AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) said over the weekend that it plans on reopening its California-based theatres for the public, after months of shut down (on and off) due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than 30 million people in the United States and caused over half a million deaths.
AMC Entertainment shares gained a little under 10% in premarket trading on Monday and jumped another 15% later in the day to close the regular session at a per-share price of £10.06. In comparison, the stock had started the year 2021 at a sharply lower £1.45 per share.
CEO Adam Aron’s comments on the news
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AMC said it intends to start reopening with AMC Century City 15 and AMC Burbank 16 – two of its flagship locations in Los Angeles. Chief Executive Adam Aron said in a statement:
“To put the magnitude of Los Angeles reopening in perspective, as a movie market, the L.A. [Designated Market Area] is about double the size of the New York City market, which just finished last weekend as the No. 1 DMA in our circuit for box office.”
In separate news from the United States, hospitality and entertainment company MGM Resorts rallied on Monday after investment firm Jefferies raised its target on the stock from ‘Hold’ to ‘Buy’.
AMC also expressed confidence that the rest of its 23 locations in LA County will also start reopening for the public from 19th March. In total, the world’s largest theatre chain operates 56 locations in California – all of which, it said, will gradually resume operations after 19th March.
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AMC will next reopen cinemas in New York City
The Leawood-headquartered company had also opted for a partial reopening of its theatres in New York City on 5th March. After California, AMC added, its New York City-based cinemas will be the next to resume operations.
AMC has remained fairly volatile in the stock market this year after it became a target for a bunch of retail investors on Reddit. The U.S. firm boosted its finances by £671 million in the last week of January that helped it pull out of the risk of bankruptcy.
AMC Entertainment performed largely downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of close to 70%. At the time of writing, the owner of Odeon Cinemas Group is valued at £3.43 billion.
