AMC Entertainment Sees Q1 Sales Surge, Losses Narrow

Giant theater chain AMC Entertainment saw revenue jump fivefold and losses narrow sharply amid an ongoing box office recovery.

“When Hollywood releases films that moviegoers want to see, people flock to cinemas in huge numbers to watch movies where they were designed to be seen, in theatres, on the big screen,” said CEO Adam Aron about a theatrical biz on a high just now with Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

“Our results for the first quarter of 2022 represent AMC’s strongest first quarter in two full years. We continue on our pandemic recovery trajectory, more than quintupling revenues and improving adjusted EBITDA by nearly eighty percent compared to a year ago. The significant progress AMC has made is very rewarding, as our guests continue to recognize the unparalleled movie-going experience offered by AMC,” he said.

Aron ticked off upcoming films this year including Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion, Lightyear, Thor: Love and Thunder, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever providing “something for everyone” and culminating with James Cameron’s Avatar 2, the long-awaited sequel to what was at the time of its original release the top grossing movie of
all-time.

The shares popped higher in late trading after the numbers, up more than 4%, after dropping 9% for the session. Aron will host a call starting at 5 pm ET to discuss the numbers and outlook.

Highlights:

Total revenues grew to $785.7 million compared to $148.3 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Net loss improved to $337.4 million compared to a net loss of $567.2 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA improved by $233.0 million to a loss of $61.7 million compared to a loss of $294.7 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Available liquidity at March 31, 2022 was $1,376.0 million.