The formal announcement follows on from a July 2010 ruling by the King County Superior Court in the state of Washington that AMC can afford to provide the necessary equipment to show all caption-rendered movies with captions. AMC was ordered to do so within 90 days of conversion to digital projection. AMC initially appealed the order then made the verbal commitment to full captioning in August last year. This formal announcement brings AMC in line with its cinema counterparts Landmark, Regal and Cinemark who also have formal national commitments.
This is the fourth American cinema chain to commit to providing access after the announcement in 2009 by Australia’s major cinemas to provide captions and audio description in all their complexes. The UK is further behind the USA, with its industry currently looking at accessible cinema options with an expectation to commence installations towards the end of 2012.
Closed captioning and audio description will initially be rolled out in AMC’s California locations, reaching 127 screens by mid-2012. This number is expected to grow nationally to over 500 screens by late 2013.
There are currently 41 cinemas in Australia that cater to customers with a hearing or visual impairment. Find an accessible cinema near you.
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