The AMC 25 theaters in Times Square in New York are seen on Tuesday, July 8, 2014.
Richard Levin | Corbis News | fake images
Not even the tag team of Spider-Man and Batman could do AMC Entertainment profitable in the first quarter. Still, shares of the movie theater chain were up more than 4% after hours on Monday after it posted a smaller-than-expected loss for the period.
AMC has made big strides toward recovery since the pandemic closed all of its locations globally in 2020, but a limited slate of new movies during the first three months of the year meant fewer movie tickets were sold compared to previous levels. to the pandemic.
However, the recent release of Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” kicks off a steady stream of new and highly anticipated theatrical releases that will drive AMC ticket sales for months to come.
“Our results for the first quarter of 2022 represent AMC’s strongest first quarter in two full years,” CEO Adam Aron said in a statement Monday.
“The cumulative success of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ ‘The Batman,’ ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2,’ and last weekend’s premiere of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ should leave no doubt about the enduring theatrical appeal,” he said. “When Hollywood releases movies moviegoers want to see, people flock to theaters to see movies where they were designed to be seen, in theaters, on the big screen.”
While “No Way Home” and “The Batman” had strong theatrical runs and AMC received nearly 40 million visitors during the quarter, revenues during the period did not exceed the nearly $1 billion AMC spent on expenses. operations and rental.
The theater chain reported a net loss of $337.4 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with a loss of $567.2 million, or $1.42 a share, a year ago.
Excluding items, the company lost 52 cents per share, a smaller loss than the 63 cents analysts had expected the company to lose during the quarter, according to a Refinitiv survey.
Revenue rose to $785.7 million from $148.3 million last year and topped the $743 million analysts had expected.
AMC ended the quarter with $1.3 billion in available liquidity. The stock closed down 9% on Monday as the broader market suffered a sell-off.