Now attorney general targets movie theaters

(WALL STREET JOURNAL) — Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the nation’s two largest movie theater chains, have received formal inquiries from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, signaling growing government scrutiny of a tactic large theater operators commonly use to keep movies out of competing locations.

AMC, which has faced the most backlash in the exhibition industry over the practices, told investors the Justice Department wants information “in connection with an investigation,” according to an AMC notice filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, into “potentially anticompetitive conduct” at the company.

Regal made a similar disclosure on Monday.

That conduct includes the use of “clearances,” which are agreements that theater chains sometimes strike with studios in order to gain the exclusive right to play a given title in a particular market. The Justice Department is also looking into AMC’s participation into certain joint ventures, the notice said.

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