Story perspectives

AMC Launches Leawood Label for Completed Independent Films

9/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

AMC Entertainment launches the Leawood Films distribution label.
Leawood will acquire only fully financed or completed independent movies.
Advisors include former Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich, ex-Disney marketer Ricky Strauss, and ex-Paramount distributor Kyle Davies.
Kyle Davies leaves Bleecker Street presidency to run Leawood full-time, using AMC’s network and guaranteed worldwide screens.
Films must retain a 45-day premium VOD window and a 90-day streaming window.

History

Historical Context

United Artists was launched on February 5 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, each taking a 25 % stake to break the studio system’s control over actors. Over a century later, AMC Entertainment’s 2024 formation of Leawood Films gives executives Toby Emmerich, Ricky Strauss and Kyle Davies similar distribution autonomy, echoing the original independent-producer model.

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Story summary

AMC Entertainment launches the Leawood Films distribution label.
Leawood will acquire only fully financed or completed independent movies.
Advisors include former Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich, ex-Disney marketer Ricky Strauss, and ex-Paramount distributor Kyle Davies.
Kyle Davies leaves Bleecker Street presidency to run Leawood full-time, using AMC’s network and guaranteed worldwide screens.
Films must retain a 45-day premium VOD window and a 90-day streaming window.

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