The world’s largest owner of movie theaters says it has “substantial doubt” that it can stay in business due to the coronavirus pandemic.
AMC Theatres reported a loss of up to $2.4 billion in its first-quarter financials on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Revenue for the quarter fell about 22% from $1.2 billion to approximately $941.5 million; AMC’s adjusted net loss is reportedly $224.5 million.
AMC Theatres announced plans for a debt swap to give it additional financial flexibility, but THR reports parent company AMC Entertainment said it may not be able to “continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time." The phrase “going concern” suggests a bankruptcy filing could be soon.
Movie theaters nationwide were shut down in March due to concerns about Covid-19. AMC Theatres has over 1,000 locations, including theaters in Upstate New York cities like Buffalo, Vestal and Allegany; more than 26,000 employees were furloughed or fired globally.
Yahoo! Life reports AMC plans to reopen theaters this summer, but acknowledged that customers may be hesitant to return at first and complying with new health guidelines could add costs and cut into profits.
AMC Theatres and two other national theater chains, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, said they won’t reopen until June or July at the earliest, even if they’re allowed to sooner in other states.
Most new movies have pushed back their release dates or shifted to digital PVOD (Premium Video On Demand) releases, like “Trolls World Tour," “Scoob!” and Pete Davidson’s upcoming “King of Staten Island." Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Entertainment, and AMC Theatres were both irked by “Trolls World Tour” and threatened to ban Universal and other studios that “fail to respect” release windows between theaters and video.
Only a handful of movies are still scheduled for theatrical releases this summer: Russell Crowe’s “Unhinged” on July 3, Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” on July 17, Disney’s live-action “Mulan” on July 24, and “Wonder Woman 1984″ on Aug. 14. Those release dates could change — the latest “Tenet” trailer simply said “Coming to Theaters” — as studios appear more confident they can release films in the fall with titles like “Halloween Kills” in October; “Black Widow” and “No Time to Die” in November; and “Top Gun: Maverick” in December.
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