AMC’s Stock Soars After Record-Setting Holiday Weekend

Labor Day weekend was a success for AMC Entertainment, and the good vibes are spilling over to the movie chain’s stock price. More than 2 million movie-goers attended U.S.-based AMC theatres over the holiday weekend, which smashed the company’s old sales record from eight years ago, as pointed out by CEO Adam Aron. AMC attracted about 800,000 movie-goers to its international theaters across Europe and the Middle East.

How about this wonderful news! In the U.S., thanks to Shang-Chi, @AMCTheatres posted a new Labor Day Weekend admissions revenue record, last set back in 2013. Also Labor Day Weekend 2021 attendance exceeded the same days of 2019. The first time we beat the pre-pandemic numbers! pic.twitter.com/dfek2NJC23

— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) September 7, 2021

AMC Milestone

In addition, AMC’s theater attendance has risen to above pre-pandemic levels, which is a barometer that corporate America continues to strive to surpass. Aron gave credit to Disney’s superhero film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings,” a Marvel Studios creation. The movie generated more than $90 million in ticket sales, according to early estimates.

Aron stated in a press release that the blockbuster weekend has been “an important milestone” as they “steadily work to generate a recovery” for the business.  He expects the momentum to continue, noting that “as Hollywood releases movies, Americans eagerly want to return to movie theatres again.”

AMC Stock

Investors rewarded the stock, sending shares of AMC Entertainment close to 9%, catapulting the stock closer to the $50 level once again, a level it has not seen since July. Investors cheered the rally, which got an extra boost in about the last hour of trading.

According to financial analytics firm Ortex, the tally for short positions on AMC’s stock was $4.26 billion as of Sept. 1, which triggered losses of more than $1.2 billion from late August.

AMC shares are trading below their high of more than $70 reached in June, but they are up 2,300% year-to-date. The stock has been trading largely based on social media sentiment surrounding the meme stock. As AMC’s fundamentals continue to improve, however, its valuation might become more convincing.

One catalyst for the movie chain is its plan to begin accepting bitcoin payments by the end of the year. The movie has already drummed up excitement in the cryptocurrency crowd that has spilled over to Dogecoin, whose fans are hoping that AMC will also consider adding Doge payments. No word on whether Adam Aron plans to follow in Tesla’s footsteps and add bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet.