AMC Theaters announced a plan to reopen their theaters sometime between the beginning of June and the beginning of July. Earlier in March AMC liquidated a lot of their stock options in an effort to stay afloat.
While that move did give AMC some breathing room and allowed them to regroup, it was still a temporary measure. Eventually, AMC was going to need to reopen in some capacity in order to see an uptick in sales/profits.
Well, we’re in June now. And while the rest of the US has gone fairly crazy with recent protests and concerns, AMC released their loss numbers.
All things considered, this is no small number. AMC has reported a loss of more than $2Billion dollars. Sitting around a grand total of $2.4 to be exact. This obviously includes things like concessions which probably makes up a majority, letsbehonest.
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Worth noting is that this will also include the refunds for their subscription services to customers. Not being able to release new movies, having doors close and bringing back employees to help get ready for reopening. All of which are expenses coming out of AMC’s own pocket, which is a direct loss for the company.
You might be thinking; ‘well, all they need is one solid blockbuster opening to get things under control’, right? Sure, but you have to remember how different the landscape is going to be when that happens. Social distancing is going to demand that lesser numbers and crowd control measures are in place. Especially as the second wave of COVID gears up for a hit.
Of course, even at half capacity, theaters could see a solid resurgence, all things considered anyway. Movies like Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984 and Top Gun: Maverick could be the first big releases. People are in desperate need of distractions and a way to get out and socialize in some other way than virtual meetings.
Movie theaters could very well be the catalyst that people need to calm down and escape from the real world. Even if it’s only for a couple hours at a time, it would be good timing on AMC’s part.
Ironically enough, this may only be one of the smaller hits that AMC endures. They’re also in the midst of a boycott against Universal Studios due to VOD issues. Universal released several movies straight to streaming services instead of waiting for a theatrical release. Which put AMC, Regal and Cinemark in a foul mood.
So, even when theaters manage to reopen, there is an overarching concern of what everything will look like. Us, for one, really hope theaters reopen sooner rather than later. Right now, curfews will make that difficult, but we can always hope.
For more updates on movie theaters and movies, stay tuned with us here at Scoophash!
