Jeff Bezos takes another step to conquer Hollywood

It’s been a long time since Jeff Bezos rubs shoulders with Hollywood stars. The richest man in the world –Forbes estimates his fortune at 150 billion dollars- was present at the last installment of the Oscars and before decreeing the coronavirus pandemic He bought a Los Angeles mansion valued at $ 165 million.

However, this week the owner of Amazon he went one step further in his desire to join the film industry. According to several international media, it would be in negotiations to buy the AMC cinema chain. It is the largest in the world and has 1,000 cinemas and 11,000 theaters both in the United States and in Canada and Europe. And due to the quarantine and the inability to watch movies in person, their actions are down.

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For that reason, Bezos You could use the moment to stay with the company. To achieve this, it would not only go on to produce films and series (which it carries out for its Amazon Prime streaming platform) but also to distribute and display them in its own rooms. In other words, it would own the entire industrial process.

The drop in ticket sales in cinemas and the increase in ticket prices over the past 20 years generates speculation regarding the purchase. Some analysts say that it is a bad business and that it would be convenient to buy a production company instead of a cinema chain. However, they also point out that for a film to participate in the Oscars it must be released on the big screen. This rule will only be modified for the 2021 installment due to the pandemic but members of the academy claim that they will later return to the classic format. For this reason, if Bezos wants to continue participating or even aspires to win a statuette, having his own rooms where he can show his films is an advantage.

At the moment it was not reported how much Bezos should pay, but rumors and information about it continue. What is a reality is that AMC shares continue to drop and are at their lowest values ​​if you take the period of the last five years. If Bezos buys the company now, he will have to wait for the pandemic to end before activating the business, but it would make 11,000 rooms at a much lower market price.

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