In celebration of Juneteenth, AMC Theatres will present special screenings of “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The Best Man” and other popular movies focusing on Black voices.
From this Friday to Wednesday, select AMC locations will offer special screenings of “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The Best Man,” “Just Mercy” and “42.” The screenings will be available to audiences at a discounted price of $5.
Directed by Shaka King, “Judas and the Black Messiah” tells the story of Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya, who won an Oscar for the role) and his murder by the FBI, after being betrayed by informant William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield). The film premiered last year to critical acclaim, and was nominated for six Oscars.
Adapted from the 2014 Bryan Stevenson memoir, “Just Mercy” tells the story of Stevenson’s (played by Michael B. Jordan) work as the lawyer for Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a Southern man wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row. The 2019 movie is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
“42” is a biopic about Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), the first Black man to play in the modern Major League Baseball era. The film, which helped launch Boseman’s career, was released in 2013 and is directed by Brian Helgeland.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee and released in 1999, “The Best Man” focuses on a group of Black friends who gather for the wedding of Lance (Morris Chestnut) and Mia (Monica Calhoun). The movie — which also stars Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall — received a 2013 sequel, “The Best Man Holiday,” and will be followed up with a Peacock sequel series, “The Best Man Wedding: The Final Chapters.”
AMC’s Juneteenth initiative began in 2021, the first year that June 19 — the day the remaining enslaved people from Texas were informed of their freedom — was institutionalized as a national holiday. Last year, AMC presented screenings of the films “Moonlight,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Love & Basketball,” “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” “The Water Man,” “Harriet” and “Fences.” The programming initiative was developed by the Council of the African American Experience at AMC, an internal AMC advisory council consisting of Black associates, with the goal of of strengthening the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy.
Tickets for the Juneteenth screenings are currently on sale. For showtimes, theatergoers can visit the “Celebrating Juneteenth” section of AMC’s fan-faves webpage.