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To some, she’s “Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman“. To us, she’s “AMC Icon Nicole Kidman”. Anyone who has been to an AMC theater in the last few years knows what we’re talking about: the theater chain’s pre-movie promo video featuring Kidman in a pinstriped suit, settling in for a good movie and waxing poetic about the connective, communal nature of cinema.
And though there have been many jokes made about the clip and its successors, they were created with serious intention, which Kidman told Elle in a March 2024 profile. Shot over a weekend while the actress was working on the 2021 Lucille Ball biopic Being the Ricardos, the AMC ad was Kidman’s way of supporting movie theaters after the devastation the COVID-19 pandemic had on the film industry, not to mention the whole world. She told the outlet:
It was just the desire to keep cinemas alive. I’ve had the best experiences in cinema. I’d pretend I was going to school; I’d forge a note, and I’d go and sit in a movie theater. That’s a safe haven for me, so the idea of those not existing—that’s just not part of the equation in my lifetime.
The original earnest 60-second clip—during which the Aussie actress famous declares, “Heartbreak feels good in a place like this”—quickly became an Internet favorite when it debuted back in September 2001 and prompted not only even more ads featuring the movie star but also parodies on Saturday Night Live and homemade “Nicole Kidman for AMC” merch. Per Elle, the Michael Kors suit that Nicole memorably wears in the ads was recently auctioned by Sotheby’s for nearly ten grand.
The award winner—who was most recently seen in Amazon’s book-to-screen adaptation of Expats, which is available to stream on Prime Video—said that good-natured jests about the ads from the likes of Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Katya are all worth it if it gets movie lovers back to the cinemas.
If that’s what it takes, I’ll do whatever it takes. We have to have some more ideas for the next one.
And speaking of drag queens, Kidman is game to get drag performers involved with the AMC Theaters lore, telling the publication:
My dream will be to be onstage doing it with a drag queen. I’ve got to be able to do that at some point.
Maybe Nicole can call Katya for a fun little cameo?
Thankfully, there will be plenty more AMC ads in Nicole Kidman’s future—earlier this month, the theater chain announced that it will be rolling out three ads starring the iconic actress at AMC locations nationwide. Per Variety, the Kidman-led clips includes a new 30-second version of the “We Make Movies Better” ad, as well as two never-before-seen-in-theaters versions of the original pre-show ad in the coming months.
As reported by Deadline, AMC CEO Adam Aron said of the new pre-show commercials:
You won’t get like three in a row when you go to watch one movie. But as you watch movies going forward, you will see three different Nicole spots that will kind of randomly appear in our theaters prior to the show.
You won’t hear any complaints from us. After all, “AMC Ad Star Nicole Kidman” is our favorite Nicole Kidman.