Every AMC Theater Is Shutting Down?
It's no secret that the movie industry remains in trouble. AMC is now in a more precarious position than ever.
The pandemic served really hurt movie theaters nationwide. Essentially, the entire industry shut down overnight. This immediately put every theater in existence in a precarious place. Consequently, many small theaters closed for good when staying open became instantly unsustainable. However, the mighty players hung on. With COVID-related restrictions easing, it looked like the larger theaters were rebounding. However, AMC has found itself in some serious trouble.
Every AMC movie theater is not shutting down. At least they aren’t shutting down yet. However, according to CNBC, a huge share price dip has placed the company at imminent risk of bankruptcy. AMC’s shares took a nosedive, sliding about 30% on Monday. This is on top of the 26% they fell by the close of the week prior. This brings AMC’s total devaluation to 56% in a timeframe equal to less than two weeks.
Adding to the already ominous situation is the massive amount of debt that AMC continues to carry. The company disclosed that it has a combined total of approximately $10 billion in long-term debt to satisfy. That’s a huge burden to bear, especially as the theater is still trying to fully rebound from the state the industry was in during the height of the pandemic.
Furthermore, news that AMC’s stock slid by such a significant amount comes on the heels of the news that Regal Cinemas’ Owner Cineworld will likely file for bankruptcy. AMC and Cineworld are two of the very few big players left in the theater space. One of them being on the verge of bankruptcy doesn’t exactly bring good tidings for an industry that’s already in an exceedingly precarious position.
Despite all the aforementioned doom and gloom, AMC contains to maintain a positive outlook overall. AMC CEO Adam Aron asserted that the company “remains confident” in regard to its future. Aron also pointed to the company’s optimism about the movies slated to hit theaters in 2023. The optimism comes alongside the success of Top Gun: Maverick. After debuting to the tune of $126,707,459 back in May, Top Gun: Maverick has brought in over $1.4 billion to date. Additionally, movie studios, like Warner Bros., have also been expressing their revived interests in getting more movies back into theaters, per CNBC. That being said, even with the recent successes and renewed interest from movie studios, the industry is nowhere near performing at the levels it was prior to the pandemic.
The future of AMC is hanging in the balance. In fact, the future of the movie industry, as the world currently knows it, is hanging in the balance. Whether or not the pandemic helped to remold the way the public digests newly released motion pictures still remains a very pertinent question. Even now, many movies are premiering solely on streaming platforms. And the ones that do get released in theaters are exclusively viewable there for a shorter amount of time than they were pre-pandemic. Thus, people don’t have to wait as long to watch them on the home market. Throw inflation into the mix, and that paints a dismal picture indeed. Ultimately, only time can serve to reveal if AMC and the theater industry as a whole are headed the way of the dodo bird.
