ComicCon 2016: NATO endorses a new plan to make movie fans feel the love

As part of a new campaign to connect more deeply with movie theater audiences, directors and stars like Ed Helms and Christina Applegate from last summer’s “Vacation” are creating video thank-yous that will play ahead of new releases.

The move was first announced at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday by the National Association of Theatre Owners President and CEO John Fithian — who urged theater owners and distributors to play the spots.

The new campaign was hatched through a partnership between AMC Theaters and CreativeFuture, a coalition to promote creativity, in order to make moviegoers feel appreciated.

“Without audiences, none of what filmmakers do would be possible,” said CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale in a statement obtained by TheWrap.

AMC has already agreed to allot 30-to-60 seconds of screen-time before each movie starts for these special videos.

“This program lets movie-goers know they make a difference and are valued,” said AMC Theatres Chief Content & Programming Officer Elizabeth Frank in the joint statement.

A series of “thank yous” have already run ahead of titles including “Vacation,” “Eddie the Eagle,” “The Hateful Eight” and “The Good Dinosaur.” Together, these spots amassed an aggregate 9 million impressions at 336 AMC locations.

Our relationship with our customers is our most important one,” NATO’s Fithian told TheWrap on Wednesday. “We are happy to be able to offer to our members a simple and effective way to join together with filmmakers to thank our guests for their valued patronage.”

Watch the video above and below.

Comments