AMC Entertainment announced the creation of film distribution company Leawood Films, a venture which the company said will help bring more movies to theaters across the U.S. and internationally.

The new venture will not fiance productions, develop scripts, or assume traditional risks from film production. Rather, AMC said, Leawood will work with filmmakers who have secured full financing for their films or who have completed films in hand. AMC said Leawood Films would then place films in theaters around the world, and combine that with the company's marketing and exhibition expertise.

Leawood Films will focus primarily on small and medium-sized releases which otherwise might have difficulty in securing distribution backing elsewhere, AMC said. The company added that while it had successful theatrical distribution efforts for music/concert-oriented movies featuring artists such as Beyonce and Taylor Swift, Leawood wouldn't be constrained to specific film genres.

The new venture is designed to be additive and isn't expected to compete with AMC's longstanding studio and distribution relationships, the company added.

Leawood Films will be led by a group including Hollywood veterans Toby Emmerich, the former chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group; Ricky Strauss, former president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios; and Kyle Davies, former president of domestic distribution, Paramount Pictures and former president of distribution for Bleecker Street, among others, AMC said.

AMC added Leawood Films hasn't selected its initial films to be released, with the first such projects unlikely to take place prior to sometime next year or in 2028.