AMC making publishers pee their pants

Newspaper publishers are rooting for a collapse in attendance at Washington, D.C.-area movie theaters.

Kansas City-based AMC Entertainment has stopped paying to advertise movie times in The Washington Post. A spokesman for the chain says a commitment to an ad in a daily newspaper limited AMC’s ability to communicate with film fans, who can easily find show times on the Internet.

“In an era when many moviegoers are using alternative resources to access movie times, AMC has chosen to reallocate its movie time information methods,” AMC spokesman Justin Scott told The Post‘s ombudsman.

Post executives are said to be worried that other exhibitors may follow suit, depriving the paper of a steady revenue stream.