AMC is working with a company called zoom to turn some theaters into meeting rooms

AMC-Zoom: Bringing Zoom Rooms to the Dialogue of Remote Workforces in the U.S.: APR Q3 Results

The chain of theaters says that it’s possible for companies to have the same experience on the call as they do in the theater. You will get a three-hour block at whichever theater you choose as a result of booking the service, with AMC and Zoom offering the necessary equipment for a fully functional Zoom Rooms experience. (Zoom Rooms is the video calling company’s term for its conference room system.)

The service won’t be available at every single AMC theater; the company says it’s only planning on launching it in “up to 17 major U.S. markets” next year.

The press release pitches the move as a way to connect remote workers, providing a “centrally located venue” in cities that aren’t necessarily located near your company’s HQ. From a business perspective, the partnership makes sense, as it lets AMC make money off of theaters that may have sat empty during the day. And AMC’s definitely looking for ways to make money; while its Q2 earnings report revealed that it’s doing significantly better than it was in 2020 or 2021, it’s still expected to announce losses during its Q3 earnings call on Tuesday.

Zoom Cuts Make It More Hard, Too: How the Employees in Zoom are Frustrated With Their Efficient Communication: An Infrastructure and Operations Analyst

Yesterday, the video conferencing platform cut 15 percent of its staff, or about 1,300 people. That came after the doubling of its head count in two years. We did not have to thoroughly analyze the teams or assess if we were growing quickly enough to merit a full-time employee, according to the statement announcing the layoffs. Yuan said he was “accountable for these mistakes” and vowed to reduce his salary by 98 percent and forgo a 2023 bonus, dropping his compensation to about $10,000, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Nearly three years later, Zoom’s dominance is waning. Microsoft and other competitors bundle calling with other productivity tools. Zoom is experiencing market saturation and falling to the Peloton problem—namely, most of the people who are willing to buy Zoom packages may have done so. “It’s suddenly become a much, much harder market than what [Zoom] previously experienced,” says Will McKeon-White, an infrastructure and operations analyst at research firm Forrester.