AMC CEO Adam Aron said Wednesday that AMC Entertainment — the parent company of AMC movie theaters — is optimistic about the future despite reporting $4.6 billion in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today reports.
Aron said the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, movie theaters opening up in New York City and Los Angeles, and the upcoming slate of blockbusters give him a reason for hope.
- “Taking these facts together, we have reason to be optimistic about AMC’s ability to get to the other side of this pandemic,” he said in a statement, per USA Today.
Context
Back in May 2020, it looked like AMC Entertainment might go bankrupt, especially since the coronavirus pandemic left movie theaters closed down, as I reported for the Deseret News. AMC got a slight boost from a debt sale and applied for federal aid, which helped keep the business afloat during the pandemic. But rumors about bankruptcy have lingered for months now. There was even speculation that Amazon was going to buy the theater chain, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
More recently, AMC Entertainment said bankruptcy was off the table after it got $917 million of fresh financing amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reports.
Per Bloomberg, the company said it earned “$506 million of equity, after securing $100 million of additional first-lien debt and converting $100 million of second-lien debt into equity, it said in a statement Monday. It also said it executed commitment letters for $411 million of new debt through mid-2023.”
Bigger picture
Indeed, the return to normal at movie theaters is on the way, or so it would seem. Los Angeles County — home of one of the biggest movie theater markets in the country — may be reopening theaters next week, according to Deadline.
Movie theaters in New York City reopened with 25% capacity after almost one year of being closed due to COVID-19, according to USA Today.