AMC, the country’s largest movie theater operator, is introducing open captioning — English subtitles, in other words — to help the tens of millions of Americans who’ve experienced some level of hearing loss. AMC will roll it out at 250 cinemas in 100 metro markets.

Take the new James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” for example. It hasn’t done so great at the box office. Entertainment writer Jim Hill said one reason is older filmgoers have opted out.

“And some of that’s due to COVID, but also think about how many of them are at home with their flat-screens, when the dialogue gets a little confusing or the sound gets a little loud, they can turn on closed captioning,” Hill said.

Miki Turner at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School said that part of adding captions in some AMC theaters “is to get more butts in seats since the pandemic.”

She said it’s also a step in the right direction in Hollywood’s effort to improve accessibility.