AMC Says ‘Almost All’ U.S. Theaters Will Reopen in July

I risked life and lung to see Tenet today...in an EMPTY theater. I kept on eye on the number of seats sold online up until ten minutes before the movie started, and it was still empty, so I took a chance. Not a soul. The theater says they disinfect after every show, but it was the first showing of the day anyway. I'll probably have to watch the movie three more times to understand it enough to have an opinion. I think I liked it.
 
It was reported today that AMC filed to sell 15 million shares of stock to raise cash. At $4.61 (closing bell), that's $70 million, which seems like chump change compared to their debt of over $5 billion. Tough times.

Any takers?
 
"Black Widow" and some other major release scheduled for 2020 got pushed into 2021. The blockbuster era is nearing the end.
 
Jaime Valles said:
Nah, it's just moving from theaters to televisions.
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If one looks at the dominance of the big budget/user fits all productions, where 20-25 films swallowed over one half of the global box office, then it indeed looks to be over. The studio system is making a comeback, except if you want to see a new flick from the Warner Brothers, you have to pay them a monthly fee. And then another one to Apple. And another to Amazon. And another to ...
 
From the above -

“We are like a grocery shop that doesn’t have vegetables, fruit, meat,” Mooky Greidinger told the newspaper. “We cannot operate for a long time without a product."
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This is turning into a Catch-22 situation. No product = no theaters. No theaters = no product.

And this works fine for the streamers. They never close.
 
In other news from the Hollywood Reporter: "S&P Global Ratings has reduced AMC Entertainment Holding's credit ratings on liquidity concerns as the impact on the mega-exhibitor's theaters takes a toll on its available cash on hand. "Given our expectations for a high rate of cash burn, we believe the company will run out of liquidity within the next six months unless it is able to raise additional capital, which we view as unlikely, or attendance levels materially improve," the agency said. The debt ratings agency downgraded AMC's credit rating to CCC-, from CCC+".

CCC- is 8 rating steps below the junk bond level. I might buy a share for old times sake. When they're gone, they're gone.
 
Paul F said:
In other news from the Hollywood Reporter: "S&P Global Ratings has reduced AMC Entertainment Holding's credit ratings on liquidity concerns as the impact on the mega-exhibitor's theaters takes a toll on its available cash on hand. "Given our expectations for a high rate of cash burn, we believe the company will run out of liquidity within the next six months unless it is able to raise additional capital, which we view as unlikely, or attendance levels materially improve," the agency said. The debt ratings agency downgraded AMC's credit rating to CCC-, from CCC+".

CCC- is 8 rating steps below the junk bond level. I might buy a share for old times sake. When they're gone, they're gone.
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Dont be so pessimistic. Once Nolan releases Tenet, I think the box office will come roaring back.
 
ahalpert said:
Dont be so pessimistic. Once Nolan releases Tenet, I think the box office will come roaring back.
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That is just one movie and it will not save the theaters. Streaming releases is the way the movie business is going. It would be best for them to sell off their properties and cut their losses.
 
ahalpert said:
"Regal Cinemas closing all locations nationwide"

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/519590-regal-cinemas-closing-all-locations-nationwide
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There goes the theater, here... Kind of a shame. It was less than 10 minutes away, had Sony 4K projectors on 14 screens and Coke Zero. But I think the last movie I saw there may have been Wonder Woman, because they had cut back their hours and no longer had “late shows” during the week when school was in.

I wonder if someone else will take it over or if it will completely change into something else? Or just sit and rot. Regal didn’t build it. It’s gone by other names in the 20+ years it’s been around(Regal bought it in ‘05 for $4 mil). And last year Regal actually sold the building and property to a real-estate investment firm (for $13.2 mil) and have just been leasing it back from them. And with the exception of the projectors, there have been very little renovations or major upgrades done to it. The exterior looks exactly the same as the day it opened back in the late 90’s. Which wasn’t anything to write home about, as far as theater exteriors go.
 
My guess is once the pandemic dies down Regal will reopen or some other established or start-up company may move in. If demand to go to the movies returns, the cinemas will return. This is just a way to stop bleeding cash on leases and employees. Of course, they may reevaluate your specific market and decide not to reopen there. But if it was profitable before, I bet it will be profitable again. I dont buy the notion that consumer behavior will be permanently altered. People are having a hard enough time following the rules right now.
 
Run&Gun said:
.... I wonder if someone else will take it over or if it will completely change into something else?
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Years back we all discussed the demise of theaters. None of us saw it coming this way. Maybe opium dens will make a comeback. .... Opium dens .................

I call dibs on the Kickstarter campaign.
 
ahalpert said:
My guess is once the pandemic dies down Regal will reopen or some other established or start-up company may move in. If demand to go to the movies returns, the cinemas will return. This is just a way to stop bleeding cash on leases and employees. Of course, they may reevaluate your specific market and decide not to reopen there. But if it was profitable before, I bet it will be profitable again. I dont buy the notion that consumer behavior will be permanently altered. People are having a hard enough time following the rules right now.
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And therein lies the problem. Regal and AMC were barely making it in a booming market. AMC is laden with $5 billion in debt and was losing money pre-pandemic while Regal made a paltry 3% dividend for its investors pre-pandemic. Current investors will probably lose all of their money. Only a fool would cough up money for theaters to reopen. No doubt, people want to go out, but there has to be a business model to support it. Even a simpleton would run away after glancing at their financial statements. It's definitely one to watch in fascination to see how it plays out.
 
Movie theaters have nothing on the commercial real estate as a whole. With telecommuting, the need for office space is plummeting and, what's worse, the previously strong locales such as California and New York are seeing the demand drop precipitously too. And, while you can move Ben Shapiro, you can't move his studio.

Then you add the problem in retail sector on top of it - by 1Q 2021, the online sales share will have roughly doubled over the last three years - and the construction industry will be slumping as well.

Maybe there'll be more all-u-can-eat buffets though. A vacant movie theater is perfect for pizza-and-pasta with some moo shu on the side..
 
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