Who knew that a commercial for AMC Theatres featuring Nicole Kidman would become a cultural meme to live on for years to come? Her husband, Keith Urban, sure didn't. In fact, it's possible no one foresaw the impact of a simple ad promoting the "magic" of movies in a post-pandemic world, but the commercial spurred memes, T-shirts and even a "Saturday Night Live" parody. Now, Keith Urban is commenting on the ad's hilarious outlandish attention for the first time.
Unveiled by AMC Theaters in 2021, the commercial finds Kidman at an AMC movie theater. As she enters the halls of the theater and sits down for a film, she mentions all the intangible things AMC Theatres have to offer while dramatic music plays in the background.
"We come to AMC Theatres to laugh, to cry, to care, because we need that, all of us," she continues in the ad. "That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we've never been before — not just entertained but somehow reborn, together."
In a famous line from the commercial, she says, "Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this." Clips from movies play on the screen as she speaks.
The commercial — meant to bring crowds back to the movies after the COVID-19 pandemic — was innocent enough. But the public latched onto it, with some perhaps mocking the ad's melodramatic tone and others appreciating it. Either way, the original ad on YouTube has racked up more than 1 million views. Urban recently shared on the "Talking Junkies" podcast that neither he nor Kidman expected the strong reactions to the ad.
"She did it because she loves movies, we love movies. And it was hard times for the theaters," Urban said. "So AMC asked her if she'd do an AMC commercial, and it was a no-brainer for her to be a part of that."
"Never in a million years [was she] expecting that to be this cultural thing," he adds.
One of the most memorable responses to the commercial was askit produced by "Saturday Night Live," in which a lookalike Kidman copies the original commercial. Things soon go off the rails, however, when the Kidman character and others in the theater start repeating the line about heartbreak in a cultish manner. The skit gets hilariously bizarre when Kidman's character seemingly gains magical powers — perhaps fueled by the power of movies? Like the original clip, the parody has earned more than 1 million views.
