Nicole Kidman reveals the shocking payday she received for her iconic AMC advert – amid the movie theatre chain’s $25m multimedia campaign

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In 2021, Nicole Kidman became a popular internet meme after appearing in a memorable commercial for the AMC movie theater chain.

I was so thrilled to see Nicole Kidman’s video get over 1.7 million views on YouTube! It’s part of this really big, over $25 million campaign they’re doing to encourage everyone to return to the movies now that things are hopefully getting back to normal after the pandemic. It’s great to see such a recognizable face helping to bring audiences back to the big screen.

Five years after the ad went viral, Nicole recently shared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that she wasn’t paid at all to star in it – she did it for free.

‘The weirdest thing about that… I had no idea that thing was gonna work. We did it out of the purest intentions,’ she said of the ad.

I was so impressed to hear Nicole explain how she really pulled out all the stops to get this marketing campaign filmed for AMC. She personally contacted people like writer Billy Ray and director Jeff Cronenweth, asking for their help. It was amazing to hear her say she did it all with the hope of giving a much-needed boost to struggling movie theaters during the pandemic.

Nicole remembered asking her team from the movie ‘Being the Ricardos’ if they’d be up for the project while they were all working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeff Cronenweth, the cinematographer, volunteered to direct, and I pulled in a lot of favors to make it happen. We did it without pay, and then the project moved forward.

The AMC commercial shows Nicole entering an AMC theatre, removing her jacket’s hood, and settling into her seat to enjoy a film.

In the advertisement, shown before films in theaters, the actor talks about how special it feels to watch a movie.

The commercial became a popular meme because it showed an ad encouraging people to go to the movies… while they were already at the movies, leaving viewers confused and amused.

Everyone was surprised to learn Nicole wasn’t paid for being in the ad. It was part of a huge national marketing campaign for AMC, which cost over $25 million.

The marketing campaign featured television commercials shown nationwide. AMC called it the first time a major movie theater chain had ever advertised on national television.

Nicole’s TV commercials first aired on September 12, 2021. Her ads on websites and social media began appearing a few days earlier, on September 8.

AMC invested over $25 million, primarily in television commercials, which were shown in nine European countries by their Odeon Cinema Group.

To emphasize the unique feeling of watching movies in a theater, the chain created a series of commercials in different lengths – 60, 30, and 15 seconds – focusing on the emotional experience.

The project was helmed by Jeff Cronenweth, a cinematographer nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the 2011 film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and his brother, Tim Cronenweth.

The commercials were written by Billy Ray, the screenwriter of the acclaimed 2013 film Captain Phillips, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

When AMC Theatres announced the commercial, CEO Adam Aron told The Hollywood Reporter that it was important for a major cinema like AMC to remind people about the unique experience of seeing a movie in theaters.

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2026-03-07 02:21