Moviegoers are returning to AMC Entertainment AMC -1.85% Holdings Inc.’s theaters, and its chief executive said the country’s largest theater chain expanded its market share during the pandemic.
“Our market share in the United States has soared, increasing by about 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels,” AMC Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron said Thursday during a call with analysts after the company reported its first-quarter results. “We’ve taken share from those who stayed closed or those who have gone bankrupt.”
AMC said that by the end of April, most of its nearly 600 U.S. locations were in operation. About 110 of its roughly 350 international locations were operating as well. The company reported 6.8 million attendees for the quarter, 6.2 million of whom were in U.S. markets.
About 61% of North American theaters have reopened, according to media measurement company Comscore, suggesting that many locations in the U.S. might have closed permanently because of the pandemic.
In New York City, a big market for the business, theaters were allowed to reopen at limited capacity in early March. They can fully reopen in the city by July 1. California, another key market, is aiming to fully reopen in mid-June.
Mr. Aron praised the U.S. vaccine rollout and its role in boosting consumers’ confidence to return to public spaces. “Vaccination is our way out of all of this,” he said, adding that the vaccine program is “critical to AMC’s recovery for obvious reasons.”
AMC’s stock has been on a roller-coaster ride this year, rising in January after it became a favorite in online forums like Reddit’s WallStreetBets community.
The CEO expressed optimism for the future. “It’s been a wild ride, and that wild ride is going to continue, but we are very much hopeful that recovery is right around the corner,” said Mr. Aron.
U.S. theater chains that have managed to survive the pandemic have seen signs of a recovery recently. The performance of “Godzilla vs. Kong”—distributed simultaneously in theaters and online by AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia—was especially promising, with the film grossing more than $90 million domestically in about a month. The movie’s box-office revenues suggest pent-up consumer demand and viewers willing to head to cinemas for the big-screen experience.
The summer release schedule is full of potential blockbusters that could lift theatrical revenues further, like Walt Disney Co. ’s Marvel spinoff “Black Widow” and the action-movie “F9,” which Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures will distribute.
AMC reported a loss attributable to the company of $566.9 million, compared with a loss of $2.18 billion a year earlier. The company posted a per-share loss of $1.42, compared with $20.88 a share a year earlier.
Its revenue for the quarter fell 84% to $148.3 million.
The company’s first-quarter results come after a devastating 2020 during which the pandemic slammed the movie-theater chain’s financial performance. Last year, revenue fell 77% and AMC reported a $4.59 billion loss. The company nearly filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of the public-health crisis.
Write to Allison Prang at [email protected]
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Appeared in the May 7, 2021, print edition as ‘AMC Says Moviegoers Are Returning to Theaters.’
