AMC to roll out three new Nicole Kidman ads we'll all have to pretend to like

It’s a standard thesis of online comedy that, as soon as The Brands really get their amorphous corporate hands on a comic premise, it’s probably reached the last legs of its natural lifespan. (Some scholars refer to this as The SNL Line, a.k.a. the point where a joke becomes so ubiquitous that Saturday Night Live can easily digest, and then baby-bird back up to its millions of viewers, an initially subversive chunk of comedy.) Few such pieces of pop culture detritus have been more thoroughly processed, at this point, than AMC’s “post”-pandemic Nicole Kidman ad, the one where “heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” as demonstrated by Nicole Kidman’s face not moving one solitary millimeter while staring up at a brightly lit movie screen.

You have almost certainly seen this commercial, if not told jokes about it, done extended riffs on it, and, if we have our audience zeroed in on correctly, filmed your own elaborate parody videos of it. And now, you’re going to get to see three more of it, as Deadline reports tonight that “Phase 2" of the ad campaign is preparing to roll out, with three more Kidman ads all ready to go.

Per AMC’s Adam Aron—who acknowledged that the original ad had taken on “cult” status, a corporate way of saying “People made fun of it in a way that made us money”—the theater chain is getting ready to release 3 new 30-second spots that will air in its theaters. Each will feature Kidman, and only one of them will randomly play in front of each movie you go to, ensuring you can only get your full dose of irony by hitting up at least three showings. Get collecting, kids!