People see "AMC launching an indie label" and think they're becoming A24, but everyone missed the actual business model AMC isn't spending a single dollar on producing or acquiring these movies. They created Leawood Films because they have thousands of empty screens on weekdays and need content to fill them. Filmmakers have to fully fund their own movies, and in exchange, AMC guarantees screen time and lets them keep their IP. It’s essentially DistroKid or self-publishing for movie theaters. Indie creators say this is a dream lifeline to bypass festival gatekeepers. Film purists say shifting all financial risk onto broke filmmakers while AMC collects ticket and popcorn fees is crazy.