AMC Theatres is hoping to capitalize on this year’s box office momentum.
The world’s largest movie theater chain, which had been working to reduce its debt load, disclosed Thursday that it closed a $150 million at-the-market equity offering that it had launched in February.
Chief Adam Aron said that the move “strengthens our balance sheet, bolsters our cash reserves and provides additional flexibility to support our long-term strategic objectives.” The exhibitor, which had soared as a memestock on the NYSE during the pandemic years, has seen its stock languish between $1.60 a share and $2.08 this year, but has been on a slight upswing.
In recent months, as domestic box office has shown surprising strength due to a combination of unexpected blockbusters (A24’s Backrooms, Focus’ Obsession) and sure-fire hits (Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie), this year is running 13 percent ahead of 2025, per a weekly tally from Rentrak. In May, AMC saw the most moviegoers head to its theaters, 25.5 million, since pre-pandemic May 2019, when Avengers: Endgame unspooled on screens.
To that end, the theater chain is switching gears on one of its big initiatives that it unveiled timed to its last earnings report a month ago before the box office boost took the narrative. AMC says that it will postpone its plan to air live concerts of Bebe Rexha on June 17, Paris Hilton on June 18 and Maren Morris on June 20, which had been set at 300 AMC locations in 89 markets. The studios’ product that had been hitting its screens appears to proving compelling enough that its keeping titles for longer runs.
