AMC Theaters Add ‘Zoom Rooms’ Amid Remote Work Transformation

Zoom could be coming soon to a theater near you.

The video conferencing platform has launched a partnership with AMC Entertainment to allow businesses to hold remote meetings and events at AMC’s multiplexes.

“Zoom Rooms at AMC enables companies with dispersed workforces and customer bases to bring people from different locations together at the same time for cohesive hybrid events and meeting experiences,” the companies said in a Thursday (March 14) news release.

The program is available at theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Kansas, San Jose and Seattle/Tacoma, and marks what AMC calls a significant expansion of its theater-rental business.

“Through Zoom Rooms at AMC, businesses and organizations can make their meetings larger than life by leveraging the Zoom platform to host Zoom meetings, events, webinars, and sessions on the big screen to help elevate interactive, hybrid events for business meetings, organizations, and event planners,” the release said.

The partnership is happening at a time when the traditional notion of what an office looks like has given away to a transformation brought on by the rise of remote and hybrid work, as noted here last month.

“This transformation, powered by the integration of technology and connected devices, is enabling employees to communicate and collaborate seamlessly, while streamlining workflows and improving operational performance,” PYMNTS wrote. “Furthermore, sophisticated data analytics provide insights into workspace use, guiding informed decision-making for resource allocation.”

At the same time, that report said, creating a fully connected workplace still comes with challenges, such as protecting data security and privacy.

“Another significant challenge lies in the potential for digital overload as the constant influx of notifications, alerts and updates can lead to cognitive overload, diminishing productivity and contributing to burnout,” that report said.

Data from the Information Overload Research Group, a nonprofit consortium comprising business professionals, researchers and consultants, shows that workers in the United States waste a quarter of their time managing data streams, which costs the economy $997 billion per year.

Meanwhile, last month also brought the news that remote workers may be in a more precarious employment situation than their in-office counterparts.

According to a report by Bloomberg News — citing data from employment firm Live Data Technologies — fully remote staff were more likely to be laid off last year than employees who worked in the office.