AMC theatres to reopen gobally in July; shares rise

AMC Entertainment Holdings says it is expecting to reopen its theatres globally in July after shutting them down in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sending its shares up about 4 per cent in extended trading.

The world’s largest movie theatre operator said it was planning to reopen almost all its U.S. and U.K. theatres in time to showcase Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet”, slated for release on July 17, and Walt Disney Co’s “Mulan” on July 24.

AMC said it expects to run with limited capacity and blocked seating to maintain safety at its theatres, besides taking the usual precautionary measures.

Last week, it flagged “substantial doubts” about its ability to continue operations, if it was forced to keep its theatres closed for a longer period.

Much like most other out-of-home entertainment businesses, movie theatre chains have also been hit by lockdowns and social distancing measures, which further added to the challenges due to a broader consumer shift to streaming services.

AMC this week said it was conducting an “exhaustive analysis” of its theatres to determine which ones to shut permanently, due to lack of profitability.

The company, which operates Odeon Cinemas, recently reopened some theatres in Norway.

“Even though those three theatres were limited in ticket sales to 25 per cent of seat capacity, we sold 83 per cent of our available seats this past weekend” Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron said, adding that it also recorded strong sales of food and beverages.

AMC’s total revenue fell 21.6 per cent to $941.5 million in the quarter ended March 31, missing analysts’ average estimate of $951.4 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net loss widened to $2.18 billion, largely due to an impairment charge of about $1.85 billion driven by suspension of global operations and the resulting declines in the company’s market capitalization.