AMC Theatres Brings Back the Best Picture Showcase to Illinois

Not gonna lie to you; this was one of my favorite events of the year.

It was very early 2020, and with the COVID outbreak already starting to take form in and around Illinois and across the globe, when I attended AMC's Best Picture Showcase (BPS) in late January, I didn't think it would be the last time I would be going.

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As you know, COVID ground the world to a halt, and many things we thought were part of everyday life started to disappear.

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We've dug out, but in a post-COVID world, things still have never returned.

The Best Picture Showcase Gone Forever?

One of those things was AMC Theatre's Best Picture Showcase.

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For movie buffs, this was the one (or two) times a year when you could watch every movie nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

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For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to see the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

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The Best Picture Showcase allowed me to do that. It was set up so that you could run through every nominee in a 24-hour marathon, or they could break it up over two separate weekends to make it more manageable.

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As a Dad, I could not do the 24-hour marathon, but I attended many truncated weekends.

The End of the Road for the Best Picture Showcase?

Well, the Best Picture Showcase ended in 2020, and while AMC offered different types of chances to see all the nominated movies, it lacked the big event feel of the old one.

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That all changes in 2025, as the Best Picture Showcase finally returns to select AMC Theatres.

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Rockford used to be one of the destinations for the BPS, but it looks like it won't be happening this year in the Forest City.

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I'll see you at the show. If you see me, be sure to say hello.

Suppose we could watch the Best Picture Showcase in our car at the drive-in. It's too cold in Illinois, but that would be great. Here's a list of the states with the most drive-in theaters still in operation.