AMC Buys Carmike Locations In West Central Florida

BRADENTON, FL — Tampa Bay area moviegoers may notice a few changes at Carmike Cinemas locations in the near future. The company’s acquisition by AMC was finalized last week to the tune of $1.1 billion. The purchase includes AMC’s assumption of Carmike’s “indebtedness,” the company said in an announcement.

The finalization of the Carmike deal makes AMC the largest movie theater company in the world. It now operates roughly 900 theaters with more than 10,000 screens globally, including 661 locations in the United States and more than 244 across Europe.

"We are fortunate to be adding so many talented and hard-working associates to the AMC team, which speaks well for the leadership of Carmike over the past several years," said AMC CEO and President Adam Aron. "Today we take a moment to celebrate becoming the biggest exhibitor in the U.S., in Europe and throughout the world, and then we roll up our sleeves and get to work to ensure that we are not only the biggest exhibitor but also the best in each of our markets."

Several theaters in West Central Florida are impacted by the purchase. They are:

• Royal Palm 20, 2507 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton
• Starlight 20, 18002 Highwood Preserve Parkway, Tampa
• Palm Harbor 10, 37912 U.S. 19 N., Palm Harbor
• Centro Ybor 20, 1600 E. 8th Ave., Tampa

AMC states ticket prices for Carmike customers will stay the same, and they will also be able to keep earning and using Carmike loyalty rewards points as well as gift cards.

"You can still fill your Popcorn Bucket at the announced price of $4.25 in 2017," AMC adds. "You can still go to the movies for $5 on Tuesdays. You will use the Carmike website to look up movies and buy tickets. You can still follow Carmike on social media. The things that change immediately will have limited impact; for example, we won’t sign up new members to Carmike Rewards, and if you receive the weekly newsletter it may come out on a different day of the week."

Over the next several months, AMC Theaters will begin rolling out a new website, "enhancing food and beverage options" and at some locations, renovating the theatres.

"As we bring your theatre into the AMC family you will begin to see these changes," the company added on its website. "That process will be completed for all theatres within a few months. Some theatres will experience these improvements and changes in February or sooner, some theatres will experience them in March or April."

More details can be found online.

Patch's Kristal Dixon contributed to this report.

Image via Patch