AMC Theatres Plunge $202M into Red: Box Office Turmoil to Blame!

The absence of major winter movie releases significantly impacted AMC Theatres’ financial performance this quarter.

The financial strain on AMC, the largest cinema chain globally, intensified, with losses increasing to $202.1 million due to a sluggish start at the box office in early 2025. High-profile movie failures such as “Mickey 17,” “Snow White,” and “The Alto Knights” contributed to a worse financial outcome compared to the same quarter last year, where the losses were $163.5 million. During this year’s first quarter, revenue declined by 9% to $862.5 million from $951.4 million in the previous year, with a per-share loss of 58 cents, down from 78 cents.

These results were anticipated by analysts who expected AMC to report a first-quarter loss of 59 cents per share with revenues around $837 million, according to FactSet. AMC’s stock price slightly declined in after-hours trading to just under $2.70 per share.

Adam Aron, AMC Chairman, defended the sector in his statement, arguing that the first quarter of 2025 was an atypical period that shouldn’t be used to judge the future of cinemas. He stated, “The Q1 industrywide domestic box office was a distorting anomaly that has since corrected itself. We remain optimistic about the robust demand for movie-going throughout the rest of 2025 and into 2026.”

Ticket sales have indeed seen a resurgence in the second quarter, driven by successful movies like “Sinners,” “Minecraft,” and “Thunderbolts*.” The first quarter was particularly challenging compared to the same time last year, which saw major sequels in franchises such as “Dune” and “Kung Fu Panda.” This downturn was evident in a significant drop in AMC’s earnings from ticket sales, which fell 11% to $473.5 million, and concession revenues, which decreased nearly 12% to $283.4 million.

Aron also highlighted that, aside from the pandemic years, this quarter’s box office was the lowest since 1996. He warned, “Continued low activity would pose serious challenges for cinemas. However, since the start of April, we’ve seen a dramatic turnaround with box office sales in April 2025 doubling those of April last year, and similar trends continuing into May.”

AMC reported having $378.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.

During a conference call with analysts, Aron discussed President Trump’s proposal to impose a 100% tariff on films made in foreign countries, which could drastically increase movie production costs and reduce the number of films available for cinemas like AMC. Aron approached the topic diplomatically, indicating that while no final decisions have been made, there will be opportunities for discussion between the government and the film industry. He assured that AMC would closely monitor the situation.