Amazon reportedly wants to buy a movie theater chain
Bloomberg says it's vying to acquire Landmark Theatres.
Amazon might soon have brick-and-mortar movie theaters of its own if it succeeds in acquiring Landmark Theatres. According to anonymous Bloomberg sources, the e-commerce giant is one of the companies seeking to buy the chain and its 50 locations, which focus on independent and foreign films, from Wagner/Cuban Cos. Amazon has refused to confirm to Bloomberg if it's truly vying to acquire the business, but it's not unthinkable that the company would want to buy movie theaters given its entertainment push. Amazon recently named a new studio chief and made organizational changes to be able to take on Netflix. Reports from earlier this year claimed the company will focus on producing big movies to lure people into Prime, as well.
By expanding its entertainment business with offerings exclusively available to Prime members, the company can entice more people to sign up for the subscription plan or to retain their existing ones. Amazon has to think of ways to make sure it doesn't lose customers, after all, especially since it raised subscription prices in the US.
If Amazon does buy Landmark Theatres, it'll be far from the first time it's crossing into brick-and-mortar territory. It has physical bookstores in Seattle and other locations, and it has plans to open Amazon Go checkout-free stores across the US. The company also bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017. We'll have to wait for more info on what the tech giant plans to do with the chain, though, and whether it intends show Amazon Studios-produced movies in Landmark Theatre locations.
