With the box office slow to recover, AMC plans to start selling its movie theater popcorn in stores and delivery apps

• AMC is going to start selling popcorn beyond its movie theaters alone.
• Its CEO calls the idea "so natural and logical, one wonders why the idea has not been tried before."

When movie theaters around the world shuttered because of the coronavirus, many fans started missing the big-screen viewing experience. Now, AMC Theatres is making a bet that fans miss another part of the movie-going experience: the popcorn.

AMC said on Thursday that it will soon start selling its signature popcorn beyond movie theaters alone.

"The announcement that AMC will become a competitor in the multi-billion popcorn market is so natural and logical, one wonders why the idea has not been tried before," CEO Adam Aron said in the press release. "This is an opportunity to diversify our business and to create a new revenue stream for our company, all the while delighting popcorn lovers whether they are in our theatres, are on the go, or find themselves in the comfort of their own homes."

AMC churns out roughly 50 tons of popcorn per day, or 100,000 pounds of the salty snack, on its busiest days, Aron also said in the release.

The company will start selling its AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn across four new platforms starting in 2022. These include mall retail locations across the country, such as kiosks, counters, and stores. AMC plans to launch up to five of these mall retail locations in the first half of 2022, with the goal of opening 15 stores by the end of next year and "significantly more" in 2023 and beyond. These locations will sell traditional and gourmet-flavored popcorn, candy, soft drinks, and bottled water.

In addition, to-go packages of the popcorn will be available for takeout and pickup from movie theaters, and the snack will also be available for orders through food delivery services.

AMC will start selling ready-to-pop packages of the snack in supermarkets and convenience stores around the US.

"The U.S. multi-billion popcorn market is expected to grow significantly over the next several years," the press release reads. "With the popularity of AMC Theatres' Perfectly Popcorn, and given AMC's current position as the largest freshly popped popcorn provider in the United States, AMC believes that an expansion into the sale of popcorn on a retail basis outside of theatres is a natural extension of AMC's core business."