By Adam S. Levy and Carly Johnson For Dailymail.com
23:58 13 Sep 2023, updated 00:10 14 Sep 2023
A new trailer for the upcoming movie Saw X lampoons a viral commercial Nicole Kidman did for AMC two years ago.
In the initial ad, released in September of 2021, Kidman talked up the fun of going to the movies as the industry sought to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic closures.
The new ad for the horror film casts Billy the Puppet in the role Kidman had in the initial ad.
Billy the Puppet is seen making his way into a theater with his own twist on the reverent monologue Kidman delivered in the original ad.
‘We come to this place for a reawakening,’ Billy the Puppet said. ‘We come to the theaters to scream, to beg, to play.’
‘That indescribable feeling we get when the lights flicker on and off, and your calls for mercy go unanswered, and you wake up chained in a dirty warehouse, somehow still breathing.’
Billy the Puppet is seen making his way around the theater on a tricycle as scary scenes from the horror anthology are seen playing on the screen.
‘Somehow, self-amputation feels good in a place like this,’ the ghoulish character said. He ended the clip in saying: ‘Traps – they make movies better.’
Saw X, which is due in theaters September 29, is placed in the franchise timeline between the first and second film, and set in Mexico.
Kidman starred in the movie theater chain’s $25+ million multi-media campaign, which included ‘national television advertising across the United States.’
According to an AMC press release at the time, the campaign was the ‘first national advertising program by a major theatrical exhibitor in the history of cinema.’
Most of AMC’s $25+ million in funding on the ad was ‘spent on network television advertising,’ which was ‘used in nine countries in Europe by AMC’s Odeon Cinema Group.’
Aiming to highlight the ’emotion and experience’ of viewing films on the big screen, the theatre chain crafted multiple cinematic commercials, ranging from 60-seconds, 30-seconds and 15-seconds.
They were directed by Academy Award nominee Jeff Cronenweth, known for his directorial work in 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and his brother Tim Cronenweth.
The commercials were thoughtfully written by Captain Phillips screenwriter Billy Ray, who famously earned an Oscar nod for the 2013 biographical thriller.
‘We come to this place for magic,’ narrates Kidman in a 60-second commercial spot.
She can be seen trekking through the rain towards an illuminated AMC theater.
Kidman goes on to say that people often ‘come to AMC theaters to laugh, to cry, to care’ by means of their favorite films.
The Moulin Rouge actress, rocking a fitted pinstripe suit, strolls into one of AMC’s many theaters and, after walking slowly up a slew of dimly lit steps, finds a seat dead center.
‘Because we need that. That feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we’ve never been before. Not just entertained, but somehow reborn,’ she continues via narration while various films appear on the big screen before her, including Wonder Woman and Creed.
‘Dazzling images on a huge silver screen. Sound that I can feel. Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this.
‘Our heroes feel like the best part of us. And stories feel perfect and powerful. Because here… they are,’ the star dramatically concludes.
Each commercial spot, in a clear attempt to combat the rise of home-theatrical releases, stresses that AMC theaters ‘make movies better.’
In a statement to THR at the time, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron said he believed it was ‘high time for an industry leader like AMC to go on television to remind today’s audiences of the magic that can only be found in a movie theatre.’
