Without a ‘Barbenheimer,’ AMC Entertainment Reports $20.7 Million Quarterly Loss

Summer blockbusters like “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Twisters” weren’t enough to keep AMC Entertainment from posting a $20.7 million loss during its most recent quarter. It compared unfavorably to the $12.3 million in profit that the world’s largest theater chain posted in the year-ago period.

At the same time, revenue at AMC fell 4.1% to $1.3 billion, down from the $1.4 billion that AMC reported in the year-ago period, which saw the dual releases of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” a double-billing that turbocharged the box office and inspired the portmanteau “Barbenheimer.” The company reported a loss per-share of 7 cents, compared to earnings of 8 cents in the year-ago quarter.

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Attendance at the theater chain also declined, dropping from 73.6 million to 65.1 million on the weaker slate of films. Consequently, admissions revenue dropped from $798 million to $744.2 million, but revenue from concessions grew from $482.7 million to $490.4 million.

Other films released during the three-month period ending in September included “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Alien: Romulus.” AMC chief Adam Aron has been publicly bullish on the health of the movie business, noting that next year will see the release of sequels to popular franchises such as “Jurassic World,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Captain America” and “Avatar.” He also expressed optimism about how holiday movies like “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” will perform with audiences.

“Admittedly, some of our third quarter metrics of 2024 were behind those of last year. However, we
believe of much greater importance is our bullishness about the impressive movie slate that is coming to our theaters in November and December of 2024, and continuing in 2025 and again in 2026,” Aron said in a statement. “Based on what we know now, we expect that the industry-wide box office should markedly rise at year-end and rise yet again for the next two years.”

Moviegoing has struggled to rebound to pre-pandemic levels even as COVID has dissipated. The theater business was also impacted by the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strikes, which upended film shoots and scrambled release plans. After amassing debt to buy a series of competitors before the pandemic hit, AMC faced questions about its sustainability. In July, the company reached a refinancing deal with creditors that extended nearly $2.5 billion in debt maturities from 2026 to 2030, while reducing its debt by $464 million. After cleaning up its finances, AMC said it had $527.4 million in cash on hand.