AMC Theater CEO Adam Aron has been forced to respond to bizarre allegations that the cinema chain is actively suppressing the screenings of the Christian movie The Sound of Freedom.
The allegations began when several TikTok users began circulating videos of their apparent experiences at AMC cinemas downplaying the film by shutting off air conditioning or causing random emergencies to force moviegoers out of the theater for their ticket refunds.
One TikTok user, isnsheadaisy, showed her experience describing that she and her daughters were watching the movie, and about an hour and 20 minutes in, there was a random emergency evacuation. The mall wasn’t being evacuated, just the theater which forced everyone to refund their tickets with no explanation.
Another user, bleighve1112, accused the theater of not warning her and her friends that the tickets they had purchased had been refunded. She went on to add how there were only eight people in the theater that night and how the theater had air conditioning in the lobby and hallways, but not in the theater itself.
In response to the allegations, Aron tweeted, “Really bizarre [Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt] floating around Twitter that we are suppressing attendance for Sound of Freedom. Yesterday we showed that movie 3,000 times at our 570 U.S. theatres and more than 100,000 people watched it at AMC Theaters.”
He then wrote the day after, “Let’s put this ridiculous conspiracy theory to bed. Fri/Sat more than 250,000 people watched Sound of Freedom at AMC in the U.S.”
He then highlighted a comment from the Angel Studios Head of Distribution who claimed “No other theater chain in the world has shown more support for Sound of Freedom and Angel Studios than AMC.”
Angel Studios Co-founder Jeffrey Harmon and CEO Neal Harmon responded to Aron’s tweet thanking him for being a great partner.
YouTuber Coach’s Archive then responded to Aron’s comments saying, “If you’ve got time to praise Mission: Impossible, if you’ve got time to praise Barbie if you’ve got time to praise Indiana Jones, but the number one in the theater on two different days in the last seven days and you can’t say a word about it, that’s about all I need to know about you, Mr. Aron, CEO of AMC.”
The accusations of AMC Theaters suppressing the Sound of Freedom have apparently been debunked by Aron himself and the statement from the Angel Studios Head of Distribution. Despite the allegations, the film has been still performing well at the box office and could continue to do so until it completes its theatrical run.
Overall, it remains to be seen whether or not AMC Theaters did have a motive to suppress the Sound of Freedom, but from the looks of it, they have shown undying support for the film.