Los Angeles Times

AMC CHIEF GERRY LOPEZ TO EXIT

The nation’s second-largest theater chain says its top executive is leaving after six years for a job at another company.

- By Ryan Faughnder ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

AMC Theatres Chief Executive Gerry Lopez is stepping down after six years for a job at another company.

Executives for the Leawood, Kan., cinema chain, the nation’s second-largest, did not specify where Lopez would be going, but told analysts during a conference call that his new job would be at a bigger company outside the theater industry, according to people who were on the call. Lopez also is stepping down from AMC’s board of directors.

AMC appointed Craig R. Ramsey, its chief financial officer, as interim president and CEO while the company looks for a permanent replacemen­t after Lopez’s departure becomes official Aug. 6.

When Lopez joined the chain in 2009, he was considered a movie business outsider, having spent his career in the food and beverage industry at companies such as Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble and, most recently, Starbucks.

During his tenure, AMC has invested heavily in new technologi­es, premium services and renovation­s to attract new moviegoers at a time when theaters face rising competitio­n from alternativ­e entertainm­ent options in the home. Other exhibitors have followed suit.

AMC was owned by a group of private equity firms when Lopez took the reins. It sold for $2.6 billion in 2012 to the Chinese conglomera­te Dalian Wanda Group, which promised to invest millions in improvemen­ts. AMC then held an initial public offering of stock in late 2013.

“Lopez did a very good job with a strategic turnaround at AMC,” analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners said. “Keep in mind he is not a cinema lifer. He came from outside the industry.”

AMC’s shares fell $1.01, or 3.1%, to $31.89 on Tuesday. The stock has climbed 41% in the last year.

Analysts said that they expected the transition to be a smooth one, given Ramsey’s two decades of experience at the company, and that Lopez’s departure does not appear to indicate problems for AMC.

“Given that Mr. Lopez left on good terms, we suspect that all is well at AMC,” Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities who covers AMC, said in a note to clients.

Lopez is leaving the company at a time when the box office is riding high. Many analysts expect U.S. and Canada ticket sales to top $11 billion this year industrywi­de, thanks to blockbuste­rs including “Furious 7,” “Jurassic World” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

AMC, which has 347 locations, will report its secondquar­ter earnings July 29.

The company recently caused a stir in Hollywood because of a deal with Paramount Pictures that will bring a couple of the Melrose Avenue studio’s theatrical-release movies to home video much earlier than usual.

Previous attempts to shorten the gap between theatrical and home-video release have sparked battles between cinema chains and studios, though the response to the new pact, which also involved Canadian exhibitor Cineplex, has been muted.

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