LEAWOOD, Kansas, May 5, 2026, 16:02 (CDT)
- AMC revenue rose 21.2% in the first quarter as attendance recovered.
- The cinema chain narrowed its net loss, but cash burn and debt remain central issues.
- Premium screens, stronger film releases and a new live-event push are shaping the 2026 story.
AMC Entertainment beat Wall Street revenue estimates on Tuesday, helped by a stronger box office, higher attendance and demand for premium movie formats, sending shares of the theater chain up more than 2% in extended trading.
The result matters now because cinema operators are trying to prove that the post-strike release calendar is no longer just producing better weekend headlines, but enough revenue to repair stretched balance sheets. For AMC, the quarter showed real operating lift, though not yet a clean financial reset.
The Leawood, Kansas-based company reported first-quarter revenue of $1.045 billion, up from $862.5 million a year earlier. Its net loss narrowed to $117.1 million from $202.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA — a profit measure that strips out interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and some other items — swung to positive $38.3 million from a negative $57.7 million.
Analysts on average had expected revenue of $968.5 million, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. AMC posted an adjusted loss of 36 cents a share, in line with estimates.
Attendance rose 13.6% to 47.6 million patrons, with U.S. attendance up 14.2% and international attendance up 12.6%. AMC also pushed more dollars out of each visit: the average ticket price rose to $12.15 from $11.30, and food-and-beverage revenue per patron increased to $7.29 from $6.76.
Chief Executive Adam Aron said AMC had its “best Adjusted EBITDA first quarter result since 2019 pre-pandemic.” He also said the box office is “back” after years disrupted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, pointing to a North American box office that rose 22% in the quarter.
AMC is leaning further into premium large-format screens such as IMAX, Dolby Cinema and its own XL-branded auditoriums, an area Reuters said has helped the company capture demand as moviegoers pay more for bigger screens and better sound. The company also announced Arena One at AMC, a live-entertainment platform due to launch in June in more than 300 U.S. theaters.
The rebound is not AMC’s alone. Cinemark said last week that first-quarter revenue rose 18.9% to $643.1 million and adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $88.5 million, while Marcus Corp. said its theater revenue rose 6.4% to $92.9 million. The difference is leverage: AMC still carries a heavier balance-sheet burden than most peers.
But the quarter did not end the cash question. AMC used $128.5 million in operating cash, free cash flow was negative $174.7 million, and cash stood at $339.2 million at March 31, excluding restricted cash. The company also had $3.96 billion of corporate borrowings, and warned that insufficient liquidity before revenue normalizes could lead it to seek an in-court or out-of-court restructuring.
AMC has been moving on that front. The company said it raised about $71.7 million through an at-the-market stock sale, a program that sells shares directly into the market and can dilute existing holders. It also said holders of about $155.8 million of exchangeable notes had chosen to convert those notes into common stock, and that its Odeon unit refinanced $400 million of 2027 debt into a new term loan due 2031.
For now, AMC has a cleaner growth story than it had a year ago: more people in seats, higher spending per patron and a film slate management says can carry momentum into the second half. The harder part remains the same. The box office has to keep working long enough to turn better quarters into lasting cash.
