AMC CEO says 'Renaissance' concert movie leak almost cost him Beyoncé film deal
Beyoncé nearly pulled the release of her concert film last year.
News of the project leaked to the public early, partly because of AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron.
Aron thought giving competitor theater chains a heads-up would be a good idea. It backfired.
Beyoncé's concert film was released in movie theaters last December and together with Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" movie, made up "literally all" of AMC's revenue growth in Q4.
But according to the head of AMC Theaters, the film almost didn't make it to the big screen.
Adam Aron, CEO of the American theater chain, said to be the largest in the world, recently spoke to Variety and admitted that the company's distribution deal with the musician nearly fell through after news of the project leaked early — partly because of him.
Aron said that after AMC partnered with Swift on the surprise release of "The Eras Tour" concert movie in October 2023, he learned that competitor theater owners felt slighted by the deal.
While many theaters, not just AMC-owned ones, could show the movie, only AMC, as its distributor, knew about the film's existence in advance so that it could put tickets on sale first.
"We couldn't blow Taylor's secret," Aron said. "And those theater chains who groused to you? They grossed $100 million in ticket sales. It's not like they sold diddly."
"The Eras Tour" movie ended up having the biggest-ever opening weekend for a concert filming, raking in $92.8 million domestically. It continued to be a box office smash once it opened worldwide and, to date, has grossed $261 million globally.
When it came to Beyoncé's "Renaissance" just two months later, in December 2023, Aron said he attempted to make amends by giving AMC's competitors a heads-up so that they could also make preparations ahead of the official announcement of the movie.
However, the confidential news soon made it to the ears of the public, causing Beyoncé to have second thoughts about releasing the movie.
The Grammy award-winning artist wanted it to surprise her fans like Swift's concert movie had.
"At least half a dozen movie circuits leaked the news," Aron said.
"Beyoncé was seriously thinking about not doing the movie at all because the secret was blown. So, they didn't keep their word."
Representatives for AMC and Beyoncé did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular working hours.
"Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," which combined concert footage of the singer's latest worldwide tour with behind-the-scenes glimpses of the singer's process, took home nearly $44 million at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
According to Aron, AMC will continue to capitalize on the success of the two concert movies and distribute "two to three" concert films a year.
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