In September 2021, AMC Theatres began airing a commercial starring actress Nicole Kidman in its theaters and on television. The ad, written by screenwriter Billy Ray, was intended to spur theater attendance following the COVID-19 pandemic by highlighting the "magic" of the movie theater experience.
In the ad, Kidman enters and sits alone in an empty AMC theater while delivering a monologue describing in heightened language the pleasures of the moviegoing experience, such as the "indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we've never been before". The commercial became a surprise hit among audiences, with its earnestly rhapsodic style and script—particularly the line "Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this."—developing a certain camp appeal. It has inspired Internet memes, parodies, and in-theatre audience participation rituals.
Description
The ad begins outside an AMC cineplex, with a shot of high-heeled shoes stepping through a puddle, reflecting an illuminated "AMC" sign. Kidman lowers an oversized ("Jedi-like") hood and enters the building, making her way into an empty theater. She takes her seat, the lights dim, and clips from several films appear onscreen before her, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Creed (all 2015), La La Land (2016), and Wonder Woman (2017). Throughout the 60-second spot, Kidman delivers a rhapsodic monologue on the pleasures of the moviegoing experience, partly via