AMC reported third-quarter earnings of $968 million, within the range of Wall Street’s expectations. Both revenues and costs increased year-over-year, resulting in a similar loss to last year’s third quarter.
CEO Adam Aron pointed to Hollywood’s meager slate of new releases in August and September as holding back the exhibitor from being able to increase revenues further. He did say that concession sales per patron have risen by 30% from levels before the pandemic. The increase in concessions and food purchases is an industry-wide trend, pointing to an opportunity to make further investments in offering dine-in options in theatres.
Aron sees promise in the company’s AMC Stubs loyalty program, which numbers 600K–700K active subscribers after falling to “zero” in March 2020 when the pandemic hit. AMC plans to promote subscriptions “very aggressively,” since its members consistently become its highest-spending customers.
While managing AMC’s heavy debt load is a concern, Aron is optimistic that exhibitors will finish 2022 on a high note, benefiting from crowd-pleasing titles, and that 2023 looks bright as well, with expectations for the box office to return to 90% of 2019 levels.