Cinema Chain Tries Hypnosis to Bring Back the Joy of a First Film Viewing

Pathé, the Dutch cinema operator, wants to put 30 moviegoers under hypnosis so they can experience a beloved film as if seeing it for the first time. The initiative comes as Netflix pulls in more money than the whole North American theatrical market.

It is a modest stunt, yet the pressure behind it is huge. In 2025, Netflix took in more than twice what North American cinemas earned at the box office, leaving operators such as AMC Entertainment scrambling for each customer.

Does Hypnosis Offer a Way to See a Film Anew?

The event carries the name Pathé REWIND and is scheduled for November 9 at Pathé Buitenhof in The Hague.

Attendees select one of four titles — The Matrix, Se7en, La La Land or Interstellar — per the chain's announcement.

First, hypnotherapist Victor Kraemer, who has practiced hypnosis for more than 30 years, takes each participant through an online session. Then, just ahead of the show, the whole group is put under again.

The company's notice makes no reference to Netflix or box office developments. Rather, Pathé says the aim is to see whether the enchantment of a first screening can be brought back.

What Pathé has not spelled out is how it plans to verify that participants genuinely lost their memory of the story.

What Pushed Netflix Past the North American Box Office?

The hypnosis experiment at Pathé is part of a wider effort by theaters to stage events that cannot be duplicated in front of a home screen.

Back in 2019, the US and Canadian theater market took in $11.36 billion. Netflix pulled in a bit less, $10.05 billion, for the same territory, according to company filings and Box Office Mojo data.

That balance had reversed by 2025. Netflix's regional revenue rose to $19.96 billion, nearly twice its 2019 level, while cinema ticket sales dropped to $8.66 billion.

AMC has regained some footing since, posting revenue of $1.59 billion for the second quarter, a 14% increase from a year earlier.

Netflix stock, for its part, touched a 26-month low in October even with record revenue. That sets up AMC's third-quarter numbers, due November 4, as a new test for investors wondering if the cinema recovery is lasting.

The hypnosis show, for the moment, is a single evening's trial involving 30 guests. AMC, meanwhile, has previously appealed to cryptocurrency enthusiasts, accepting Bitcoin for tickets and later adding Dogecoin as a payment option.

AMC was also a darling of retail investors during the 2021 meme stock frenzy. In September, its stock climbed 15% in premarket trading during a dispute over stock tokens.

For AMC shareholders, the larger concern is whether these kinds of extras can close an $11 billion gulf separating Netflix from theatrical revenue.