AMC Posts Huge Loss in Latest Quarter

AMC has posted a sharp 90.9% drop in revenue in its fiscal third quarter as the theater chain continues to reckon with the fallout the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the movie industry. In its latest financial earnings call, AMC Theaters revealed $119.5 million in revenue, down year over year from 2019 when the theater chain reported revenues of over $1 billion. AMC is now trying to raise funds to avoid bankruptcy by trying to sell shares to try and raise around $50 million. AMC is currently operating about 539 of its 600 domestic locations, but theater attendance has remained low during the COVID-19 pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Attempts to re-energize the theater industry occurred over the summer when Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was the first blockbuster released during the pandemic. But box office returns failed to meet expectations. Following the response, other movie producers have pushed big 2020 tentpoles into 2021. Delays for movies like No Time to Die, Black Widow, Fast and Furious 9, The Batman, and more, mean movie theaters will not have major blockbusters to keep it afloat during the pandemic, though there are still films slated for December 2020 like Wonder Woman 1984. For the time being, AMC is focused on raising capital and finding alternative arrangements with the film industry. CEO Adam Aron highlighted a deal with Universal Pictures that will allow the producer to release films digitally weeks after a theatrical run, much shorter than the previous timeline. This deal will let AMC earn a cut of the digital sales, and Aron appears to be having similar negotiations with other studios. “The conversations we’re having with every major studio is that AMC is not stuck back in 1965… We understand that the world of streaming is upon us,” Aron says (according to Variety). Whether these deals can help keep AMC running as the pandemic continues remains to be seen. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

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