Back in October, when I interviewed Gold Open co-creator Bing Chen on the Southern Fried Asian podcast, he teased a new iteration of the movement established to promote groundbreaking Asian American films like Gook, Crazy Rich Asians, and Burning. This morning, they revealed what the next stage of Gold Open will look like. In addition to a partnership with AMC theaters to help “streamline group movie-going, theatre buyouts and bulk regular-price ticket purchasing through a ticket buying system,” the Gold Open system will expand and be applied to media from groups dubbed “the New Majority,” i.e., women, the African diaspora, Latinx communities, and LGBTQ+ artists.

Check out the official press release below.

Los Angeles (Feb. 7, 2019)  — #GoldOpen, the community movement dedicated to ensuring the opening weekend success of Asian films through group movie-going, theatre buyouts and marketing campaigns, today announces the launch of a new system to support more projects from more communities more often. 

#GoldOpen maintains a definitive Lineup of top Asian films, TV shows, and publishing projects, which is accessible on goldopen.com, and promoted monthly to thousands of top Asian leaders, celebrities, organizations, and past patrons. 

In addition to an extensive list of Asian-led entertainment projects, the #GoldOpen Lineup will include several projects from New Majorities, including projects that are Women-led, from the African diaspora, Latinx communities, and LGBTQ+ creatives. #GoldOpen patrons are able to view details about project; purchase tickets or access streaming links; download the #GoldOpen Rosters that include the full list of buyers; and submit new projects for consideration. The online destination was created in collaboration with Barrel, an Asian-led agency in New York City.

“Director Jon M. Chu proclaimed that Crazy Rich Asians was more than just a movie — it was a movement. But a movement only lasts with a machine behind it. We’re ecstatic for the next phase of #GoldOpen to support more New Majority creative voices and their projects so the world we watch finally reflects the world we live in,” said Bing Chen, a #GoldOpen co-creator.

#GoldOpen has also initiated a first-of-its-kind partnership with AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC), the largest theatrical distributor in the country. The partnership is designed to streamline group movie-going, theatre buyouts and bulk regular-price ticket purchasing through a ticket buying system that includes a dedicated ticketing web page, purchasing support, and special events throughout the year. 

“AMC Theatres is a long-time exhibitor of Asian-led films, and this partnership with #GoldOpen helps AMC and the entire film industry continue to support diverse storytelling and make these movies more accessible to a growing audience segment,” said Elizabeth Frank, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Programming and Chief Content Officer, AMC Theatres. “Group movie-going is already affordable and growing in popularity, and this partnership will make it more accessible to communities throughout the country.”

To help coordinate and populate the theatres, #GoldOpen is also leveraging The We Company (formerly WeWork)’s Meetup.com and Facebook Groups. The service enables community organizers and leaders to more easily distribute tickets, coordinate viewings, and meet fellow creative supporters.

#GoldOpen was founded by Gold House, a collective of pioneering Asian founders, creative voices, and leaders, dedicated to uniting communities through cross-cultural collaboration. In 2017, the collective assembled top Asian creatives, C-suite studio executives, and technology entrepreneurs in one of its exclusive Salons at Hollywood agency CAA to develop a system to better support independent films, beginning with multiple theatre buyouts and a social media strategy for the Sundance-winning GOOK. #GoldOpen was reborn a year later to support the launch of the landmark Crazy Rich Asians, in collaboration with hundreds of others including Michelle Sugihara and Jess Ju of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and Alex Wu of the A3 Foundation. Since then, #GoldOpen has successfully supported the #1 opening weekends of indie films like Searching and Burning; tentpole films like Aquaman; and numerous documentaries.

About AMC

AMC is the largest movie exhibition company in the U.S., in Europe and throughout the world with more than 1,000 theatres and nearly 11,000 screens across the globe. AMC has propelled innovation in the exhibition industry by: deploying its Signature power-recliner seats; delivering enhanced food and beverage choices; generating greater guest engagement through its loyalty program, web site and mobile apps; offering premium large format experiences and playing a wide variety of content including the latest Hollywood releases and independent programming. AMC operates among the most productive theatres in the United States’ top markets, having the #1 or #2 market share positions in 22 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas of the United States, including the top three markets (NY, LA, Chicago). Through its Odeon subsidiary AMC operates in 14 European countries and is the #1 theatre chain in Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden and UK & Ireland. For more information, visit www.amctheatres.com.