AMC reported a jump in revenue and a small profit for the second quarter, which didn't even include the boost it got from the hit movies released in July. But CEO Adam Aron warned in a statement that the company still faces "real and potentially severe liquidity hurdles on the horizon that we will need to overcome."
Revenue jumped 15.6 percent to $1.35 billion and touted its highest quarterly attendance in years, but also issued a warning of possible liquidity challenges ahead. Earnings for the second quarter hit $8.6 million, compared to a loss of $121.6 million in the comparable period of 2022. AMC also saw a 12.2 percent gain in attendance year-over-year.
Aron, in an after-markets analyst call, said the third quarter of 2023 had kicked off well due to Barbie, Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Sound of Freedom playing on his company’s screens.
Aron said AMC welcomed more than 66 million guests in the second quarter of 2023, a 12 percent increase and the highest number since the coronavirus pandemic. Moviegoer spending at theatres also "far exceeded pre-pandemic norms," pushing food and beverage revenue per patron to $7.36 globally, within a penny of the company's all-time high record.
"With the first half of the year now behind us, the 2023 domestic industry box office is 20% ahead of last year, and we believe the second half of the year could be even better unless the current writers/actors strikes wind up delaying the release of movie titles into next year," Aron said.
"There are so many more engaging movie titles to enjoy at AMC theaters later this year, and we can’t wait to welcome moviegoers to our nearly 1,000 theaters in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East," Aron said.
The strikes have impacted the production of film and television series and is expected to cost the industry more than $3 billion in losses.